After Hao Dongjue and Chang Jianxin arrived, Tan Renhao sent someone to call Yan Yulong to the room. As in the past, without directly commanding the fleet's operations, Tan Renhao paid more attention to the role of the chief of staff in the headquarters, rather than leaving Zhu Rongzhe only in charge of the affairs of the First Task Force as in the past, thus excluding the chief of staff from the scope of the fleet's decision-making level. He did not exclude Yan Yulong, but deliberately improved Yan Yulong's status in the fleet headquarters.

"Lei Shaoqing just sent us a telegram that the US Atlantic Fleet left Norfolk Military Port and left the Chesapeake Bay at noon today. And yesterday, the last two repaired aircraft carriers have arrived at the Norfolk military port, that is, this time the Atlantic Fleet left the port probably not for training, but for combat mission. "Tan Renhao only gave a general introduction to the situation, and Dongjue and Chang Jianxin also received a telegram from Lei Shaoqing." Judging from the timing, we have been bombing Cuba for two days, and the departure of the American fleet at this time coincides with our combat operations, that is, Spruance is coming to deal with us. ”

"Maybe it's just Spruance following orders from his superiors."

"Yes, if I were Spruance, I wouldn't have chosen to leave Norfolk at this time, so I also think that he is passively obeying the orders of his superiors, maybe directly from the president of the United States." Tan Renhao nodded at Chang Jianxin, expressing his support for Chang Jianxin's judgment. "We have been closely monitoring the situation of the Atlantic Fleet, judging by the fact that Spruance has led the fleet to leave port for training many times before. The Atlantic Fleet is not yet combat-ready, and the last two aircraft carriers arrived in Norfolk only yesterday, so it is impossible to restore combat effectiveness and reach the best condition, and no fleet commander will act blindly. What about people like Spruance? The problem is that the Atlantic Fleet has already left Norfolk, and it is already late at night, and if it is just training, then the Atlantic Fleet will return to the harbor before dawn, and at this time it should be discovered by our submarines. ”

"That is, as long as we do not receive new intelligence tomorrow, it will be enough to prove that the Atlantic Fleet is coming towards us?" Yan Yulong interjected a sentence and came in, he was not very suitable for talking about Renhao and Chang Jianxin. Dong Jue's way of talking.

"Exactly, except that we have to be prepared now." Hao Dongjue had the best relationship with Yan Yulong, and immediately explained.

"According to the battle plan, we will no longer bear the main bombardment after the 27th. We still have to keep fighting, if we need to. We still have to be ready to fight. Tan Renhao sighed secretly, because the combat mission this time was too huge, so anything was quite complicated, which was his least favorite point. Our main task is to ensure sea supremacy and meet the challenge of the US Atlantic Fleet. Therefore, in my opinion, now the fleet should adopt the second set of operational plans, do you have any opinions? ”

The conference room was quiet, which was also the main reason why Tan Renhao was looking for Hao Dongjue and Chang Recommending New Arrivals.

The main plan for the campaign site was drawn up by the Theater Command. Tan Renhao, on the other hand, deployed the actions of the Combined Fleet according to the campaign plan provided by Luo Yunchong, so the Combined Fleet was a supporting force in this combat operation, and although it had a great deal of independence, it still had to act according to the overall campaign plan, and could not act at will. This limited the combined fleet's ground and feet, and at the same time gave Tan Renhao a difficult problem, that is, there were many variables in Luo Yunchong's battle plan, and a variety of situations could occur, and Tan Renhao had to formulate a series of battle plans for various possible situations.

The main difference in these battle plans is whether or not to deal with the US Atlantic Fleet. And how to deal with the Atlantic Fleet of the American Army. Of course, it is better not to fight with the Atlantic Fleet. In this way, the Combined Fleet would be able to devote all its forces to supporting the Marines in their attack on Cuba. Now that the situation has changed, it is necessary to adopt other combat options. And in the second set of battle plans, there are also several scenarios for the use of different tactics against the Atlantic Fleet. Therefore, this is not a fixed set of battle plans, but a set of different battle plans set according to different battlefield conditions.

"To be on the safe side, I believe that the time has come to concentrate on the Atlantic Fleet and to try to destroy it before the Marines come ashore." Chang Jianxin spoke first, "In this way, we can ensure that the Marine Corps will be provided with full fire support and air defense cover when it lands, otherwise, we will have to deal with combat operations in two directions at the same time, which will not only be troublesome, but also may not be able to guarantee the completion of two tasks at the same time." ”

"I don't think it's necessary." Dong Jue immediately raised objections. "At this time, there are only two task forces left in the Atlantic Fleet, but there are only six aircraft carriers, whether it is the First Fleet or the Third Fleet, they are capable of defeating the Atlantic Fleet alone. In addition, we have already established a large number of airfields in Jamaica and can deploy a large number of shore-based air forces, and in addition, the bombing of the past few days has destroyed most of the US airfields in eastern Cuba, and as the bombing continues, we will destroy the front-line airfields of the US military one after another and seize air supremacy. In this way, the fleet will be able to operate under the cover of shore-based aviation, and we will not need to dispatch all our forces to deal with the Atlantic Fleet. Ensuring that a fleet operates in the rear can not only effectively supplement the deficiencies of shore-based air forces in terms of strike and cover, but also pose a certain threat to the Atlantic Fleet, thus forcing Spruance to avoid a decisive battle with us as much as possible, and also buying us time to attack Cuba. ”

"But the problem is that Spruance is very likely to choose the time we land in Cuba to launch a sneak attack, and if we can't annihilate the Atlantic Fleet before then, then the landing operation of the Marine Corps will be affected, or even defeated."

"Unless Spruance has the guts to get close to us, where is his chance to sneak up? In addition, our campaign plan is to first lead the American forces to the side of Cienfuegos, and the landing fleet will be quickly transferred, and if Spruance takes advantage of this opportunity to sneak attack the landing fleet, we have a great chance of attacking the Atlantic Fleet before then. ”

"We should not risk the landing fleet, we must ensure the safety of the landing fleet, and attacking Cuba is the main task, and yes

The ocean fleet is only a secondary task. ”

"That's why we should keep one fleet and continue to bomb Cuba, instead of all of them against the Atlantic Fleet!"

……

The two generals, who had rarely had disagreements before, argued, Tan Renhao never interjected, and Yan Yulong also remained silent, he didn't have his own ideas, but he felt that he was not qualified to participate in the debate between the two fleet commanders. Tan Renhao noticed Yan Yulong's expression.

"Yulong, what do you think?"

Yan Yulong was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect Tan Renhao to take the initiative to ask for his opinion. At the same time, Chang Jianxin and Dongjue also stopped and looked at Yan Yulong, it was obvious that they both wanted Yan Yulong's support.

"This ......" Yan Yulong was very embarrassed, and he didn't know what to say for a while.

"Let's say, this is a closed-door meeting, and you, as the chief of the general staff, also have the right to put forward opinions." Tan Renhao laughed, which made the atmosphere relax a lot. "Say whatever you want, you should also know that Lao Chang and Dongjue are both right things and not people, otherwise the two of them wouldn't quarrel."

Chang Jianxin and Hao Dongjue also laughed, the two of them really had a rare quarrel.

"Actually, I think the opinions of the two generals are reasonable, but ......" Yan Yulong hesitated again, "Judging from the current situation, we don't know the specific whereabouts of the Atlantic Fleet first, and secondly, we don't know the specific purpose of Spruance, at least we can't know this clearly." We will not be able to accurately judge the actions of the enemy. If the fleet is dispersed, there is a danger of being imminent. ”

Chang Jianxin frowned slightly, although this was a bit towards him, Yan Yulong's tone was telling the problem.

"But as General Hao Dongjue said, with the actual combat effectiveness of the Atlantic Fleet. It can be defeated by any of our main fleets, and with great certainty. Yan Yulong paused again, "Therefore, I have a bolder idea, not only to disperse the fleet, but also to take the initiative. ”

At this time, Hao Dongjue was a little surprised, even if he was bold enough, Yan Yulong's courage was even greater than him. I even thought of taking the initiative. Tan Renhao didn't show a look of surprise, but waited for Yan Yulong to continue.

"I've carefully analyzed the last combat operation in the Bahamas, and in fact Spruance's entire operational thinking was chaotic, and if we had been a little more proactive, we might have defeated the Atlantic Fleet long ago. Of course, it is also possible to suffer a crushing defeat as a result. Yan Yulong's words did not mean to talk about Renhao. It's just that it's still a little more direct. "If it had been a year or two ago, maybe Spruance was a big threat to us. However, today's US Navy is not as good as it used to be, and in particular, the quality of its officers and men; even if it has many main warships, it is only a fleet with a false appearance, and its actual combat effectiveness may be much lower than we imagined. It is impossible for Spruance not to know the specifics of the fleet, and this is the main reason for the confusion in directing the fleet in battle. If this situation is not fundamentally changed, will he take the initiative to fight us? Even if there is pressure from the superiors, I think. He will also act extremely cautiously to avoid a head-to-head decisive battle with us, so can we guarantee the annihilation of the Atlantic Fleet before the landing operation? ”

"So you think we should take the initiative?" Chang Jianxin's surprise is no less than Hao Dongjue.

"Yes, since we have the absolute strength to take out the Atlantic Fleet, why not take the initiative?"

"But the problem is that our main mission is to support the landing of the Marines in Cuba, and Spruance may have expected us to take the initiative, then. Are we still sure to defeat him? Dong Jue also asked a question.

"That's an important reason why we're taking the initiative." Yan Yulong has been thinking about it for a long time, "Our main task is to support the landing of the Marine Corps in Cuba. And the U.S. military must have known that we were about to attack Cuba and would send out its main fleet to cover the Marines, so it is very likely that Spruance would think that we would continue to operate in the waters near Cuba and would not have expected us to take the initiative. In addition, the Marines will have two support fleets, plus direct support from tactical aviation deployed in Jamaica, and strategic bomber units deployed on the Central American continent. So, is it necessary for us to stay? Combining these two points, we only need to keep one main fleet to continue to operate in the waters near Cuba and bomb Cuban military targets from time to time, while the other main fleet can completely maneuver to ambush the Atlantic Fleet, and then the two main fleets will flank the Atlantic Fleet, so that Spruance will not be able to cope with our blows at all, and will not even have a chance to return fire. ”

After saying it in one breath, Yan Yulong also relaxed, and the other three were not in a hurry to speak, to be honest, Yan Yulong's plan was indeed bold enough.

Tan Renhao still seemed very calm, but he knew very well that Yan Yulong's risky plan would only have two results. The good result is to take out the Atlantic Fleet in one fell swoop, and there will be no worries from now on. The bad result was that the Combined Fleet was broken by each of them after the division of forces, thus losing its sea supremacy. Although the probability of a bad outcome is much smaller, or even very slim, it does not mean that there is no possibility.

If it was two years ago, Tan Renhao would have proposed the same battle plan, but now, Tan Renhao had to carefully consider the danger of Yan Yulong's suggestion, as well as the overall value. To put it bluntly, any adventure at this time may bring a painful defeat, and in order to win the final victory, there is no need to take risks as long as you can be steady. So, is it worth taking the plunge again? Or is it worth taking another risk in order to deal with the Atlantic Fleet?

At the same time, Chang Jianxin and Hao Dongjue are both thinking about this issue. The cost of taking risks is high, and the rewards are enormous. It's a difficult question to decide, but one has to be made immediately. Even Dong Jue, who used to advocate adventure, was a little hesitant, it can be said that Yan Yulong's suggestion was too extreme!