The Yellow Crane Tower is the most famous Tang-style restaurant in Songjiang City, and when Western restaurants have sprung up on both sides of the Huangpu River, the Tang-style restaurant like the Yellow Crane Tower is particularly eye-catching. With a history of hundreds of years, this restaurant still maintains the style of the year, with world-famous chefs, dozens of signature dishes, and several fine wines brewed by the restaurant itself have become the golden sign of the restaurant.

Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue were taken directly to the private room on the third floor, and the waiter in a short Tang costume was very polite. Later, Tan Renhao learned that this Yellow Crane Tower was the ancestral property of Huang Xiaotian's family.

Huang Xiaotian is the fifth oldest among his siblings, and he has two older brothers and two older sisters. In the big family, Huang Xiaotian does not have much inheritance rights, and he has never thought of inheriting the ancestral business, which is the task of his two brothers. As a result, when he was seventeen years old, he joined the army and entered the aviation school, and since then he has begun his military career. Initially, Huang Xiaotian's parents and brother were opposed to him joining the army, thinking that he should stay to help his parents and his brother take care of the family business. When Huang Xiaotian came back as a general, the opposition disappeared without a trace, and for the Huang family, Huang Xiaotian's becoming a general was simply a matter of glory to the ancestors, and Huang Xiaotian's status in the family also improved a lot.

"Actually, this meal was Huang Xiaotian's treat, anyway, the current boss is his eldest brother, and he won't charge us for the meal." Hao Dongjue smiled proudly, "I didn't know that Huang Xiaotian had this background before, otherwise, I would have asked him to invite him a few more times." ”

Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head, Hao Dongjue's family background is actually not bad, both of them can be regarded as children of rich families.

When the two of them walked into the private room.

The first thing I saw was Huang Xiaotian wearing a set of regular clothes, and then I saw a middle-aged man who was about ten years old behind Huang Xiaotian.

"Talk about the general, General Hao." Huang Xiaotian immediately greeted him. "Let me introduce you to you, this is my eldest brother Huang Hucheng."

Tan Renhao greeted Huang Xiaotiandi's eldest brother at the same time. quickly glanced at this middle-aged man in his thirties, in terms of appearance, he was not very similar to Huang Xiaotian, and he was much older, and his figure was not tall. And it obviously has a wilting F4U demeanor that is unique to often indulging in wine. However, this person's eyes are very bright, and he knows at a glance that he is a very scheming person with a deep city.

After the introduction, Huang Hucheng took his leave.

"You may be seated, you're welcome, it's very safe here." Huang Xiaotian invited the two to sit down, "Actually, my eldest brother and my half-father are not the same mother. So the two of us don't look alike, do we? ”

Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue were a little surprised, and then they understood. The empire abolished polygamy only after World War I. Obviously, Huang Xiaotian's son married two, or even several wives, so he had so many children. And Huang Xiaotian and his eldest brother are not very good because they have the same father and different mother. Of course. This also involves too many family interest disputes, which is not what Ren Hao and Hao Dongjue need to care about, and they don't want to meddle in things.

Within a while, the wine and food were delivered one after another, all of which were the signature dishes of the Yellow Crane Tower and the famous "Thousand Cups of Drunk". This rice wine, called "Thousand Cups Drunk", is brewed in the ancestral way of the Huang family and has a history of hundreds of years. In order to regain the trademark, the Huang family fought a lawsuit with the other party for several years, which was the first case of trademark infringement after the Trademark Property Law of the empire, which was still a big news for the empire at that time. In the end, the two sides reconciled outside the hall, and the Huang family bought back the trademark "Thousand Cups of Drunk" with a huge amount of money.

"General Tan, General Hao, you have fun." Huang Xiaotian politely poured wine for the two, "Although I was born in a winemaking family, my amount of wine is not good, and I usually don't touch the ground." ”

"Then you're welcome!" Hao Dongjue is still that virtuous, "Ren Hao, this wine and food are all famous for the Yellow Crane Tower, don't pretend to be Sven." ”

Huang Xiaotian immediately laughed, and then introduced the names of those dishes one by one, as well as the origin of the names, and the most basic preparation methods. Tan Renhao really wanted to beat Hao Dongjue, even if he ate white food, he didn't have to look so anxious.

talked about irrelevant idle matters, and after Hao Dongjue almost filled his belly, Huang Xiaotian asked people to send snacks and fruits. At this time, the three of them began to get down to business.

"The fact that Task Force 1 was able to recover quickly is the best news." Huang Xiaotian still looked very measured in front of the two old commanders, "But the problem is that the current actions of the US military in the Southwest Pacific obviously have other intentions. The battle for Port Moresby will not end immediately, and the American forces will not even achieve a complete victory at the end of July, and no one can judge what the situation will be on the battlefield at that time. The U.S. forces are in a hurry to launch a counterattack now, and it is clear that they are not interested in the gains and losses of Port Moresby. ”

"That's what worries me as well." Tan Renhao leaned back in his chair and kicked his partner, who was picking his teeth. "I talked to Chief of Staff Gan Yongxing. If the U.S. side already knows that the First Task Force will be restored this month, and that it is our first fleet to recover its combat effectiveness, then the ultimate goal of the U.S. military counterattack at this time is to attract the First Task Force to the Southwest Pacific Theater, and Halsey will do its best to contain the First Task Force with three small aircraft carriers. ”

"You mean that the main direction of the US military's counterattack is not in the southwest Pacific?" Hao Dongjue threw away the toothpick and became serious at the same time.

Huang Xiaotian also looked at Tan Renhao, and he was not in a hurry to express his opinion.

"Xiaotian, what do you think about this?" Tan Renhao was not in a hurry to continue.

"This ......," Huang Xiaotian looked a little embarrassed, "I thought so at first. The combat effectiveness of the First Task Force is well recognized, and several counterattacks by the US military have been defeated by General Tan, and this time the US Navy will return to its peak state, whether it is Nimitz, MacArthur, or even the President of the United States, when considering counterattack operations, the threat of the First Task Force must be considered first. Therefore, the purpose of the US military counterattack at this time was to contain the First Task Force in the southwest Pacific. Then the direction of their main counterattack is the Central Pacific. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, waiting for Huang Xiaotian to say the second half of the paragraph.

"But the question is, is this strategy a little too old-fashioned, or a little too simple?" Huang Xiaotian glanced at the two of them, "Judging from the timing."

If the U.S. forces delay the counterattack until the end of June, when the 1st Task Force is fully reinforced, then the 1st Task Force will most likely go to the Southwest Pacific Theater to assist the Marines in the rapid capture of Port Moresby in addition to dealing with the small fleet in Halsiday.

Kill two birds with one stone. However, the problem is that the US military is counterattacking at this time, and when the First Task Force can rush to the Southwest Pacific Theater, the Marine Corps will have to spend more time to capture Port Moresby, and considering that the US military's strategic counterattack is about to begin, we will not send the First Task Force over. ”

"This is also the attitude of the chief of staff and the principal, the first task force will not immediately rush to the southwest Pacific theater." It was only at this time that Tan Renhao said what he knew, "The Fourth Task Force will probably get two new aircraft carriers and new escort warships by the end of June. Both aircraft carriers of Task Force 2 will be repaired in early July. General Yan Guozhong has enough capacity to keep the Marines in Port Moresby in place until August, and there is no reason why we should send Task Force 1 to the Southwest Pacific Theater at this time. ”

"That's where we get suspicious." Hao Dongjue said before Huang Xiaotian, "The deployment of the US military is too simple. We can see through it at a glance if the fourth task force, or the second task force, is sent to the Southwest Pacific Theater. We can concentrate two main task forces in the Central Pacific. And we will definitely set up Task Force 5, even if Task Force 5 goes to the South Atlantic Theater as planned. We also have three small aircraft carriers to form a new fleet, plus a third task force, and if the U.S. forces launch a counterattack in the Central Pacific, they will not have any advantage in terms of numbers. ”

"In other words, this may be a plan within a calculation, and if the U.S. military had been prepared for a long time, then it is still possible that their main counterattack direction will be in the southwest Pacific."

Tan Renhao nodded slightly. Both possibilities exist. Strategically speaking, a large-scale strategic counterattack by the US military in the Central Pacific could force the Tang Empire to shift its focus to the Mariana Islands defense line, thereby weakening its investment in the Southwest Pacific. This not only served the purpose of covering the Australian mainland, but also made the deployment of the Tang Empire's navy chaotic, and the US military might even take down the Mariana Islands in one go, which eventually led to the Tang Empire having to abandon the southwest Pacific theater and switch from offensive to defensive, and the initiative on the battlefield would fall into the hands of the US military.

But in the same way, if the U.S. military launches a counterattack in the southwest Pacific, it can completely remove the threat to the Australian mainland, and even have a good chance of returning to the Solomon Islands and driving the Tang Empire's troops out of the southwest Pacific theater.

When the time comes, the north can advance into the Caroline Islands and the Mariana Islands, and trap the Tang Empire troops in the Marshall Islands and the Gilbert Islands. To the west, it is possible to sweep the South Seas and advance from the south to the Tang Empire proper.

No matter which direction of attack is chosen, as long as the US counterattack is victorious, then the initiative will change hands. Therefore, a counterattack in both directions is almost equally important, and the likelihood is about the same.

"How's the situation with Task Force 4 now?" Tan Renhao changed the topic, and more intelligence was needed to determine the direction of the US military's counterattack.

"On the whole, it is not bad, Jiang Zhongmin is already arranging for the officers and soldiers to return to the team, and the acceptance and reception of the new aircraft carrier is also underway. After the completion of the first training class, I returned to Guangzhou. Huang Xiaotian hesitated for a moment, and at the same time glanced at Hao Dongjue, and then asked Tan Renhao, "General Tan, I heard that Jiang Zhongmin is going to be transferred to the new task force?" ”

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, he glanced at Hao Dongjue, and said, "I don't know very well, the principal didn't let me meddle in this matter, probably the chief of staff arranged it." Did he ask you to re-establish the chief of staff of the fleet? ”

Huang Xiaotian nodded. "I received the message the other day that I would like to recommend the new Chief of Staff of the Fleet. I've also been in contact with Jiang Zhongmin, and he'll be reporting to the Navy Command after completing the reorganization of Task Force 4. ”

"It seems that the Fifth Task Force is definitely going to be formed." Hao Dongjue's words were still a little sour, "Well, this is also a good thing, at least in the future, the South Atlantic Theater will not be clamoring for a new fleet." ”

Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head. "These things are not something we can care about, even if the fifth task force is to be established, it will be after the current four task forces have all regained their combat effectiveness. In addition, the training of the officers and men of the fleet also takes time, and it is already very good that the Fifth Task Force will be able to reach the South Atlantic theater by the end of this year. ”

All three of them were silent, and the four current fleet commanders were all opposed to the establishment of the Fifth Task Force. Tan Renhao has always maintained that there is no need to arrange for fleet aircraft carriers to go to the South Atlantic theater, the number of aircraft carriers carried by the British Navy is comparable to those small aircraft carriers newly renovated by the Empire, and it is enough to arrange a few small aircraft carriers in the past, and the role of having one more fleet aircraft carrier in the Pacific Theater is very obvious, so that a second three-aircraft carrier fleet can be guaranteed. Of course, as for the personnel arrangements of the Fifth Task Force, there are even more people who are dissatisfied with this.

"Let's go to the shipyard tomorrow!" Tan Renhao also felt that there was nothing to talk about, "Xiaotian, if you're okay, let's go and have a look, I heard that the performance of the newly commissioned large cruiser is very good, much better than the 'Li Jing' class, do you get one?" ”

Huang Xiaotian nodded. "General Lei left one for us, and I also want to see what the new battleship looks like."

"Alright, let's go together tomorrow." Hao Dongjue laughed, "Xiaotian, we will call you early tomorrow morning, don't be lazy." ”

The three of them made up their minds, and then Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue said goodbye to Huang Xiaotian, and thanked Huang Xiaotian's eldest brother very much when they went out. Tan Renhao did not go to where Hao Dongjue and the others lived, but went back to the hotel directly. He always felt a little sorry for Hao Dongjue, and several times wanted to suggest that the principal promote Hao Dongjue to be the commander of the fleet, but he still gave up, he knew very well that he could not change the principal's decision.