After arriving at the First Fleet, Pan Zekang spent a day writing down a document on some boarding and inspection matters, and then handed it to the communications staff officer of the First Task Force, and then this document was sent to the other two task forces. After being busy, Pan Zekang didn't have anything to do. He could only wait patiently until the First Fleet succeeded in intercepting the convoy and capturing the heavy water ship. Although Pan Zekang was a naval colonel, he was only a technical officer, so the other officers and men on the battleship rarely took the initiative to talk to him. Pan Zekang didn't take the initiative to find anyone else, anyway, his task was to follow Tan Renhao, complete the operation, and then return to the empire to continue to participate in the work related to the "Pangu Project".

It was not until the night of 22 June that Pan Zekang heard from the casual chatter of several fleet staff officers during dinner that the reconnaissance planes sent out by the Second Task Force that afternoon had already gained something, and the US transport fleet was about 250 miles northwest of the fleet. When he hurried to the command cabin, Tan Renhao was ordering the fleet to turn.

"Talking about the general's ......"

"Have you had dinner yet?" Tan Renhao was very busy, how could he have time to greet Pan Zekang, "If you haven't eaten, let's go to dinner first, or you can wait for me here for a while." ”

Pan Zekang nodded, and retreated to the side with interest, the atmosphere in the command cabin was a little tense, and he was not a combatant, so he couldn't help much, as long as he didn't cause trouble for others, it would be good.

Pan Zekang just stepped back. The communications staff officer walked to Tan Renhao's side. "The information sent by the second task force has confirmed that it is the US transport convoy that has been discovered, and the second batch of reconnaissance planes is rushing over, and General Hao Dongjue has arranged for five reconnaissance planes to follow and monitor the convoy at night."

"Is there any news from Task Force 3?"

"Efforts are being made to contact Task Force 3, and if they are going according to plan, then we should be telegraphed."

Soon, a telegram from Task Force 3 also arrived. After receiving the news that the Second Task Force had discovered the US transport fleet, Chang Zhixin immediately ordered the assault team to move to six "Trotto" class cruisers. And arranged for six more destroyers to be responsible for escorting these six cruisers. By half-past eight, shortly before the new telegram was sent, the twelve warships had broken away from Task Force 3 and were heading due west.

"Tell Chang Jianxin that the commandos can't move without my orders." Tan Renhao gave a new order. "The new course of the fleet is 280, 30, ~.

The navigation staff immediately gave the commander's order, and when the communications staff officer was in contact with the other two task forces, the battleship began to turn to the left, and at this time, Tan Renhao handed over other matters to Zhu Rongzhe. Only then did he walk towards Pan Zekang.

"Have you had dinner?" Tan Renhao looked a little tired and didn't wait for Pan Zekang to answer. He said, "I'm hungry." If there's anything to do, let's talk while we eat. ”

Pan Zekang didn't say much, so he could only follow Tan Renhao to the officer's restaurant. After Tan Renhao ordered a few dishes, he just asked for a bottle of beer.

"It's a bit complicated right now." Tan Renhao said while holding the dishes, "The operation was too hasty, and many deployments were not in place. I consulted with the other two fleet commanders, and both found the operation to be quite difficult. ”

"I know that. Otherwise, the command of the Navy would not have entrusted this task to the First Fleet. ”

Tan Renhao smiled bitterly. "The First Fleet isn't omnipotent, is it?"

Pan Zekang laughed awkwardly. His slap hit the horse's hooves.

"In fact, whether it is the First Fleet or other fleets, they will encounter the same problem." Tan Renhao changed his words and did not embarrass Pan Zekang. "The main problem is that we want to prevent the U.S. military from destroying the cargo and blowing up and sinking the merchant ship carrying the cargo. And many of these problems are very difficult to solve. Now, we have thought of a number of ways and are trying to solve several major problems, but there is one problem that we cannot solve. ”

"What's the problem?" Pan Zekang didn't pick up vegetables, but only occasionally took a sip of beer.

"That is, the fireboats carrying the commandos must avoid the US military escort warships. As you know, this convoy is covered by more than 20 destroyers and frigates, and according to the plan, only 6 escort ships are needed. With so many escort ships on the periphery of the fleet, it was almost impossible for the fireboats we sent out to stealthily cross the interception line. ”

Pan Zekang nodded, but he also thought that since Tan Renhao had officially ordered the start of action, he should have thought of a solution.

"If we weren't lucky, the operation wouldn't have been successful." Tan Renhao made a detour and didn't say it directly.

"So how can it be considered lucky?" Pan Zekang followed up and asked.

"It's up to our allies to help." Tan Renhao laughed, "If those U.S. escort warships are distributed around the fleet, we won't have any chance." On the contrary, if these escort warships can concentrate in a certain direction, then our fireboats will have a chance to get close to the transport ships. ”

Pan Zekang hesitated slightly, and said, "You mean, find a way to attract the escort warship in a certain direction?" ”

"Yes, but this is not what we think, but we need to rely on the help of others."

"What do you mean?" Pan Zekang was a little puzzled, just as Tan Renhao didn't know anything about nuclear technology, and it was impossible for Pan Zekang, a technical officer, to know too much about tactical issues.

"Quite simply, it depends on whether the German submarines are willing to help." Tan Renhao laughed, and at this time, he found a little confidence in Pan Zekang. "Task Force 2's reconnaissance aircraft have found the convoy and it is judged that the convoy has not been attacked by submarines before. We have all judged that Germany will not let this cargo reach the United States, nor will it fall into our hands, so Germany can only send submarines to intercept the convoy before it reaches the United States or is captured by us. ”

Pan Zekang understood now.

"If only a few submarines are dispatched, the certainty of success is not very large. Not to mention, even less if the Germans knew that there were so many escort warships in the convoy

Attack, but will focus on the attack first, and then attack after it is determined that there are enough submarine attacks. In this way, the Germans needed time to adjust the deployment of submarines and call up all submarines in the nearby seas. When the time comes, at least a dozen, if not more, submarines will attack. ”

"In this way, the escort warships of the US military must first deal with the German submarines?"

"Yes, if it is only a submarine attack, the US military will not give up easily, after all, those submarines will not be able to capture the transport ships, and the US military will not take risks. If the U.S. military didn't know that we were approaching, they would naturally concentrate on the German submarines first, and we would take this opportunity to send out an assault team to seize the transport ships! ”

"However, there is a good chance that the U.S. escort warships will sink the ships we have captured." Pan Zekang is not stupid, he still understands some basic tactical issues.

"That's where we're worried. However, judging from the combat operations of German submarines in the Atlantic Ocean in the past, German submarines would generally approach the convoy in the first half of the night, and at the same time call more submarines to intercept them, and after they were deployed in place, they would launch a sneak attack in the second half of the night. And the anti-submarine warfare ships of the transport fleet need to spend hours attacking, destroying submarines. If the Germans had committed a significant number of submarines, it was likely that the battle between the two sides would have continued after dawn. Our assault teams will seize the transport ship before dawn and then signal success. As long as a signal is received. The ground bombers of the Second Task Force will go to attack the US escort warships, and the destroyers of the Third Task Force will also arrive quickly and take up the escort mission from scratch. Tan Renhao put down his chopsticks, "As long as these steps are successful, then we have successfully completed the task." ”

Pan Zekang immediately nodded, and then said: "If any step goes wrong, then our operation may fail. ”

"Exactly." Tan Renhao took a sip of beer. "And the most important thing is that the German submarine is tonight. Or strike tomorrow night. If it had been this evening, our commandos would not have been able to deploy in time and would have had to watch the Germans move. If it's tomorrow night, we'll be able to take advantage of the chaos. On the contrary, if it drags on any longer, we are likely to be the day after tomorrow. Or the day after tomorrow with the encounter with the US Atlantic Fleet, when the time comes, the problem will be even more complicated. ”

"That is, we will have a chance to seize that cargo only if the German submarine launches a sneak attack tomorrow night?"

"It's just a matter of our luck." Tan Renhao touched his bulging belly. "Don't be too nervous, at most, we won't get that shipment, and in the 'Pangu Project', we definitely didn't count those hundreds of tons of heavy water, right?"

"It's true, relatively speaking, those heavy waters are more important to the United States. So we have to at least make sure that we don't let the Americans get it. If we can get it, it couldn't be better. ”

Tan Renhao heard a little meaning from Pan Zekang's words. "Isn't that right? With the strength of the First Fleet. Even if we fight head-on with the US Atlantic Fleet, if we can't get it. Then it will not be for the Americans to get. And if the United States does not get this heavy water, then it is impossible for them to produce the atomic bomb according to the plan, and our atomic bomb program will not be affected, so we can still build the atomic bomb before the United States, right? ”

Tan Renhao's words caught Pan Zekang, and the young technical officer nodded honestly.

"Then you don't have to worry about anything." Tan Renhao stood up with a smile, "There will be no action tonight, you can go and sleep peacefully." If we're lucky. Then tomorrow night is the most important place. ”

"General Tan, can I go to Task Force 3?" Pan Zekang immediately stood up.

"What are you doing in Task Force 3?" Tan Renhao asked rhetorically.

"The assault team was sent out by Task Force 3. I'm worried that the guys don't know what to do with the cargo, so it's safer for me to go to the front. ”

"This ......" Tan Renhao hesitated, "do you think it's necessary?" ”

"It must be necessary, if we seize the goods, but because we don't know what to do with them, and end up losing the goods, isn't that a waste of effort?" Pan Zekang said very firmly, "Moreover, my task is to ensure that this cargo can be safely returned to the empire, as long as the commando team captures the merchant ship, then I should be on the ship, not on the aircraft carrier." ”

"Looks like you've already decided?" Tan Renhao shook his head, "It's okay, there's no second person here who knows how to deal with those things better than you." Well, you rest for the night, we won't be too far away from Task Force 3, and I'll arrange for a plane to send it over tomorrow, how about it? ”

Pan Zekang nodded, and it was difficult to make any other requests.

That night, the technical officer of the Navy did not sleep soundly. Although Pan Zekang is not a regular military officer, he also understands that all three countries want to get that batch of heavy water, and they all have to work hard to ensure that it is not obtained by other countries. Therefore, all three countries will consider sabotage of goods in extreme cases. It is definitely not an easy task to successfully capture those hundreds of tons of heavy water, even if the First Fleet is the most elite fleet of the Imperial Navy, has the most rich combat experience, and has the commander of the Imperial Navy's number one fleet, the chances of successfully completing this operation are very slim.

Originally, Pan Zekang did not need to ask to go to the front line, but his duty required him to arrive at the cargo ship carrying heavy water as soon as possible and confirm the situation. It is precisely because of this that Pan Zekang asked Tan Renhao to go to the Third Task Force. All night, he was thinking about what to do at the front. But these are not his turn to think about these issues.

That night, Tan Renhao got in touch with Chang Jianxin and told Chang Zhixin that Pan Zekang was going to the commando, this time it was Chang Zhixin's turn to have a headache, after all, a technical officer who couldn't even use a pistol skillfully would not only not be able to help in the commando, but would bring a lot of trouble. But at that time, Pan Zekang was the only one who knew how to deal with heavy water, and Chang Jianxin had to agree to this request.

On the night of the 22nd, the German submarines did not attack the convoy. In the afternoon of the next day, Pan Zeconda left Task Force 1 in a seaplane.