It was already four o'clock in the afternoon when the plane landed at Anderson Airport, and when the plane descended, Tan Renhao saw the car parked on the side of the runway and Liao Hanxiang standing next to the car. As soon as the plane stopped, the sedan drove over and stopped a few meters away from the cabin door, and when Tan Renhao just walked to the gangway, Liao Hanxiang had already gotten off the car and walked towards him.

"How were you doing along the way?" Liao Hanxiang's expression was a little excited, and his face was red. bsp; "Except for a few turbulences that kept me from sleeping comfortably, everything else was fine." Tan Renhao greeted Liao Hanxiang first, and then asked Adjutant Du Xing to put his luggage in the trunk of the car. "How's it going on your side?"

"Not bad, the news of the victory is encouraging, the chief of staff has sent the condolence group out, and they will arrive with the next convoy of convoys." Liao Hanxiang took the initiative to open the car door for Tan Renhao, and then got in himself. "The aftermath has been arranged, and the battleship will be repaired first after it comes back, and the dockyard on our side has not been completely repaired, so we can only go to Naha for major repairs.

In addition, the planes transporting the wounded have been sent to Wake Island, and a group of transport planes will come tomorrow to bring back all our wounded in about two or three days. The hospital has also made preparations, and we have also transferred a group of medical supplies and medical personnel from Ryukyu Island in the hope of helping a lot, but judging from the current situation, most of the wounded have to be transferred to the big hospital in the rear, and we cannot do in-depth treatment on our side. “

After Duchenne took the passenger seat, the car left the runway and drove towards the road leading to the Apra military port outside the airport.

"Yingyu is also helping in the hospital?" Tan Renhao had relaxed, he slept on the plane for a few hours, although he didn't sleep very deeply, but his energy had recovered a lot.

"Yes, she is still in the hospital, and the first wounded to be sent back in the afternoon are all seriously injured." Liao Hanxiang sighed. "I've told her the news of your return, and she'll be back for dinner in the evening."

Tan Renhao smiled and nodded, being able to meet his wife here made him feel very strange.

"Other aspects of the aftermath are still being arranged, and I arranged for several technicians to investigate the situation of the 'Hulun Lake' aircraft carrier in the morning." Liao Hanxiang pulled the topic away, it seems that he hasn't cared much about family affairs these days. "You received the news before you came, the state of the aircraft carrier is terrible. The degree of damage inside the hull is very serious, and this is not a big problem, mainly because of the few holes in the ground under the waterline, and also, when the beach is stranded, the aircraft carrier has not been reduced, and the bottom of the ship, and even the keel may be damaged. It will be very difficult to save this aircraft carrier. ”

"This aircraft carrier must be salvaged, at least, we can't have one less aircraft carrier this year." Tan Renhao was secretly surprised. Only in the most compelling cases. The battleship only returned to self-protection by running aground, and often because the beached beach was very remote, it was difficult to carry out emergency repair work after grounding.

"I've given the order. Save the 'Hulun Lake' aircraft carrier at all costs. I have asked Chief of Staff Gan Yongxing to transfer a few senior engineers and a batch of emergency repair equipment.

No matter how difficult it is, as long as there is hope, we will tow this aircraft carrier back. “

Tan Renhao touched his forehead. "If the aircraft carrier is towed back, how much time will it take to repair it?"

"It will take at least half a year, and if there is a problem with the keel, it may take nine more months, and at that time, I am afraid that the cost of repairing this aircraft carrier will not be much worse than building a new aircraft carrier."

"Try your best, I'm afraid Lei Shaoqing is even more anxious than me." Tan Renhao smiled bitterly.

"What is the condition of the 'Xingkai Lake' and how much time will it take to repair?"

"Your aircraft carrier?" Liao Hanxiang smiled and shook his head, "It's not a big problem, the two technicians who were platoon determined that the damage to the aircraft carrier was easy to repair, the key structures were not damaged, and most of the spare parts were in stock, and it would only take about a month for the aircraft carrier to return to combat effectiveness again." ”

Tan Renhao was also a lot more relieved, he didn't believe what Hao Dongjue told him before. He just wanted to confirm it. At present, the First Task Force has only one aircraft carrier, the "Xingkaihu," and when this aircraft carrier is repaired, the First Task Force will restore its combat effectiveness, and it seems that the First Task Force will have to be separated from the combat establishment for the time being. It's good, at least you can rest for a while, and the U.S. military doesn't have the ability to counterattack in these months, and their two aircraft carriers also need to be repaired.

"Is there any intelligence on the U.S. military?" Tan Renhao did not doubt the battle report of Qiu Gengbo's return, even if dozens of bombers did not sink the two aircraft carriers, it was still possible to severely damage these two aircraft carriers.

"There's not much news yet." Liao Hanxiang shrugged his shoulders, "The intelligence department came with a message at noon, and the two large barges that were originally left in the San Francisco port on the west coast of the United States left this morning, probably heading to Pearl Harbor, and these two barges can be used to repair aircraft carriers." In addition, the U.S. shipyard in Pearl Harbor is also making preparations, and the two U.S. aircraft carriers that escaped will definitely take several months to repair, but we can't determine exactly how long.

As for the other battleships, including the two battleships, we don't have any specific information at this time, but the most likely scenario is that these two battleships, as well as the rest of the Spruance ships, are returning to Midway and then to Pearl Harbor. “

"It seems that we can easily go for a few months." Tan Renhao breathed a sigh of relief, "It's best that those two American aircraft carriers are repaired for half a year, and we can slowly and methodically solve the US troops on the Solomon Islands, and maybe, we can also organize forces to take down Midway." ”

"I'm also considering whether to enter Midway, and I haven't decided yet." Liao Hanxiang laughed, "At least, after Yan Guozhong's side doesn't make a fuss about the lack of troops all day long, we will have the ability to attack Midway." ”

"Trouble in the Southwest Pacific Theater?" Tan Renhao glanced at his father-in-law.

"It's not a problem, it's just that the resistance of the U.S. military is very tenacious." Liao Hanxiang took out a cigarette, "I heard that two days ago, Yan Guozhong wanted to go to the front again, but he was ordered by the marshal to stay in Lae and not go anywhere." You say that Yan Guozhong is really strange, as the commander of the theater of operations, he thinks about running to the front line all day long, isn't he afraid of encountering a sniper of the US army and killing him with one shot? ”

"Maybe no sniper has had that luck. Besides, General Yan Guozhong was born in the 6th team, and it has become a habit for him to command battles on the front line, and now he is also not used to asking him to stay in the rear to control the battle situation remotely. Tan Renhao also laughed, "Well, the principal should also take care of him, he is already a first-class general." It's a bit too much to run to the front. ”

"Whatever, anyway, there is an order from the marshal, and he doesn't dare to mess around. It's just that now the attack of the 6th team on the southwest Pacific side is not smooth, and Yan Guozhong has asked for more troops several times. He planned to land on the 6th Island in mid-January, and the 6th fleet had already been deployed, and the first batch of troops to land on the 6th was also ready, and what he lacked was reserves and bombers from the HNA Army. ”

"It was very difficult to get to 6 Kuah Island, but we have no worries now. Task Force 3 has also returned to the theater of operations. With the assistance of the two task forces, Yan Guozhong was very sure that he would send the troops up, but. How much time it will take to capture Kuah Island, I'm afraid no one can predict. ”

"It's going to be at least a few months, and it's good to be able to capture Kuah in early April. It depends on the reaction of the US military. Now it is clear that the U.S. Navy will need months to recover, and their miniature fleet carriers will not be able to reach size until the middle of the year, and by then, these two aircraft carriers should be repaired now. Yan Guozhong has enough time to attack Kuah Island, but he will not have too much time to occupy the entire Solomon Islands. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, and then sighed, it seems that the first task force will only stay outside the battlefield for a month at most. Moreover, during this period, it is very likely that the escort warships will be transferred to the southwest Pacific theater to support the offensive operations of the 6 th Squadron, and only after the "Xingkaihu" aircraft carrier has regained its combat strength will it be reorganized into a task force, and it will definitely go to participate in the battle in the southwest Pacific.

"Okay, let's talk slowly in the evening, now go to the hospital first, see if Xiaoyu's work is done, and then we will go back to dinner together." Liao Hanxiang didn't want to say more. "By the way, one more thing, the chief of staff mentioned that you should go back to the naval command, maybe he will send a telegram back tomorrow-"

Tan Renhao smiled bitterly, now he doesn't need to continue to command the fleet to fight, it is impossible for Gan Yongxing to let him go on vacation with peace of mind, and it would be strange not to transfer him back to the naval headquarters.

The sedan soon drove into the theater hospital. This was originally the governor's palace of the governor of the United States, after the Tang Empire occupied Guam, it was converted into a war zone general hospital, with a total of more than 200 wards, which can accommodate thousands of wounded, and now, the hospital beds have been filled, and more than 20 tents have been set up in the large garden outside, and dozens of wounded people have been housed in each tent.

After Liao Hanxiang asked his lieutenant to find Liao Yingyu, he stayed in the car with Tan Renhao. They did not get out of the car, mainly so as not to bother the wounded to salute them. Not long after, Liao Yingyu, who was wearing a set of white overalls, trotted out of the hospital, and there were dried blood stains on her clothes. At this time, Tan Renhao got out of the car and greeted his wife.

"Husband, when are you coming back?" Liao Yingyu didn't show too much enthusiasm, but it could be seen that she was very happy after meeting her husband.

"We're here." Tan Renhao took his wife's hand.

"How's the wound on your back, do you want me to examine it?" Liao Yingyu said that she was about to turn up her husband's clothes.

"Much better, I don't feel anything."

"Okay, you don't have to be here to kiss me!" Liao Hanxiang also walked out of the car with a smile, "Yu, when can I get off work?" ”

"There's going to be an operation, and then you're going to be gone." Liao Yingyu laughed awkwardly and let go of her husband's hand at the same time.

"Then we'll wait for you here, and we'll go back to dinner later."

"I'm afraid it'll take an hour. Why don't you go back first, and I'll come back later." ”

"No, we'll wait for you!" Tan Renhao grabbed his wife's shoulder.

"Then you go to my office, there are ...... people here"

"You go and get busy, we'll just sit in the car for a while, so as not to trouble the rest of the hospital." Liao Hanxiang patted his daughter on the shoulder, and then laughed.

"Okay, I'll come out and call you later, if you want something to drink, go to the commissary over there and buy it."

Liao Yingyu didn't say anything wordy, "I won't accompany you, the operation will be carried out in ten minutes, and everyone is waiting for me." ”

After seeing Liao Yingyu enter the hospital, Tan Renhao and Liao Hanxiang immediately returned to the car. Soon, it was a wrong decision for Tan Renhao to stay and wait for his wife. When he saw the wounded who had gone for a walk in the garden outside, when he saw the seriously wounded who were carried into the hospital on stretchers, and the medical officers who were in a hurry with blood stains on their clothes, and the blood washed down from the vehicles transporting the wounded, and the screams of pain from the wounded, Tan Renhao's mood suddenly fell. Honor is the joyful side of war, while disability is the sad side of war.

Where there is war, there is sacrifice and disability, and it is even more painful to face disability while accepting honor.

In the evening, Tan Renhao and the others returned to Liao Hanxiang's "home" on Guam. This was the official residence of an American general before, Liao Hanxiang did not change the layout inside, and even the books in the study remained unchanged, probably Liao Hanxiang usually slept here at most, which is not a home.

In order to catch the wind for his son-in-law and celebrate his success, Liao Hanxiang specially found a chef with good skills, made a few high-quality side dishes, and prepared a bottle of champagne. But Tan Renhao didn't have much appetite, he felt that the champagne was bitter, maybe it was caused by his mood.

That night, Tan Renhao went to bed early, and his wife had to go to the hospital to continue working, and a large number of wounded people were waiting to be treated. Early the next morning, when Tan Renhao got up, he found his wife sleeping next to him, and he didn't even know when his wife came back. On the morning of the same day, Tan Renhao received an order from the naval headquarters to hand over the affairs of the fleet to Hao Dongjue, chief of staff, and then immediately rushed back to Zhoushan. As for why he rushed back to Zhoushan immediately, Tan Renhao still didn't know, but he knew that he would definitely not let him go back this time to receive merit.