Before the Fifth Task Force was established, Jiang Zhongmin knew that he would be the best candidate for the commander of the Fifth Task Force.

Jiang Zhongmin is not blindly confident, and he has a foundation for his grasp of becoming the commander of the Fifth Task Force.

Jiang Zhongmin's ability is not bad, when he succeeded Tan Renhao as the commander of the first task force, in addition to Fan Peikun's needs, his ability was also the most important factor. He did not serve long in the position of commander of the 1st Task Force, and although he did not have any major merits, he did not make any major mistakes. In the "Philippine Naval Battle," the First Task Force suffered a sneak attack, and if Jiang Zhongmin had not been injured at that time, the First Task Force would never have suffered a crushing defeat, and would even bite the 16th Task Force back, taking the Americans by surprise and completely reversing the situation of the war. And when he went to the Fourth Task Force to partner with Huang Xiaotian, his ability was also proven. If it weren't for Huang Xiaotian's preconceived ideas, I'm afraid Jiang Zhongmin would have become the commander of the task force at this time.

Jiang Zhongmin's background also determines that he will not be an ordinary general, let alone be someone else's deputy for the rest of his life. The influence of the Jiang family in the navy is very great, Jiang Zhongmin's grandfather Jiang Bangguo himself is a veteran of the navy, and has been competing with Sajiting for the position of commander of the navy, although in the end he was finished without being a marshal for a few days, but Jiang Bangguo has a large number of followers in the navy, and many of them are generals, which is the foundation of Jiang Zhongmin. In addition, Jiang Zhongmin's uncles are either generals, high-ranking officials, and big businessmen, and the influence of the Jiang family also determines that Jiang Zhongmin is different from civilian generals like Tan Renhao when he was born.

Tan Renhao's biggest advantage is that he has Nie Renfeng, the principal, but Jiang Zhongmin also has this advantage, and when he graduated. Jiang Zhongmin is the eye of the example, and Tan Renhao is just a flower.

Nie Renfeng talks about Renhao very seriously, but at the same time, he also values Jiang Zhongmin. Arguably. Jiang Zhongmin was able to return to the Navy and be assigned to the position of Chief of Staff of the Fourth Task Force. And then surpassed Hao Dongjue, chief of staff of the First Task Force, and became the commander of the Fifth Task Force, all thanks to Nie Renfeng's care. Nie Renfeng has always been very accurate in looking at people, and he values Jiang Zhongmin, and he knows that Jiang Zhongmin is not an embroidered pillow like Fan Peikun. It is a student who has real talent and real learning. Perhaps, in terms of fleet operations, Jiang Zhongmin is not as good as talking about Renhao, but compared to many half-baked generals at that time, Jiang Zhongmin is much stronger. This is also an important reason why Nie Renfeng focuses on cultivating Jiang Zhongmin.

With these three important factors, it is difficult for Jiang Zhongmin not to succeed, and he is by no means empty of confidence. Becoming commander of the Fifth Fleet was a matter of course. Although the Fifth Task Force was the worst of the first five task forces of the Imperial Navy, the first mission of the Fifth Task Force was to make an expedition to the South Atlantic against the British Expeditionary Fleet. It is clear that this is an opportunity for Jiang Zhongmin to make contributions. And. This is an opportunity that can never be obtained in the Pacific theater, and Jiang Zhongmin is also very clear about this in his heart.

From the beginning. Tan Renhao chose the right route, picked the Fifth Fleet, which almost no one wanted to go to at that time, and made a fortune from here and got a lot of opportunities. Quickly grew into the number one admiral among the young admirals of the Imperial Navy. It's not just a matter of luck, it's also a matter of ability and vision. Jiang Zhongmin missed this opportunity, but he quickly changed his mind, after all, he was also a young man, after realizing that aircraft carriers had replaced battleships and become a decisive force on the ocean, Jiang Zhongmin began to absorb the theoretical knowledge of aviation operations, and with the help of others, he got the opportunity to train between various departments, and finally became the commander of the first task force.

If it weren't for Fan Peikun who caused trouble at this time, Tan Renhao probably wouldn't even have a chance to return to the First Task Force, and Jiang Zhongmin could also be said to be a victim. And during the period when he was recuperating from his injuries, Tan Renhao quickly consolidated his position as the commander of the Navy's number one aircraft carrier fleet, and cultivated a large number of descendants, Lei Shaoqing, Chang Jianxin, Hao Dongjue, Huang Xiaotian, and even later Zheng Guanhua, Wei Dongbei and others, all of whom were friends of Tan Renhao, or brought out by Tan Renhao. Even popular generals such as Luo Yunchong of the Strategic Strike Force and Gu Xunlei of the Army have a very good personal relationship with Tan Renhao. Tan Renhao's personal influence not only offset the influence of the Jiang family, but also far exceeded the influence of Jiang Zhongmin himself.

Under these circumstances, Jiang Zhongmin clearly realized that as long as Tan Renhao was still in the Pacific Ocean, and as long as Tan Renhao was still commanding the First Task Force, there would be no room for him Jiang Zhongmin's development. In other words, Jiang Zhongmin has no chance to surpass Tan Renhao at all, at least when he cooperates with Tan Renhao, it is impossible to surpass Tan Renhao. Then, his only chance is to go to a place where Tan Renhao can't go and get more room for development. Even if this still can't replace Tan Renhao's position, at least it will allow him to establish more combat exploits and cultivate his own lineage forces.

The South Atlantic was the only option at the time, it was the second battlefield of the Imperial Navy, and it was far from the Pacific Ocean, although the scale of the battlefield was not large, but it could provide a lot of room for independent play. Letting Jiang Zhongmin lead the Fifth Task Force to the South Atlantic Theater is also a direct manifestation of Nie Renfeng's search for internal balance in the navy and restraining Tan Renhao.

Whether it was Jiang Zhongmin or Tan Renhao, they both recognized the intention of the principal's arrangement at that time. Tan Renhao's influence in the navy has expanded rapidly, and almost all the young generals who hold real power are brought out by Tan Renhao, and the navy relies on these young generals, which brings a problem, that is, Tan Renhao's influence has surpassed all other generals except Nie Renfeng, Gan Yongxing, Liao Hanxiang, and Yan Guozhong. Whether it is to maintain his authority or to protect Tan Renhao, Nie Renfeng will not let this situation develop. The relevant reasons have been introduced earlier, and the basic way to limit Tan Renhao's influence is to support a young general in the navy who can compete with Tan Renhao, and disperse Tan Renhao's influence among young generals, and Jiang Zhongmin is the best choice.

Arguably. Under the circumstances at that time, Nie Renfeng's expectations for Jiang Zhongmin were very high, except for allowing Jiang Zhongmin to obtain independent command. Nie Renfeng even contacted Weng Yiming directly and asked Weng Yiming to provide support to Jiang Zhongmin within his ability. In other words. On the surface, Weng Yiming was the commander of the theater and was fully responsible for the combat operations of the fleet. But in fact, Jiang Zhongmin is the real fleet commander. After the Fifth Task Force arrived in the South Atlantic Theater, even the South Atlantic Fleet, which had previously been commanded by Weng Yiming, was also under the unified command of Jiang Zhongmin.

Jiang Zhongmin himself knew that the principal was secretly helping him, and he knew the principal's purpose. To a large extent, of course. He understood the principal's behavior in order to allow him to compete with Tan Renhao, so that the Imperial Navy would have internal development momentum. If Tan Renhao finally becomes the commander of the navy that no one can replace, it will not do the navy any good. Therefore, in Jiang Zhongmin's view, his mission to the South Atlantic theater this time is to achieve a major victory. And he used the South Atlantic, and even the entire Atlantic theater, as his base, and established his prestige here. In the end, he confronted Tan Renhao, who was based in the Pacific Theater.

To be honest, this is a bit vulgar, but this is indeed Jiang Zhongmin's idea. And even Gan Yongxing thought so at that time. Otherwise, why would the Headmaster let Task Force 5 go to the South Atlantic Theater of Operations? If the Headmaster wants to be sure of absolute victory, then Task Force 4 should go. Or even let Task Force 1 pass, not Task Force 5, which had just been formed. As for whether Nie Renfeng himself has similar thoughts, it is unknown, and he will not tell anyone what he really thinks.

After the fleet departed from the Lion City. It was also a smooth ride along the way. The Indian Ocean is not rough, and the Indian Ocean is the absolute domain of the Imperial Navy, and there are hardly any enemy warships operating here (only some American submarines are operating in the western part of Australia, that is, in the eastern waters of the Indian Ocean, which poses little threat to the fleet). At the beginning of October, the fleet reached Moroni.

Moroni is the only port on the island of Gran Comoros in the northern part of the Mozambique Channel and the most important naval fortress of the Imperial Navy in the western Indian Ocean. More than 500 years ago, after the Empire occupied the island, the first pier was built here.

Later, during the Hundred Years' War with the Western powers, the Imperial Navy built it as a naval fortress and expanded the port. It was from this time that the empire had troops stationed on the island of Grande Comoro for a long time. At the outbreak of the war, the Empire garrisoned 500 men, which was later expanded to 1,500, and by the time the Fifth Task Force arrived, the garrison had reached 3,500 men.

Port Moroni was also the only way for the fleet to go south, and it was the only place to anchor before reaching Cape Town. The facilities in the port were very old, and there was no dock for large warships to dock, so the warships of more than 10,000 tons in the fleet could only anchor in the harbor.

Task Force 5 didn't stay here long, replenishing fuel, fresh water, and fresh food, and then the fleet left Port Moroni for its final voyage to Cape Town. It was from here that the good fortune of Task Force 5 came to an end, and many unexpected circumstances ended up affecting the fate of Task Force 5.

Before arriving in Cape Town, Jiang Zhongmin received an important piece of information, that is, the information of the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet, which was not good news. The initial information received by the Imperial Navy was incomplete, and the Anglo-French Combined Expeditionary Fleet was much larger and far superior in combat strength to Task Force 5!

Then, when he arrived in Cape Town, Jiang Zhongmin found a serious problem, that is, the climatic conditions here were much worse than those on the Pacific side. And this is definitely an irreversible factor, a factor that cannot be controlled by manpower.

The Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa was formerly known as the "Devil's Point". Before the opening of the Suez Canal, it was a sea artery connecting the East and the West, and the nickname "Devil's Point" was also due to the harsh climatic conditions. At a time when ships still had to rely on sails, dozens of merchant ships sank here every year, most of them damaged by storms. As you can imagine, the climatic conditions here are harsh. Especially after the summer (winter in the Northern Hemisphere), the weather conditions can be so bad that it is difficult for ships to sail smoothly.

The impact of this factor can be said to be decisive. The core combat strength of the Fifth Task Force is the three aircraft carriers, one large and two small, and its escort ships can never match the British and French capital ships in terms of gunfire. Although the South Atlantic Fleet had six battleships, all six battleships were built at the end of the last war, and all of them had not returned to the Reich for maintenance for more than two years. This time, Britain and France concentrated almost all the latest battleship expeditions, and there were three British aircraft carriers to provide cover for these battleships, if the aircraft carriers of the Fifth Task Force could not exert their power, then they could only fight with the British and French joint expeditionary fleet, and the result was sure to lose.

Jiang Zhongmin was also a little helpless. At the end of October, when the British and French expeditionary fleets arrived on the Gold Coast, he and Weng Yiming made a decision that if the weather conditions were not good, they could only find a way to delay the British offensive and wait until the weather improved, so that the Fifth Task Force could play a decisive role. But the problem is that the British are not stupid either. There is no secret to the news of the arrival of the Fifth Task Force in the South Atlantic Theater, and the US Navy has had enough of the bombers of the Tang Imperial Navy in the Pacific, so the British will not be stupid enough to come to the Fifth Task Force for an aviation decisive battle.

The weather in the South Atlantic is up and down, with a major change almost every two or three days.

The fleets of both sides also advanced and retreated on this side. As soon as the weather was too bad for the carriers to send bombers, the British fleet would come and provoke, and as soon as the weather improved, Task Force 5 would find a way to catch the British. As a result, the warships of both sides went back and forth several times, but the result was in vain, and neither was willing to fight the other in a decisive battle when it was not beneficial to them.

The battle dragged on like this, but it is impossible to completely solve the problem by delaying, what the two sides are waiting for is only the most favorable opportunity for themselves, and the opportunity for the other party to make a mistake and kill the opponent in one fell swoop!