Nie Renfeng originally planned to go to the capital for five days, but he returned to Zhoushan after fifteen days, Luo Yunchong did not return to Zhoushan, but returned to Germany again, and the principal also brought back good news.

"The prime minister is very satisfied with Luo Yunchong, there is only one problem." The principal's expression looked a little excited, "Luo Yunchong is only 32 years old, if he is promoted to general at this time, he is too young, so the prime minister did not immediately determine it." ”

"What about the attitude on the German side?" Gan Yongxing knew that this was not a big problem, and Yuan Haoyi had just turned 30 when he became an admiral.

"There is no problem on the German side, the prime minister has directly contacted the German prime minister, and the other party is happy to award Luo Yunchong the title of honorary marshal, but the prime minister decided to give Luo Yunchong an honorary general, as for whether the Germans will give Luo Yunchong the title of honorary marshal in the future, it depends on how many more bombs Luo Yunchong can drop on the heads of the British. If everything goes well, after the defeat of Britain, even if the prime minister does not agree, the Germans will give Luo Yunchong honorary marshal. ”

"Then the problem will be solved." Hearing this, Tan Renhao was also relieved.

"Headmaster, what do you mean......"

"We will temporarily give Luo Yunchong the medal of 'Imperial Hero', and in addition, his future achievements will be included in the promotion conditions on an exceptional basis. In this way, in less than a year, Luo Yunchong will be able to become a general, or even a first-class general. ”

Gan Yongxing nodded. "It's okay, at least Luo Yunchong is more motivated."

"Does Luo Yunchong know about the Air Force?"

"The prime minister told him, so we don't need to worry, don't we?"

Tan Renhao also nodded, since the prime minister had told Luo Yunchong about the establishment of the air force, the prime minister basically confirmed that Luo Yunchong had become the first commander of the air force.

"Wei Boyu's matter is basically over now, he will definitely be finished, even if he will not be convicted of treason, the end will not be much better." Nie Renfeng glanced at Tan Renhao, "But." None of these are the issues we should be concerned about right now. The other day, Yongxing called me. Talked about the newly commissioned battleship. According to our establishment, six aircraft carriers can also form two new task forces. Do you think it's necessary for us to leave all these ships in the Pacific? ”

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, he knew that this question was raised against him. "Headmaster, if you consider the current strength of the U.S. Navy and our next combat operation, I think this is necessary."

Nie Renfeng nodded slightly. "Let's put this matter aside for now. If we continue to increase the number of task forces, how will the command problem be solved? ”

"This ......" Tan Renhao didn't know how to answer.

"I discussed it with Yongxing and thought that it was necessary to establish a higher-level ground fleet command system now." Nie Renfeng looked at Gan Yongxing.

"That is, to form a main fleet on top of the task force." Gan Yongxing took over the principal's words, "Each main fleet has a fixed task force. Then, according to the operational needs, it will be integrated into other task forces. For example, the First Task Force was established with the First Task Force as the core, in which the First Task Force was the core and fixed strength of the First Fleet. If necessary, they will be assigned to other task forces, and several task forces will be under the unified command of the commander of the first task force, and the commander of the first task force will become the commander of the main fleet, and at the same time the commander of the task force. ”

Tan Renhao was thinking quickly, before. Gan Yongxing did not mention this new system.

This is actually somewhat similar to the current fleet establishment system of the US Navy, but it is very different. Similarly, a higher-level fleet command has been set up in the task force to exercise unified command over the task forces under its jurisdiction. The difference is that the fleet of the US Navy is directly subordinate to the theater of operations, but in terms of administrative establishment, it belongs to the Naval Command, or to the Navy's Ocean Fleet Command. In this set of formations adopted by the Imperial Navy, the fleet was fundamentally directly subordinate to the naval command, and only cooperated with the theater command during operations. If the commander of the main fleet is established. Then its status should be equal to, or at least close to, the commander of the theater of operations. Compared with the commanders of other arms in the theater, the fleet has greater flexibility and autonomy in operations in the theater.

"Now we are considering the formation of at least three main fleets. Among them, the first task force and the fifth task force are the core, and a main fleet is set up for each. "Nie Renfeng's words are not very fast, as if he wants to give Tan Renhao time to think." In addition to this, there is also a main fleet, which will be selected from the second, third, and fourth task forces as the core, who do you think would be the most appropriate commander of the fleet? ”

"Headmaster, I can't answer this question!"

"Whatever you want, it's not settled yet."

Tan Renhao felt very embarrassed because he really didn't know what to choose. In terms of qualifications, Chang Xinken is definitely the number one candidate, but the problem is that the Third Task Force is only a support fleet in a large nature, and it is difficult to become the main force, and it is difficult to become the core. In terms of relationship, Tan Renhao should definitely recommend Hao Dongjue, Hao Dongjue is his brother-in-law, and he is his iron buddy, and he has followed Tan Renhao for several years, and he has no credit and hard work. But Hao Dongjue's temper, personality, and his unstable state all determined that it was difficult for him to partner with the commander of the task force now. In terms of ability and performance, Huang Xiaotian is definitely the number one candidate, but his qualifications are the lowest, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince Chang Jianxin and Hao Dongjue.

Tan Renhao secretly paid attention to the looks of the principal and the chief of staff, both of them were staring at him, which made Tan Renhao even more unsure of what to say, no matter who he recommended, he felt that it was inappropriate, or he was afraid of offending and hurting the other two.

"Headmaster, I think it's better to put this problem aside for a moment." After Tan Renhao was silent for a few minutes, Gan Yongxing helped him break the siege, "We still have to set up two task forces, and we must select two task force commanders to come out, this matter is also very important, and now that the six aircraft carriers have been delivered to the navy, we have to arrange people as soon as possible." ”

Nie Renfeng glanced at Tan Renhao again, and then took his eyes off Tan Renhao. "I'm thinking about this too, but we're not going to set up two task forces, but three task forces."

Tan Renhao raised his head in surprise, even if there are still seven aircraft carriers that can be transferred, is the principal going to lower the establishment standard of the newly established task force?

"In addition to the two aircraft carrier task forces, the four battleships separated from the third task force will be organized into a new task force." Nie Renfeng's words explained Tan Renhao's doubts. "Some time ago, Weng Yiming sent back his battle plan. Now that the situation in the Pacific has eased and the expansion of the Marine Corps is progressing relatively well, we are now in a position to deploy the Marine Corps to launch a strategic offensive in the South Atlantic. Weng Yiming only asked for eight marine divisions, as well as enough combat materials, and the other was the fleet. ”

"Won't Task Force 5 go over?"

"Task Force 5 is definitely going to pass. Next month, Task Force 5 will return to the Lion City, where it will take about a month to recuperate, and then it will leave for the South Atlantic Theater. Nie Renfeng continued, "Therefore, let the four battleships and escort warships form the Sixth Task Force, and the Fifth Task Force and the Sixth Task Force form the Fifth Fleet......

"Headmaster, that's not appropriate, is it?" Gan Yongxing knew that Tan Renhao wanted to oppose it, so he first raised his objections.

Tan Renhao swallowed back the words that came to his lips, the Fifth Fleet was established by General Liao Hanxiang, although it had long been abolished, but in the number of the Imperial Navy, the Fifth Fleet was of great significance to Tan Renhao, a group of young generals, how could it be handed over to Jiang Zhongmin casually?

"Why isn't it appropriate?" Nie Renfeng didn't expect so much, or he deliberately pretended not to know. "According to my idea, the number of the main fleet will be based on the number of its core task force, is there anything inappropriate about this?"

"Headmaster, I think it's too confusing to do that." Gan Yongxing also thought of a reason, "We should refer to the practice of the US Navy and use odd and even numbers to indicate the direction of the fleet." For example, in the Pacific, that is, in the singular number of fleets operating in the east of the empire, in the Indian Ocean, in the Atlantic. That is, the fleet of the western part of the empire is based on the even number. In this way, we can see at a glance which fleet is operating in which direction. Not only is this more convenient, but it also reduces the hassle. ”

Nie Renfeng laughed. "It seems. We still have to learn from the enemy. ”

"This is not a matter of learning, if it is good, we should adopt it, and if it is bad, we should abandon it, this is also the principle of survival of the empire, and it is also the principle of survival of the empire navy."

"Okay, then follow your method, and the fleet in the east will be uniformly numbered in singular. The fleet to the west was uniformly numbered in an even number. It seems that Nie Renfeng did not mean to give the name "Fifth Fleet" to Jiang Zhongmin. "Now let's get down to business. In addition to these two task forces, we also have to consider strengthening the strength of the South Atlantic side, and Weng Yiming's attack is not dominated by marines. The fleet is the main force. ”

"But ......"

Gan Yongxing kicked Tan Renhao and hurriedly said: "I also think that we should strengthen the strength of the South Atlantic, but the environment in the Atlantic Ocean is very different from that of the Pacific Ocean, and I am afraid that it will be difficult for aircraft carriers to play an important role there." ”

"But we ...... An artillery fleet is definitely needed on this side of the Pacific, and Task Force 3 can't go! Tan Renhao immediately blocked the words.

Nie Renfeng laughed. "So. Do you think there's anything you can do? ”

"Headmaster, I think we can think of something on the 1 Far East Fleet." Gan Yongxing put forward his opinion when he saw the stitches.

"You mean the German fleet?"

"Yes, now that the British Navy has blocked the Strait of Gibraltar, even if the Suez Canal route is taken, Germany's 1st Far East Fleet will only be able to operate in the Eastern Mediterranean at most, and will not play much of a role, and it will be difficult to return to the North Atlantic and reach the ports of the German mainland. If we let Weng Yiming go north this time, it will be a push towards the North Atlantic. Strive to open up the North Atlantic route. "Gan Yongxing only thought of the place temporarily, so he still has to think of reasons while talking." If we offer to let the 'Far Eastern Fleet' join the fighting in the Atlantic. And if we provide material guarantees for this fleet, then the German Navy should be happy to cooperate with us. ”

"But in this way, we have invested heavily in the Atlantic, and there is also a problem of command authority."

"Command should not be a big problem, our aviation and ground forces are fighting in Europe, and they are also under the unified command of the German High Command, and now the German Navy is fighting with us in the Atlantic, and it must also obey our command, maybe the German Navy is not very happy, but if they want to seize the North Atlantic sea supremacy, they have to rely on our strength, and by taking advantage of this, the German Navy should choose to cooperate with us." Gan Yongxing was also thinking quickly, "As for whether to invest heavy troops, this question actually does not exist, as long as the command is in our hands, how to fight, that is Weng Yiming's final say, not the Germans' final say." Without our support, the Far Eastern Fleet would not have been able to return to Germany at all, otherwise the fleet would have left the Eastern Mediterranean long ago. ”

Nie Renfeng pondered for a while and said: "Then I'll talk to the Prime Minister and Raeder first, and if the German side doesn't object, then we will determine the specific arrangements." ”

Gan Yongxing breathed a sigh of relief, and Tan Renhao also breathed a sigh of relief.

"The main problem now is to complete the new fleet command structure and confirm the new task force commander." Nie Renfeng returned to the topic, "Liao Hanxiang is responsible for the preparation and arrangement of the combat operation of attacking the Hawaiian Islands, and the combat time can be appropriately delayed, and at the same time, the activities of the US Navy must be closely monitored, at least in the short term, the US Navy will not take the initiative to provoke." In a few days, let Huang Xiaotian, Hao Dongjue, Chang Jianxin, and the chief of staff of the fleet all come back, and the fleet can also temporarily retreat to the rear, and let the theater fleet operate on the front line. After we have straightened out the command system, it is not too late to attack the Hawaiian Islands. ”

Although Tan Renhao felt that it was not a wise decision to delay the attack on the Hawaiian Islands, he also believed that the principal's arrangement was reasonable, and the command relationship was straightened out, which was of great help to the combat operation. In addition, using this time, maybe you can also equip the fleet with "Peregrine Falcon" fighters, which will definitely enhance the combat effectiveness of the fleet!