There is only one small restaurant on Iwo Jim that is owned by military families. When the three of them arrived, the restaurant had already feinted, and Hao Dongjue insisted on arguing with the boss. Seeing that it was three generals, the boss naturally didn't dare to slack off (the owners of these restaurants all have children serving in the navy, so they don't dare to offend the generals) while preparing a few side dishes, while calling the proprietress up, and arranging the three VIPs in the only private room.

"Boss, don't bother, we're here to have something to eat, and besides, get a few beers!"

Tan Renhao was also a little embarrassed, it was the middle of the night, and he quarreled with others, which was very impolite.

"Yes, just make a few side dishes, we're looking for a place to chat!"

Hearing Hao Dongjue say this, the proprietress immediately excused herself to go to the kitchen to help and leave. After a while, she brought in a few plates of cold dishes and a few bottles of beer, and then hurriedly withdrew.

"Lao Chang, how is the situation on Shaoqing's side now?"

Tan Renhao asked about the three aircraft carriers of the Second Fleet, and he did not go straight to the main body and ask about this battle.

"yes, are you being investigated?"

Hao Dongjue opened the beer.

Tan Renhao immediately glanced at Hao Dongjue, this sentence was too damaging to the atmosphere.

Chang Jianxin smiled, and then took the beer bottle. "Actually, it's nothing, the principal is very protective of us. There were indeed many people above who asked to investigate the failure of Task Force 2, and the headmaster went back. I heard that when the principal called the prime minister to talk about it, he lost his temper. ”

"In other words, the minister did not arrange an investigation?"

"Maybe that's not what Xiang meant."

Tan Renhao spoke in front of Chang Jianxin, "Now that the war is urgent, Xiang must know the severity." The Navy's investment in 24 years has already decreased a lot, and it has to withstand pressure from two directions. If the navy were to be investigated at this time, I am afraid that it would cause many people to rebel. This should not be the meaning of the phase. ”

"I heard from the principal that Xiang really didn't mean that, there were some things. You may not know ......"

I often recommend new things halfway through, and then I don't talk anymore.

Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue were secretly startled, and then looked at their friends with inquiring eyes. They didn't ask directly, but the meaning was clear. Chang Zhixin stayed in the rear for a month, and he must have known something that the two front-line generals did not know, otherwise, he would never have said this.

"I've just heard some gossip and no one can confirm it."

Chang Jianxin is still a little worried. He also glanced towards the door.

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, and then motioned for Hao Dongjue to lock the door.

"Boss, serve the food in half an hour, I'll call you later!"

Hao Dongjue yelled at the door, then closed the door, and then locked it.

"The results of the investigation into the encounter are in."

Hearing Chang Jianxin's words, the two immediately showed extremely surprised looks. After the assassination, the investigation was in full swing, but the result was no follow-up. This has always been a taboo subject. Especially after Xue Xiyue returned to power in the empire. Almost no one has come to uncover this scar of the phase. It stands to reason that the Encounter Assassination is the Empire's top priority, and the investigation should be completed soon. And it has dragged on for so long that no news has been made public. There must be a lot of hidden secrets in this.

"The assassin caught it?"

Hao Dongjue broke the silence.

"The person who planted the bomb has long been caught, and the Imperial Cabinet has not released relevant information, first, the investigation has not been completely completed, and second, it is related to Japan."

Tan Renhao nodded slightly and said, "That's for sure, otherwise we wouldn't have sent bombers to blow up the Emperor's palace!" ”

"It's not that simple, is it?"

Hao Dongjue glanced at the two of them.

Tan Renhao and Chang Jianxin both laughed, if it was really that simple, it would be good.

"Lao Chang, you mean, there are people around you ......"

Tan Renhao didn't finish his words. That's enough.

Chang Jianxin nodded slightly, lowered his voice and said, "If not, is such an attack possible?" To put it bluntly, this is a good thing done by a group of traitors! ”

"But the question is, who is ......?"

"Who doesn't matter who is this, what matters, who wants to see the end of each other?"

Chang Jianxin's words immediately reminded the two, but the taboo on this topic was too great, and the three of them fell silent. It's hard to pick out the words.

Anything like this assassination of a country's top leader is presided over by a powerful behind-the-scenes interest group. From the perspective of the Japanese, the assassination of Xue Xiyue is worth the loss. After Xue Xiyue's assassination, the two armies of the Imperial Navy and the 6th Army worked together to quickly turn the tide of the war, and also accelerated the pace of strategic counterattacks, quickly gaining the upper hand, and finally paralyzing Japan through strategic bombing. In other words, after Xue Xiyue fell, the empire not only did not fall, but also turned grief and anger into strength, strengthened war investment, and many problems that could not be solved before were successfully solved. In fact, this is precisely the reason why the empire has not advocated killing the emperor of Japan. This method of taking out the enemy chieftain is more likely to inspire the will of the whole country to resist than to break its will to resist!

It is clear that after Xue Xiyue's assassination, the empire turned its focus to Japan and sent bombers to blow up the Japanese Imperial Palace, all for political purposes, in order to divert the attention of the people, and even to use this incident to stimulate the morale of the people. And so it turned out. In other words, it is very likely that Japan has nothing to do with the assassination of Xue Xiyue, and is just a scapegoat!

Thinking of this, Tan Renhao glanced at Chang Jianxin, he didn't show the doubts in his heart.

"Anyway, someone will be unlucky!"

Chang Jianxin smiled bitterly, and then poured a sip of beer, "Okay, don't talk about this, how are you doing during this time?" ”

Seeing that Chang Jianxin took the initiative to open the topic, the two didn't ask much, after all, they are just soldiers, not politicians, and these conspiracies are not things that soldiers should ask about. Soon, the boss brought in a few fried side dishes, and then left in a funny way. Then, after the three of them talked for a while about the First Task Force, the topic shifted again, this time to the point.

"Yan Shiqi is a bastard!"

As a bystander, Hao Dongjue was even more excited than Chang Jianxin, "He is for his own victory." For his own interests, he will not consider others at all, he only values himself, not the safety of others, the life and death of others! ”

"Actually, you can't say that!"

"Chang, is there something wrong with your brain?"

Before Chang Jianxin could finish speaking, Hao Dongjue became excited, "You were almost killed this time." You can sit here and drink with our two brothers, it's just luck. Not to mention anything else, I know very well how thick the armor of the 'Gao Shilian' is, even a 2o3 mm armor-piercing bullet can't stop it, if you take a huge bullet, then we should give you a memorial service! ”

"Dongjue!"

Tan Renhao immediately glared at the excited Hao Dongjue.

"What, is there something wrong with my words?"

Hao Dongjue almost jumped up, "That bastard was derelict in his duty and used you as a shield." Buried so many officers and soldiers. If I were the Marshal of the Imperial Navy. Send him to court-martials now, and let him eat in prison for the rest of his life! ”

"But we won, and it was a decisive victory!"

Chang Zhixin shook his head as he spoke.

Tan Renhao sighed secretly and shook his head. Hao Dongjue picked up the wine bottle and poured a few sips, as if to extinguish the anger in his heart.

"Sometimes I wonder what we did this time, but I don't think Yan Shiqi did anything wrong."

Chang Jianxin took out a cigarette, he had already drunk three bottles of beer, and his expression was slightly excited. "Judging from the actions of the Third Task Force this time, the biggest mistake should be in judging the enemy. Yan Shiqi can't be blamed for this. I have already read the communication records of the various fleets at that time, and Yan Shiqi did not know the exact movements of the 'Z fleet' before he went south, and this responsibility should lie with the intelligence department and the reconnaissance fuselage of the HNA . If I were in Yan Shiqi's position, I would not hesitate to lead the fleet south and widen the distance, which would be conducive to the fleet changing arrays in the engagement. In fact, it was at this point that the 'Z Fleet' was completely wiped out. They were too close to the island, and there was no room for detours, and in the end they were passively beaten, which led to a crushing defeat. If the position of Task Force 3 and Fleet Z were reversed, the result might have been different. ”

Chang Jianxin is the one who knows the most about artillery battle tactics among the three, and his words are reasonable, and he hit the nail on the head, and Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue also have to be convinced.

"If you want to blame, you can only blame me for the choices I made."

Chang Jianxin smiled bitterly, "More than 1ooo officers and soldiers died because of my decision, this is ......"

"Chang, your decision is not wrong."

Tan Renhao knew that Chang Jianxin was blaming himself, "I have seen your combat records, if the Second Task Force did not go north at that time, then there would be no brilliant results of the Third Task Force in annihilating the 'Z Fleet'." To evaluate the credit, the second task force should be credited! Of course, sacrifice is inevitable, and if there is no sacrifice of the second task force, how can there be victory later? ”

Chang Jianxin smiled bitterly and nodded. "That's all I can think of. When I was returning home, I was writing a report on the situation of the battle, and I wrote it more than a dozen times, but I didn't write it out. Now when I go back, I have to sign and seal the letters of condolence to the families of the officers and soldiers who died in battle, I am afraid that it will ......."

"When are you going back?"

Hao Dongjue asked beside him.

"Tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow."

Hao Dongjue glanced at Tan Renhao, and then said to Hao Dongjue: "Then I'll wait to help you, in fact, this matter is ......."

"There's no need, I'll do it myself, and ......"

"Why are we two brothers talking about this?"

Hao Dongjue patted his friend's shoulder, "Although we are not in the same fleet now, we are still brothers, aren't we?" ”

"Yes, let Dong Jue help you, anyway, we shouldn't have any tasks in the past two days, if there is, he can rush back."

Tan Renhao also spoke.

Chang Zhixin glanced at the two of them gratefully, and then nodded with a smile.

"Okay, let's not talk about these unpleasant things, what are your plans for going back this time?"

Tan Renhao opened the topic.

"No news has yet been received, and the restoration of the combat effectiveness of the Second Fleet is key."

Chang Jianxin lit a cigarette, "Have you received any information?" The U.S. Atlantic Task Force has arrived, and with all four of their carriers ready for service by the end of next month, there will certainly be a tough battle then. Ren Hao, I believe in your ability to take out the 17th Task Force without any damage, I'm afraid it's really hard to find your opponent. But Task Force 1 is fighting alone, which is not always a good thing! ”

Tan Renhao laughed. "Of course, if I can join hands with you to face the enemy, then I am 100% sure that I can defeat any opponent. By the way, how much do you know about the commander of the US Task Force 16? ”

Chang Jianxin was stunned for a moment, and then gritted his teeth. Information about Rear Admiral Halsey, commander of the 16th U.S. Task Force, arrived more than ten days ago. It was Halsey's surprise attack that defeated Task Force 2, and with that, Chang Jiexin would not have any good feelings for this opponent.

"But it's just a major general, what's there to worry about?"

Tan Renhao glanced at his partner and said, "I have read Halsey's information, although it is not very complete, but I think he is a very powerful opponent. If he doesn't recover by the end of March, we'll have one less tough opponent! ”

"What about Fletcher?"

Chang recommended a new question.

"The general of the defeated army!"

Tan Renhao sneered, "Since I have already defeated him once, then I am sure to defeat him again." Moreover, he is still lying in the hospital, and it is a question whether he will be able to leave the hospital next month. ”

"If Halsey recovers, then we'll have to face an even tougher opponent!"

"Don't worry, with us joining forces, what are you afraid of?"

Tan Renhao patted Chang Jianxin on the shoulder, "As long as Halsey is in charge this time, whether it is us or you guys, we must deal with him!" ”

Chang Zhixin nodded, then took a sharp puff of his cigarette and extinguished the pipe in the ashtray.

The three of them were full, had drunk enough, and talked about it. After Tan Renhao went to the boss to settle the bill, he first sent Chang Jianxin and Hao Dongjue to the destroyer of the Second Task Force, and then returned to the "Yangtze River" aircraft carrier. Because this is only a temporary fleet anchorage, there is no camp on the shore for the officers and men of the fleet to stay, and even generals like Tan Renhao can only live on the battleship. Of course, the fleet is still operating in the theater of operations, and without a special order, any officer and soldier must remain at his post.