After being left alone by the principal, Tan Renhao felt a little uncomfortable. It's not that he's afraid to face the principal alone, it's just that every time he talks to the principal alone, he feels a lot of pressure. This is not the same as the feeling after the chief of staff talks, where he will only get endless troubles, while in the case of the principal, he will get responsibility and obligation.

"In a bad mood?" Nie Renfeng saw Tan Renhao's mentality, "Is this time too busy?" ”

"Headmaster, I'm fine." Tan Renhao smiled reluctantly.

"Are you really okay?"

"yes, it's really fine." Tan Renhao raised his head.

"Is there something wrong in the fleet, or is there something wrong at home?"

Tan Renhao quickly shook his head. "No, maybe I'm too tired to concentrate."

"Don't lie to me, if that's the case, then I'll have to talk to Yongxing." Nie Renfeng sat down, "I also know that since you returned to the headquarters this time, you have been assisting Yongxing in dealing with major matters, and you are under a lot of pressure. But now we can't stop, and there's no one else to replace you......"

Tan Renhao let out a sigh and tried to cheer himself up a little, he didn't want the principal to look down on him.

"If you feel like you need to rest, I'll ......"

"Headmaster, there's no need, there's still a lot to deal with now." Tan Renhao immediately rushed to say, "I can still hold on, even if I need to rest, let's talk about it when I'm done with this time." ”

Nie Renfeng glanced at Tan Renhao again, as if to determine Tan Renhao's state, and then he went to make a cup of coffee.

"Thank you, Headmaster." Tan Renhao took the cup, he was not without energy, but he felt that there was a lot of pressure, coffee could not play a role in reducing pressure, if it was a glass of spirits, it might be able to play a little role.

"Then let's talk about something important." Nie Renfeng sat back, "You should know about the Second Fleet's combat operations on the other side of the Atlantic, right?" ”

Tan Renhao nodded. He had already read the battle reports that Gan Yongxing had given him.

"As early as two months ago, when you attacked Kauai, I was thinking about the next phase of combat operations." The principal's words had a great jump, and Tan Renhao had to speed up his thinking to become the principal. "At that time, I talked more about what to do next after conquering the Hawaiian Islands. At that time, the prime minister had already made this request, asking the army and navy to each come up with a fourth-phase strategic plan. ”

Tan Renhao figured it out now. Before they landed on Kauai and had not yet routed the U.S. Fifth Fleet, the headmaster had already thought of conquering the Panama Canal.

"You should be very clear from the point of view of the navy, if you really want to fight a decisive battle with the United States on the ground, not only will the losses be huge, but the navy will not play much role." Nie Renfeng crossed his hands, "Whether from the perspective of the empire or the navy, the best way to defeat the United States is not to defeat the United States on land, but at sea. Or the defeat of the United States in the air. Eventually forcing the United States to sign a surrender document favorable to us, thus ending the war. ”

Tan Renhao took a sip of coffee, and any admiral with a bit of foresight would consider this issue.

"Obviously. The Army does not want to see such an outcome. Nie Renfeng smiled bitterly, "The army's point of view is also understandable, after all, after defeating Russia, if it doesn't continue to attack the United States, the army basically won't have any major tasks." It is precisely this difference in basic viewpoints that makes a huge difference in the campaign operations arranged by the army and navy. ”

"It's inevitable."

"Yes, every campaign is directed towards the ultimate strategic goal, and the battle is naturally different when the strategic purpose is different." Nie Renfeng is still like Tan Renhao's teacher. "In accordance with the Navy's strategic objectives, we will try to sweep the bases on the periphery of the continental United States. Build a front to encircle the U.S. mainland and eventually destroy the U.S. from the sea and the air, rather than fighting a war of attrition with the U.S. on the ground. ”

"But the United States is not Japan and Britain, and if you want to defeat the United States through blockade and bombing, it must be very big."

"It's difficult, but it's not impossible, we all know that. The core regions of the United States are its eastern seaboard, as well as the Great Lakes region. Nie Renfeng glanced at Tan Renhao, "So, you should understand where our real focus is next, right?" ”

Tan Renhao didn't react at first, and then looked at the principal in surprise.

"After the battle on this side of the Pacific is over, the focus of the Navy will gradually shift to the Atlantic side." Nie Renfeng said directly, "And it is impossible for the Second Fleet under the command of Jiang Zhongmin to shoulder all the combat missions in the Atlantic Ocean alone, so we must let the fleet on this side of the Pacific Ocean easily enter the Atlantic Ocean as soon as possible, that is, to capture the Panama Canal as soon as possible." As long as we can open up this passage, the Pacific and Atlantic theaters will be connected, and when the time comes, the First Fleet and the Third Fleet will be able to freely enter and exit the Atlantic, and we will be able to defeat the United States more quickly. ”

"Headmaster, then we'll have to pick up the pace."

"That's what you need to do now." Nie Renfeng smiled and squeezed Tan Renhao's shoulder, "Jiang Zhongmin is just going to explore the path, he can't command the battle in the Atlantic alone at all, and he doesn't have that ability." Now, the Second Fleet is still wandering around the South Atlantic, and it is not a big problem, but as long as the Second Fleet goes north, then he will be in great trouble. Therefore, I need you to lead the First Fleet into the Atlantic as soon as possible. ”

"But ......"

"But what?" Nie Renfeng turned his head, "Do you think this is helping Jiang Zhongmin, or do you think that it is a wrong arrangement for me to promote Jiang Zhongmin all the time?" ”

"Headmaster, I never thought of it that way." Tan Renhao became excited.

"It doesn't matter if you think about it or not, even if you thought about it before, I won't blame you, no matter who it is, it will think so, right?"

Tan Renhao nodded a little embarrassedly, and now he suddenly understood that he had been wrong about the principal.

"I promoted Jiang Zhongmin, first, to cultivate more talents for the Imperial Navy, just like promoting Huang Xiaotian, Yan Yulong and others, as long as they have the ability, they will be reused in the Navy. Another purpose is to keep you from becoming a tree that attracts the wind. Nie Renfeng stood up, "I'm Jiang Zhongmin's principal, and he was very young. I served with his grandfather. I know better than he knows how capable Jiang Zhongmin is. Perhaps, he will be a good fleet commander, all he lacks is luck, but he is by no means a high-ranking general who can stand alone and provoke the heavy responsibility of the entire battlefield. That's the difference between the two of you. ”

Tan Renhao stood up after him, it was the first time he had heard the principal's evaluation of Jiang Zhongmin.

"For this alone, Jiang Zhongmin is 108,000 miles away from you. Maybe you thought I was deliberately suppressing you. But you should understand why I want to suppress you. Nie Renfeng turned around, "You are still too young, you lack enough experience, especially outside the battlefield, and you lack a foundation, especially in the upper echelons." If possible, I would like you to get ahead in five years, or even ten years, but reality doesn't allow it. Now, you have to take on more important tasks. And something has to be done. See what I mean? ”

Tan Renhao immediately said, "Headmaster, I've always been wrong about you before. ”

Nie Renfeng smiled and grabbed Tan Renhao's shoulder. "When you stand in my position, you understand why I have arranged a tortuous path for you. The twists and turns of the experience are a good thing, not a bad thing. If it weren't for the fact that you gained so many experiences and lessons on the battlefield, would you be the current Tan Renhao? ”

Tan Renhao was convinced, and he had to admit it. Relatively speaking, what Jiang Zhongmin lacked was experience and lessons, especially the valuable experience gained in the early days of the war. And this is where Tan Renhao excels, his success is not innate, on the contrary, compared to many young generals in the navy. Tan Renhao is only a civilian and has no natural advantages. It was his experience on the battlefield that set him apart from other generals.

"Okay, these words, after you go back, think about it slowly, and when you figure it out, your vision will naturally be bright." Nie Renfeng walked to the desk, "You still have to hurry up on the specific things, there is not much time left for us." ”

"Headmaster. I'll do my best. ”

Nie Renfeng nodded. "I'll give you an approximate time limit, and next month, after the combat operation is determined, I will arrange for you to be specifically responsible for the command of this campaign operation, and arrange for you to have a few Marine assistants. At the latest, the Panama Canal must be completed by the end of September, so that we can guarantee that the Panama Canal will be navigable by the end of the year, you know what I mean? ”

"I know that by the end of the year at the latest, the Panama Canal will be opened to traffic, and the First Fleet will go directly into the Atlantic Ocean from the canal."

Nie Renfeng nodded. "Well, if there's nothing else, you go ahead and get busy."

After leaving the principal's office, Tan Renhao's mood was not heavy, but much more comfortable. He had always blamed the principal wrongly, because from the beginning, the principal did not train Jiang Zhongmin as Tan Renhao's rival, but used Jiang Zhongmin to spur Tan Renhao. This is well-intentioned. In addition, the principal did not deliberately suppress Tan Renhao, but regarded Tan Renhao as the number one training object from the very beginning, and treated him as the best young general in the Imperial Navy. After figuring this out, Tan Renhao's mood was indeed much more relaxed, but when he returned to his office and began to plan the attack on the Panama Canal, he suddenly couldn't be happy.

The difficulty of attacking the Panama Canal will not be reduced because of Nie Renfeng's words of encouragement, the problem is very realistic, and a large number of unresolved variables make Tan Renhao a headache. If it were really that easy to conquer the Panama Canal, there would be no need to talk about Renhao to bother with sadness, and it would not be delayed until now. When Tan Renhao connected all the problems and thought about it, he found a problem. The task given to him by the headmaster was almost an impossible one.

Intelligence is still a small problem, as long as the principal and the chief of staff come forward, they should get enough information, even if there is not enough information, as long as enough troops are invested, and try to consider the bad side, it can be solved. The big problem is timing, to lay down the Panama Canal Zone by the end of September, which is indeed a difficult task for a strong man.

It was already mid-June, and the campaign would not be finalized until July, and even if preparations for the campaign were to begin immediately, it would not be completed until at least mid-August, and the fleet could only depart at the beginning of August at the earliest, and it would be almost late August when it reached the Panama Canal. A month to conquer the Panama Canal is a dream, and no matter how many troops are invested, this time is still very short.

It was too late to change the principal's decision, and Tan Renhao had already agreed, but he soon found a solution, that is, the principal's final request was to make the Panama Canal navigable by the end of the year for the use of the Imperial Navy. That is, the rector took into account the high probability that the infrastructure of the canal would be destroyed in battle, leaving several months for repairs. If we can ensure that the infrastructure of the canal, especially the necessary and difficult to repair infrastructure such as locks, is not destroyed, then after the capture of the canal, the canal can be opened to navigation very quickly, the repair time can be shortened, so that the operation time can be extended, and the First Fleet can be allowed to enter the Caribbean Sea through the Panama Canal at the end of the year to participate in combat operations in the Atlantic!

Considering this, Tan Renhao has encountered a lot of trouble, if you want to ensure that the important infrastructure of the canal is not damaged, you have to control the scale of the battle, choose better assault points, and even beware of the US military taking the initiative to blow up the canal. These are troubles, and they will create more problems in tactical planning, and even put higher demands on combat troops. It may not be a hassle to solve one problem alone, but it is very troublesome to solve all problems at the same time.

In the end, Tan Renhao decided not to worry about these troublesome tactical matters for the time being, and to do a good job of the overall campaign plan first, as long as the prime minister approved the campaign operation of attacking the Panama Canal, he still had a month to plan specific tactical actions, and then he could discuss it with Hao Dongjue, Chang Jianxin, and the generals of the Marine Corps. Now, he must come up with a sound and convincing campaign plan, or he will not be able to get support from the prime minister.

Tan Renhao was busy again, this time he was full of motivation. After talking to the principal, Tan Renhao felt that this was not only realizing the strategy of the navy, but also realizing his own dream.