It was not until he talked with the principal that Tan Renhao knew that in fact, the principal did not list him as a candidate for the commander of the joint theater, after all, Tan Renhao, as the commander of the fleet, was not suitable for the post of commander of the theater under the circumstances at that time.

"In other words, the contradiction between the two of them is not small?" After listening to Tan Renhao's general account, Renfeng's expression became serious.

"Although the contradiction has not been directly manifested, the discord between the two is certain." Tan Renhao noticed the change in the principal's expression, "Originally, I wanted to find an opportunity to resolve the conflict between them, but as soon as I finished fighting with the Atlantic Fleet, I received an order to go back to Zhoushan, so I didn't find a chance to talk to them alone." ”

"It's okay, when you get back, you have time to talk to them alone." Nie Renfeng crossed his hands. "Actually, I mentioned this to Yan Dingyu. You should know Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng well, and when he was fighting in Australia, Gu Xunlei also had close contact with the navy. Listening to Yan Dingyu, Gu Xunlei belongs to the kind of person who dares to act, and Han Shaofeng is also such a person, both of them have fiery tempers, and when they meet together, there will definitely be problems. ”

"I've read a document given to me by the chief of staff, the prime minister has set a deadline for Han Shaofeng, I'm afraid Gu Xunlei also got an ultimatum, right?"

"Yongxing showed you the document? That's true, otherwise Yan Dingyu wouldn't have taken the initiative to come to me to discuss a solution, to be honest, Yan Dingyu really valued Gu Xunlei, looking at his original appearance, it seemed that Gu Xunlei was his godson. Nie Renfeng laughed, "But." This is also important to us. Before I went to Tehran, Yan Guozhong came to me several times, hoping that I would come forward to coordinate with the army. I heard that he also went to find several army generals, and looking at Yan Guozhong's appearance, he was ready to protect Han Shaofeng to the death. ”

"Yan Guozhong is Han Shaofeng's old superior, and he has always valued Han Shaofeng, if Yan Guozhong is not active, it will be strange."

"This thing. We have to resolve the differences, whether for the Army or for our Navy, there is no good for differences, only by working together can we achieve a win-win situation. "Nie Renfeng bypassed Yan Guozhong." I had a general discussion with Yan Dingyu, and we both felt that the only way was to set up a joint theater command to merge the Mexican theater with the Caribbean theater. Appoint a commander to command combat operations in a unified manner, and both the army and navy must actively cooperate. ”

"If there is support from the commands of the two services, this should not be much of a problem. It's just ...... in terms of candidates."

"That's what I'm going to talk to you about." Ren Feng interrupted Tan Renhao's words, "Which one do you think is more suitable, Gu Xunlei or Han Shaofeng?" ”

"This ......" Tan Renhao didn't dare to open the yellow cavity at this time, whether it was Gu Xunlei or Han Shaofeng. They were all his friends, and he didn't want to offend any of them.

"What, is there anything you can't say?" Nie Renfeng saw Tan Renhao's embarrassment, "Don't worry, it's just the two of us here, and I won't talk nonsense." Do you think the headmaster is a gossip person? ”

"It's not, it's just ......" Tan Renhao scratched his scalp, "It's just that I don't think either of them are suitable." ”

.::

"Let's put it this way, no matter which of the two of them becomes the new theater commander, the other will not be convinced, and in the end it will only expand the problem, and," Tan Renhao quickly found a suitable reason. "Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng are both generals of the ground forces, and their abilities in other aspects are obviously lacking. And. They only have a high enough prestige and prestige in their own troops, while the officers and men of other units do not know enough about them, so naturally they cannot convince the public. If our ultimate goal is to carry out strategic bombing against the United States as soon as possible, then we have to think about future combat operations, and neither of them is a suitable commander. Of course, considering the inherent contradictions between the army and the navy, they are not suitable candidates. ”

"When you say that, I really think of a suitable candidate."

Tan Renhao looked at the principal, and then he understood who the principal was talking about.

"What do you think?" Nie Renfeng knew that Tan Renhao thought of the same person as him.

"You mean Luo Yunchong?" Tan Renhao was still a little unsure if the principal was talking about Luo Yunchong.

.=..; of the Admiral.

"This ......" Tan Renhao thought for a moment, "judging from the current situation." Luo Yunchong is indeed the only candidate, but he is probably not as good as a colonel in commanding ground battles and naval battles. ”

"With you, as well as Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng, is this a problem?"

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, and now he understood what the principal meant. If Luo Yunchong is appointed as the new theater commander, his main task is only to command the strategic bombing of the United States, and before that, he is only responsible for coordinating the cooperation between the army and the navy, so it is necessary to arrange several theater deputy commanders, or senior positions such as deputy chief of staff, such as Tan Renhao is in charge of fleet operations, Gu Xunlei is in charge of the army, and Han Shaofeng is in charge of the marines, but they all have to obey Luo Yunchong's orders. Luo Yunchong, on the other hand, directly obeys the orders of the Navy and Army Command, and may even directly obey the orders of the Prime Minister. In this way, there will be no direct conflict between Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng, and the army and navy will also be able to conduct joint operations instead of attacking the United States alone.

Judging from the situation at that time, Luo Yunchong was definitely the most suitable candidate.

First of all, Luo Yunchong would not compete with Gu Xunlei and Han Shaofeng for the command of the ground forces, so he would not pose a threat to the two of them. Second, Luo Yunchong has a very good service record in both the army and the navy, and he has a good relationship with the current high-level of the army and navy, and it is easy to get the support of the top leaders of the army and navy. Third, Luo Yunchong's ability to command and plan strategic bombing is an important guarantee for striking at the US mainland and intensifying strategic bombing in the future. Fourth, Luo Yunchong has a good personal relationship with Gu Xunlei, Han Shaofeng, and Tan Renhao, and can get the approval of the three of them, which will help him coordinate the actions between the various troops. Finally, and most importantly, Luo Yunchong is the first commander of the Imperial Air Force determined by the Prime Minister, and he definitely needs more combat exploits, so the Prime Minister will

For this appointment, it will even agree to the establishment of a joint war between the army and the navy, thus avoiding trouble on the Prime Minister's side.

Based on these points, it can be said that Luo Yunchong has become an ironclad candidate. Of course, if Lu Hang's affairs make him unable to leave, then he will have to consider a trade-off. From the Army's point of view, giving Luo Yunchong more opportunities now is actually equivalent to winning over the newly established Air Force in the future, which is also of great benefit, so Yan Dingyu will not necessarily let Luo Yunchong put down the Army Aviation and go to the work of the theater commander. In other words, Luo Yunchong is very likely to concurrently serve as the commander of the theater of operations as the commander of the army and navy, thus becoming the only general in the imperial navy and army who serves as the commander of the arms and the theater commander at the same time, thus becoming the most powerful general besides the commander-in-chief of the navy and the army.

Thinking of this, Tan Renhao was a little red-eyed, and even regretted that he didn't hug the aviation school at the beginning, but hugged the Haiyuan. But thinking about it the other way, not everyone has the opportunity, and everyone's opportunity is different, if he had applied for the aviation school, I am afraid that Tan Renhao would have been a super pilot at most in the war. Moreover, with Tan Renhao's achievements in the navy now, it is enough for everyone else to be jealous, so is it necessary to envy others?

After Nie Renfeng's approval, this matter was basically decided. On the same day, Nie Renfeng talked to Yan Dingyu on the phone, and after explaining the situation, Yan Dingyu was naturally full of approval. Anyway, the Air Force has not yet been established, and Luo Yun is still wearing the army's general uniform, just as Tan Renhao speculated, Yan Dingyu doesn't want to offend the future Air Force commander, so naturally he can't wait to let Luo Yun Chong take this important position.

With the support of the two commanders, the Army Command quickly submitted the establishment of the Joint Theater Command to the Prime Minister in writing, who was also worried about how to deal with the United States. Even had to make concessions to Germany for this. After the Army Command submitted this proposal, the prime minister naturally did not object, as long as it can defeat the United States faster and at a lower cost, it is worth adopting.

On 4 July, that is, on the afternoon of the day when Yan Dingyu formally submitted the establishment of the Joint Theater Command, the prime minister called Nie Renfeng and asked Nie Renfeng to cooperate with Yan Dingyu as soon as possible to finalize the matter. And this time. In order to show that the navy has also made great efforts, and that the navy is also an indispensable part of the newly established theater of operations, Yan Dingyu and Luo Yunchong will come to Zhoushan to discuss with Renfeng the establishment of a joint theater command.

On 5 July, the plane in which Yan Dingyu and Luo Yunchong were riding landed at Zhoushan Airport. At that time, Yan Dingyu's condition had just improved a little, and he had not fully recovered. Tan Renhao accompanied Nie Renfeng to the airport to greet the two heavyweights, while Gan Yongxing was in charge of preparing the reception of the two important guests at the Navy Headquarters.

This is the first time Tan Renhao has met Yan Dingyu since he last went to the capital to report to the prime minister on the next stage of the navy's strategic plan. In his opinion, Yan Dingyu was much older, as if he was in his twenties older than the principal, but in fact, Yan Dingyu was only a few years older than Nie Renfeng. Maybe it's because I'm still sick. On the contrary, among the three heavyweights, Luo Yunchong is too immature, and it is no wonder that many people thought that Luo Yunchong could not be the commander of the army aviation, after all, compared to the two military commanders, Luo Yunchong was nearly 30 years younger. For soldiers, 30 years of accumulation cannot be compensated for by any of their conditions.

The ritual of entertaining two dignitaries is simple, to be precise, there is no ceremony. After arriving in Zhoushan, Yan Dingyu and Luo Yunchong went to the Navy Hotel first, of course. They all had the best suites. In the afternoon, Ren Feng and Gan Yongxing, together with several major generals of the Navy Command, welcomed the arrival of the two guests in the large conference room of the new headquarters. Of course, Tan Renhao is also among them.

At that time, Tan Renhao didn't know that this was actually the first time that the commander of the Imperial Army came to Zhoushan during the entire war (Nie Renfeng had never been to the Army Headquarters), if it wasn't for this incident, I am afraid that until the end of the war, Yan Dingyu would not know what Zhoushan was like. This can be seen from this. At that time, to what extent did the contradictions and estrangement between the land and navy of the empire reach? To use a common saying to describe it, that is, "chickens and dogs smell each other, and old and dead do not get along". Yan Dingyu was the sixth army commander to visit the naval headquarters in more than 300 years after the establishment of the imperial navy, and it was the eleventh time that the army commander came to the naval headquarters in more than 300 years. Other words. Only one in five army commanders have been to the Navy Command, and on average once every thirty years!

If not the need for confidentiality. I am afraid that the meeting between the commanders of the army and navy in Zhoushan will become the first news that caused a sensation in the whole empire at that time. Later, an officer who had attended this meeting and was more familiar with the history of the Imperial Navy wrote a book about this meeting and the grievances between the Imperial Army and Navy after retiring from the army. The book bought more than 200,000 copies, and became the main way for ordinary people at that time to understand the history of the Imperial Navy and why the Imperial Army and Navy had always been in conflict for hundreds of years.

On the matter of establishing a joint command, Nie Renfeng and Yan Dingyu had already made a decision, and even made a decision. On the contrary, Luo Yunchong was a little hesitant to serve as the new theater commander. At that time, Luo Yunchong basically did not express his position, and he had been attending the meeting as Yan Dingyu's entourage.

Luo Yunchong's concerns are understandable, as a general who has risen through the war, caution is an important guarantee that he can climb to today's position, and he will definitely worry that he will not be able to command the combat operation well, and he will have to take responsibility, and eventually lose his future. At that time, it was impossible for Luo Yunchong to directly say his thoughts, and it was impossible to discuss with the officers of the Navy Command, he could only consult with Tan Renhao, who was most familiar with him and had joined forces to blow up Japan.

Tan Renhao didn't expect Luo Yunchong himself to hesitate, but as a result, before Nie Renfeng and Yan Dingyu made a decision, he had to try to convince Luo Yunchong first, which was not an easy thing.