Most of the investigations were conducted in secret, and the biggest difference between the Navy Command and the previous ones was that there were many more military police in black uniforms than in the past, and an additional military police guard was set up outside the headquarters compound. However, it was the sudden addition of Imperial Government officials in short Tang costumes that really attracted attention, and almost all of them were sure that some of these officials were good counter-espionage agents who were disguised as officials.

Tan Renhao's mood is also very low, he is one of the first to be questioned, that is, to receive special care, although Gan Yongxing has said many times that his family will not be affected, but Tan Renhao can not feel at ease. He is not yet familiar with political struggle, but he knows very well in his heart that the political battlefield is even more cruel than the real battlefield, it is a killing field where there is no bloodshed, but his life will be lost, and any defeat will not escape the fate of destruction. This can be regarded as talking about Renhao's superficial understanding of politics.

At this time, Tan Renhao even had the idea of retreating bravely, if it weren't for his family, the principal's trust, the chief of staff's respect for him, and the support of so many brothers and friends, Tan Renhao might really propose to be transferred to a position where there is not much real power at this time. In fact, there are really some admirals and officers of the navy who chose to be dismissed at this time.

Later, Tan Renhao learned that a large part of these people who took the initiative to resign were implicated or suspicious, and if he also took the initiative to resign at that time, I am afraid it would not be as simple as being questioned.

The command of the Navy is no longer calm, almost every day several officers suddenly "disappear from the world", and no one dares to ask. It was as if the entire command was enveloped in an atmosphere of terror. It wasn't until late January, after the departure of some government officials in short Tang costumes, that the atmosphere eased a little. This is the result of Nie Renfeng's direct negotiations with the prime minister. The war is far from over. If the investigation affects the combat operations of the Navy, it will be more than worth the loss. The Prime Minister is not stupid either. And at the same time that Nie Renfeng was complaining, Yan Dingyu was also complaining that the army was more affected than the navy, and Xue Xiyue had to make concessions, after all, winning the war was the fundamental interest of the empire.

Tan Renhao also spent more than ten days in this uneasy atmosphere. He really wanted to get back to the fleet soon. However, because the investigation of the case involving Chaijiadi had not yet been completed (at that time, there were several officers from the Navy Personnel Department and the Reserve Department who were implicated in the case), Tan Renhao could not leave the headquarters. Nie Renfeng would also call him over to chat a few words almost every other day, first, to let Tan Renhao not worry, and secondly, to stabilize Tan Renhao's mood, and to ensure that after the investigation related to Tan Renhao was over, he would be immediately asked to return to the fleet. Nie Renfeng has done his best to protect Tan Renhao, the investigation was initiated by the prime minister, and all the investigating officials are directly responsible to the prime minister. Nie Renfeng couldn't interfere too much.

In addition to getting news from Nie Renfeng, Tan Renhao also asked Du Xing to inquire about some news, of course. Duchenne acted very cautiously, mainly exchanging information with adjutants in other places. This was also Tan Renhao's main source at the time. On this day, he learned that the investigation related to the Chai family's case had been completed and that the officers were no longer under suspicion. Immediately went to find Nie Renfeng, ready to take the initiative to return to the fleet. To put it bluntly, Tan Renhao didn't want to stay in the headquarters for a day, and he even proposed to his wife to let his wife go back to his hometown for a while. Maybe this can be regarded as an escape, but under the circumstances at that time, let alone talking about Renhao, even Gan Yongxing wanted to escape.

When he came to Nie Renfeng's office, Tan Renhao found that Gan Yongxing was also here, and both of them looked a little dull, there were still a few documents on the coffee table, Nie Renfeng and Gan Yongxing were looking at the documents, the room was filled with smoke, it seemed that Gan Yongxing smoked a lot of cigarettes.

"Ren Hao, you came at the right time, are you going to propose to me about returning to the fleet?"

Tan Renhao nodded at the principal, and then walked over.

"I was still discussing this with Yongxing at first, but I just received a telegram, and it seems that you may have to stay here for a few more days."

"Telegram?" Tan Renhao immediately became nervous, "Aren't all the investigations related to the Chai family over?" ”

"The investigation in this area is indeed over, and the telegram is from Cape Town." Nie Renfeng handed a telegram to Tan Renhao, "The signatures are Weng Yiming and Jiang Zhongmin." ”

Tan Renhao was taken aback again, and then immediately looked at it. This is an urgent telegram from the South Atlantic Theater of Operations, and the telegram has only one message, that is, the South Atlantic Fleet has suffered heavy losses and is withdrawing from Cape Town to Port Moroni. The telegram did not specifically mention the loss of the fleet, but emphasized that the fleet had suffered heavy losses and was in the process of retreating, and that Weng Yiming had been wounded and was now being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. After reading the contents of the telegram, Tan Renhao glanced at the documents on the table and found that they were all documents related to the South Atlantic Theater, the South Atlantic Fleet, and the Fifth Task Force, as well as several personnel documents. At this time, Tan Renhao knew in his heart that the South Atlantic side must have suffered a defeat, and it was a big defeat.

Seeing that Gan Yongxing and Nie Renfeng didn't speak, Tan Renhao didn't rush to ask, and he definitely hadn't sent back the detailed battle report yet, otherwise Nie Renfeng would definitely mention it, he also picked up a document from the table and looked at it carefully. It is certainly not a trivial matter that the South Atlantic side has suffered a defeat, and according to the current situation, Weng Yiming and Jiang Zhongmin are likely to retreat directly to Colombo, which will give up the entire southern Indian Ocean, and if the British expeditionary fleet goes all the way north, the lifeline of the North Indian Ocean will be threatened, which is a threat that the empire cannot bear. Therefore, the Navy will definitely send a fleet to block the British Expeditionary Fleet, and now, either the first task force or the third task force will be sent there, or both task forces will be sent over, and this will inevitably affect the battle in the Pacific.

The more he thought about it, the more upset Tan Renhao became, he could only force himself to calm down, not to think about those problems that he couldn't solve, and not to make random guesses. Once the situation is clear, the principal will naturally make a decision.

After a while, the secretary sent more information. This information is all previously received in relation to the British Expeditionary Fleet. The content of the information has been revised, and all pieces of information have been collated. Tan Renhao also quickly focused his attention on this information. That's when he thought. How did the British Expeditionary Fleet defeat the not weak South Atlantic Fleet and the Fifth Task Force?

Weng Yiming has six battleships in his hands, although these six battleships are all old ships built during World War I, but their combat effectiveness is still not to be underestimated. And Jiang Zhongmin's Fifth Fleet had one fleet aircraft carrier, two small aircraft carriers, and numerous cruisers. Destroyers, the strength of which should not be underestimated. Even if the strength of the British Expeditionary Fleet is not bad, if you want to completely defeat the South Atlantic Fleet and the Fifth Task Force, this is obviously a very unrealistic thing, and there must be something unexpected, otherwise, Weng Yiming and Jiang Zhongmin would not have sent such an urgent telegram, let alone take the initiative to withdraw from Cape Town!

More than an hour later, a telegram of more than 20 pages was sent over, which was the specific battle situation sent back by Weng Yiming. Tan Renhao's question was also answered in this telegram. Weng Yiming: They did fail. And it was a fiasco, so defeated that there was no way to fight back, but this was not the problem of Weng Yiming and Jiang Zhongmin. Rather, it is caused by other uncontrollable factors.

After all three of them had finished reading the telegram, the room fell silent. The problem is already in front of us, the Empire's defense line in the South Atlantic has collapsed, and in the Indian Ocean. The empire did not have any decent fleet. The main fleet of the Persian Imperial Navy was almost entirely in the Eastern Mediterranean, and it was impossible to divide forces in the Indian Ocean, and according to the agreement between the Tang Empire and the Persian Empire, the Indian Ocean was the responsibility of the Tang Empire Navy. If there was no fleet to stop the British, then the life routes in the northern Indian Ocean would be mortally threatened. Not to mention a powerful expeditionary fleet, even a few British cruisers breaking into the northern Indian Ocean route would cause huge waves.

But that's not all. The British would certainly have access to the Indian Ocean, and the Imperial Navy had several naval bases off the east coast of Africa, which, while not large enough to support large warships such as battleships, could provide support for submarines. And the British Navy has suffered so many losses in the North Atlantic, naturally knowing the power of submarines, if the British Navy is based in the ports on the east coast of Africa and let the submarines deal with the sea lines of communication in the North Indian Ocean, I am afraid that the Imperial Navy will not be able to eat and go around.

With the collapse of the South Atlantic defense, all sorts of problems were involved, not only in the interests of the Reich, but also in the fundamental interests of Germany and Persia. That is, in the afternoon of the same day, Nie Renfeng received a call from the prime minister himself, demanding that the navy must drive the British back to the Atlantic, recapture the port of Cape Town, and never let the British threaten the northern Indian Ocean route, which is the basis of the interests of the entire Allied triumvirate!

"Prime Minister, we are doing everything we can to address the threat in the Indian Ocean, but I also hope that the Navy will have more freedom to fight the enemy." Nie Renfeng euphemistically put forward his request. "Okay, I know, I will arrange it immediately, please rest assured, Prime Minister, the problem will be solved soon!"

Tan Renhao and Gan Yongxing both looked at Nie Renfeng, and they also knew that the principal's request was for the prime minister to end the investigation work within the navy, so that the navy could concentrate on dealing with the enemy's threat.

"The prime minister has promised to end the investigation for the time being." Nie Renfeng walked over, "Except for some suspects who have been confirmed to be involved in the espionage case and suspected of collaborating with the enemy and treason, all other investigations will be terminated tomorrow, and now, our task is to deal with the British expeditionary fleet and let John Bull go back to the Atlantic!" ”

"Did the Prime Minister mention time constraints and requirements?" Gan Yongxing sighed secretly, in the current situation of the great enemy, internal contradictions are always secondary.

"No, the Prime Minister only has one request, and that is that our shipping routes in the North Indian Ocean must not be threatened." Nie Renfeng shook his head, "The prime minister must have been pressured by Germany and Persia, this route is directly related to the fundamental interests of our three countries, and the Germans reacted the strongest, I think, the German prime minister must be scolding his mother behind his back." ”

"This can only be blamed on the Germans themselves, if they can contain the British Navy, then the British will not be able to arrange an expeditionary fleet at all, at least their expeditionary fleet is much smaller than it is now."

"Yongxing, now is not the time to hold anyone accountable." Nie Renfeng glanced at Gan Yongxing, "What we have to do now is to immediately find a way to drive the British back to their hometown." Renhao, do you have any comments? ”

"Headmaster, the only thing we can use right now is Task Force 1 and Task Force 3. And the only thing we can defeat the British is the fleet. ”

Nie Renfeng nodded slightly. "The size of the British expeditionary fleet is very large, and there are some warships of the French navy, and even if France is now negotiating surrender with us, the French fleet will not necessarily go back. Even Task Force 1 would not necessarily be able to defeat the British Expeditionary Fleet. ”

"Headmaster, you mean, let Task Force 1 go to the Indian Ocean with Task Force 3?" Gan Yongxing glanced at the principal in surprise, "But now we also need these two task forces to fight in the Pacific Ocean, if we send them all, then our attack on the Australian continent will definitely be affected!" ”

"The problem should not be very big, the four battleships that are about to enter service should be able to be used to form a new battleship task force, and we are about to have six fleet aircraft carriers in service, and at that time, at least a new aircraft carrier task force can be added. These two task forces are sufficient to replace Task Force 1 and Task Force 3. Moreover, with the 4th Task Force and the 2nd Task Force on this side, the US Navy will be far below us even if it recovers at the end of March. Nie Renfeng looked at Tan Renhao, "The key question is, who will we arrange to command this expedition?" ”

Tan Renhao didn't answer, but he knew in his heart that the principal meant to let him command the expeditionary fleet, and Chang Zhixin did not have the ability to command two task forces at the same time, and Tan Renhao was the only choice now.