Tan Renhao received a telegram from Qiu Gengbo's group at 12:15, and the reconnaissance plane returned after 11:15, and the last "Osprey" on a reconnaissance mission landed on the flight deck at 11:45 (the reconnaissance plane that carried out the first round of reconnaissance missions, and the reconnaissance plane that was later sent to the south had already received the call of the fleet and was returning to the fleet at this time, and returned to the fleet at about 12 o'clock). And in preparation to continue the offensive. At half past eleven, he ordered the returning reconnaissance planes to immediately hang up their torpedoes (some of them were bombs and bombarded horizontally) and prepare for the attack as quickly as possible. However, according to the situation at that time, these bombers could not take off before 12 o'clock. And at this time, the second batch of reconnaissance aircraft is returning home, and the flight deck utilization of the two aircraft carriers in the fleet will reach the limit, and it is even more impossible for the bombers to take off.

When the two aircraft carriers received the returning reconnaissance planes and cleared out the flight deck, it was already 12:18, and at this time, Tan Renhao had just received the battle report of the Qiu Gengbo aircraft group, and he and Hao Dongjue were hesitant on the question of whether to send the third batch of bombers.

Tan Renhao has only two choices, platoon, or not. In Qiu Gengbo's report, the 17th Task Force had been defeated, and although the two aircraft carriers were not sunk immediately, with the arrival of Yang Qinkai's group, the 24 bombs were still very sure of the two aircraft carriers that had already been heavily damaged and were about to sink. But the problem is that the two aircraft carriers have not yet sunk, and Yang Qinkai will not return to the battle report until at least half past twelve, or even at twelve :40, and the interval of about twenty minutes in the middle may determine the final result on the rapidly changing battlefield.

And that's not the most important thing, waiting twenty minutes may not be a problem, the American fleet can't go far in twenty minutes. What worries Tan Renhao the most is the bombers of the Americans. Forty minutes before Qiu Gengbo's battle report returned, that is, when the escort fighters had seized air supremacy of the 17th Task Force, Major Ellsloer had already returned with a telegram. The main content of the telegram was, and it was determined that it was Task Force 17. There are two fleet aircraft carriers in the fleet. In addition, the number of fleet air defense fighters (the main basis for the commander to determine the number of escort fighters when arranging the follow-up bombing) and whether or not there is an enemy bomber group (the main basis for the commander to arrange the fleet air defense and estimate the arrival time of the enemy bomber group) is also here, and in the Ellsloer telegram, there is no mention of bombers over the 17th Task Force at all, and it is also emphasized that there are no existing bombers on the flight decks of the two aircraft carriers of the 17th Task Force. There are also no signs of existing sorties of bombers.

If it were other commanders, they would have overlooked this, but that's what Tan Renhao was worried about. There were no bombers over the American fleet, and there were no bombers on aircraft carriers. So, where did the hundreds of bombers carried by the two fleet aircraft carriers go? Thinking of the US reconnaissance plane that was shot down before 9:50 a.m., Tan Renhao was even more worried. As a matter of fact, from the moment he discharged the bomber group and received the reconnaisance planes returning home, Tan Renhao always had a feeling of fear. If the American bombers had taken off in time, the American bomber group would have arrived in an hour and a half. It's only two hours at most. But by half-past eleven. There were still no fighters patrolling the perimeter of the fleet, and there were no unidentified targets from the fleet's six radar-mounted warships. Before twelve o'clock, Tan Renhao inquired about the situation again. But there was still no sign of the arrival of the American bomber group.

At this time, Tan Renhao was confused, as were Hao Dongjue and a few staff officers who understood. The fighter group led by Ellsler arrived at about 11:10 a.m., and if the American bombers had already left the ground at 12 o'clock, they should have reached within 50 nautical miles of the 1st Task Force at 12 o'clock, and this had already entered the fleet's air defense alert range (the radar on the battleship had at least 5o nautical miles of detection distance for the aircraft group at an altitude of 3ooo meters). Moreover, will the US shore-based bombers on Guam also stand still? If the bombers had taken off after receiving the news, they would have been killed before half past eleven.

These questions made Tan Renhao more cautious in making his decision, and he also issued an order at 11:45 a.m. (that is, after all the first batch of reconnaissance planes had returned). Have a squad and a half of fighters return to both carriers, fill up with fuel, and then take off before the second group of reconnaissance planes returns. Thanks to the efforts of the officers and men of the aviation service, 24 "Falcons" were eventually refueled, and these fighters could persist in patrolling for at least two and a half hours (retaining 15 minutes of residual fuel from the battle and 15 minutes of residual fuel for returning home).

"The bomber is being refueled, do you need to hang a torpedo?"

Hao Dongjue finally couldn't help but come to ask Tan Renhao, and it was twelve twenty-two at this time.

Tan Renhao's left hand holding the cigarette butt stayed in the air for a few seconds. His gaze fell on Hao Dongjuedi. Hesitation is only a matter of five minutes, and within these five minutes, Tan Renhao has already made a decision. He nodded slightly, then took a hateful puff, dropped the cigarette butt on the floor, and stomped it down hard.

Hao Dongjue's gaze stayed on Tan Renhao's face for two seconds, and then he turned around sharply and said loudly: "The bomber immediately hangs the bomb and prepares." Let the pilots gather in the aviation war room and tell Zhang Zhitao that in five minutes, I will personally do the pre-war briefing! ”

The staff officers who were still watching the commander and the chief of staff at the beginning immediately went into action, some were shouting orders, some were quickly sorting out the information (mainly the information of the enemy fleet, the bomber pilots had to know which battleships had not been sunk and which ones were worth bombing) and everyone was busy.

After Hao Dongjue walked away, Tan Renhao let out a dark sigh. Before making this decision, he was also very conflicted. If it retreats at this point, Task Force 1 will be able to win, but at the same time, it may lose its best chance to completely annihilate Task Force 17. If it attacked at this time, the 1st Task Force would have to risk being attacked by the enemy, but at the same time, it also seized the opportunity to completely annihilate the 17th Task Force. He can't have it both ways, he has to make a trade-off. Before the enemy bomber group arrived, Tan Renhao chose to attack. When he made this decision, there was no longer a contradiction, when the opportunity to attack was in front of him, when the opportunity to annihilate the 17th Task Force was at hand. He will never give up, and will definitely seize this opportunity!

Of course, Tan Renhao thought more. In exchange for Task Force 1, he would still be the victor. After the loss of Task Force 17, the United States will only have two aircraft carriers still operating, and only Task Force 16 will still be able to operate. The Tang Empire had two task forces, the Second Task Force and the Third Task Force, as well as three aircraft carriers. At that time, the US Navy will not be able to counterattack Asunción. Not even the ability to defend the Mariana Islands. The Tang Imperial Navy still has sea supremacy, and it can still launch the next round of attacks! Therefore, even if a one-to-one exchange is made, the advantage is still on the side of the Tang Imperial Navy!

At this time, there are too many reasons for Tan Renhao to choose to attack, his personality (never give up halfway) the needs of the battle, the strategic goals that the battle needs to achieve. All of these made him choose to attack, rather than retreat at this time. Of course. He also thinks. Since the American bomber group did not arrive an hour late, why couldn't it be another hour late? He only needed an hour to wait for the escort fighter group led by Ellsler to return. The air defense of the fleet will be strengthened, and it will have enough ability to withstand the bombing of the US forces.

At 12:32 p.m., after the pilot listened to the briefing, he boarded the plane (the two aircraft carriers were broadcast between the two aircraft carriers, and Hao Dongjue made a unified pre-war deployment), and then the bomber with the torpedo was transported to the flight deck by the 6 plane. Like the second wave of bombers led by Yang Qinkai, Zhang Zhitao and they will not get the cover of fighters this time. In fact, there is no need for it, the "Falcon" group led by Ellsler has already taken out the fighters of the American fleet, and the bombers can attack unimpeded.

Tan Renhao walked to the porthole on the left side and watched Zhang Zhitao's landline being dragged onto the catapult. The bombers flew for hours on end, and the attendants were able to do the simplest of repairs. The performance of the aircraft is not at its peak. But now I can't do so much. Then, the first two Ospreys left the flight deck, and then the second group of two Ospreys was towed......

"Commander, a telegram from Yang Qinkai's group."

Tan Renhao was startled, and immediately took the telegram, he first glanced at the navigation clock, twelve thirty-eight, and then picked up the telegram. When he finished reading the telegram, he immediately said to the communications staff officer who was waiting next to him: "Stop taking off immediately." Cancel the third wave of bombing, and, call the chief of staff! ”

At this time, eight "Ospreys" had already left the "Yangtze River" aircraft carrier, 14 were still parked on the deck (two of them were unable to participate in the bombing operation due to malfunction), and six "Ospreys" on the "Xuanzong" aircraft carrier had already taken off. The flight attendants and pilots on the flight deck were all surprised, and it was certainly not a trivial matter to cancel the bombing halfway. The orderlies were also in no hurry to return the bombers to the hangar, and who can be sure that the commander would not change the order again?

"What's wrong?"

Hao Dongjue shouted as soon as he rushed into the command cabin.

"There's no need for a third wave of bombing."

Tan Renhao handed the telegram to Hao Dongjue, "Yang Qinkai has just returned, the 'Wasp' has been blown up, and the 'Lexington' has been hit by more than 20 bombs and torpedoes, and it is about to sink. ”

Hao Dongjue glanced at Tan Renhao in disbelief, and then quickly skimmed through the contents of the telegram.

"Empty the flight deck immediately."

Tan Renhao didn't explain much, "The escort fighters led by An Shile will return to the fleet in about fifteen minutes. To prepare the service personnel, it is necessary to get these fighters back on flight as soon as possible to strengthen the air defense of the fleet. ”

"A group of American bombers is coming?"

Hao Dongjue said as he nodded to the staff officer standing on his left, asking him to arrange it immediately.

"Commander, do you need to land the take-off Osprey?"

Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue both glanced at the staff officer, and both of them forgot about it.

"Do you need to ask? Not ...... yet"

"Let's not rush to land."

Tan Renhao didn't wait for Hao Dongjue to finish speaking, "Let them hover over the fleet, and then let them land after the fighters return and take off." ”

The staff officer walked away, feeling a little talkative.

"The American bomber group is definitely on the way, maybe missed with us, maybe looking for us."

Tan Renhao pulled Hao Dongjue aside, "Now, let's retreat immediately, if we can retreat with our whole body, then we have obtained a perfect victory, it's not worth paying the price at this time!" ”

Hao Dongjue laughed, killing two American aircraft carriers, this is already a very huge victory, if you can really get out of the way, then it will not be just a huge victory!

Tan Renhao glanced at the navigation clock, it was already 12:43, and the fleet of Ansler would return at about 12:55 (the escort fighters were much faster than the bombers) about 1:30, and there would be 68 fighters (during the escort operation, four "Falcon" fighters were lost) to carry out the fleet air defense mission, and these fighters could intercept at least 100 bombers (Tan Renhao already had enough confidence in the performance of the "Falcon") and no matter whether it was the US shore-based bomber force on Guam, Or Task Force 17, the maximum number of bombers that can be sent is this size. As long as it can withstand the first wave of bombing by the US military, it will be impossible for the US military to organize a second wave of bombing before dark. The fleet can take advantage of the cover of night to withdraw from dangerous seas. More than ten hours, enough for the fleet to sail hundreds of nautical miles! Whether you can get the perfect victory depends on the exhibition in the next six hours!

When the aviation crew was busy returning the bombers to the hangar in preparation for the return of the fighters; When the pilots on the bombers were returning to the inside of the aircraft carrier, the sharp air defense sirens suddenly sounded. Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue were taken aback, and then both of them looked at the staff officer in charge of the fleet's air defense guard at the same time......