The fleet lifted anchor at twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, left the Moroni anchorage, and began to sail south. Because the possibility of being ambushed by the enemy fleet was almost zero, and a large number of night patrol planes had been deployed on the island of Madagascar, the fleet did not bypass the island of Madagascar, but went directly south from the Mozambique Channel, which could save hundreds of nautical miles, and the strait was calm, and the officers and men on the warship could sleep peacefully for two days.

After the fleet departed, Tan Renhao originally wanted to hurry up and come up with the specific battle plan, but he was busy for more than an hour in vain and found that he couldn't concentrate at all. In the end, he chose to go and get a good night's sleep. After handing over the affairs of the fleet to Zheng Guanhua to deal with, Tan Renhao returned to the cabin, did not even take off his coat, and fell asleep on the bed. By the time he woke up, it was already dark, and the roar of planes could be heard, and a new day in the fleet began.

When Tan Renhao came to the gangway outside, the carrier-based planes that had been conducting normal flight training during the day were taking off one after another. This time, the first task force replenished more than 20 new pilots, and the training work was arranged by Zheng Guanhua, in order to improve these new pilots as soon as possible, An Shile, Yao Boyan, Qiu Gengbo, Yang Qinkai, and more than a dozen of the best pilots and navigators were responsible for training novices. The training is divided into several parts, including confrontation training, fleet training, cooperation training between pilots and navigators, and so on.

The sea breeze smelled fishy, and it was very wet, and the sky was clear, except for a few clouds to the south. The storm had left the waters off the island of Madagascar a few days earlier, and the sea in the strait was very calm. And the morning sun shines down, which makes people feel warm. And not as viciously as it was at noon.

Tan Renhao's mood gradually calmed down, and he suddenly laughed when he looked at the plane that was as dexterous as a seagull in the sky. And the clouds in his heart suddenly dispersed, and his mood suddenly cleared up a lot.

back then. He and Lei Shaoqing applied for the Naval Academy behind their families' backs, and then ran away from home and finally joined the Navy. At that time, the highest ideal of the two teenagers was before the age of thirty. They were able to become a glorious captain of the Imperial Navy, even the captain of a small patrol ship of only a few hundred tons, in their opinion, it was an incomparably brilliant achievement. At that time, who would have thought that before the age of thirty, Tan Renhao and Lei Shaoqing both became lieutenant generals, and with the military exploits they established and the contributions they made, it was normal for them to be promoted to generals. What Tan Renhao has achieved now is something he did not expect when he first reported at the Naval Academy. So what kind of achievements can be achieved in the future, he can't think of now.

So, worry and worry about the future. None of this is of any value. Tan Renhao can have the current achievements, and he has come step by step, so if he wants to achieve higher achievements in the future. He had to go on step by step, and every step he took had to be more solid, and now, he was going to take one step, and the victory over the combined Anglo-French expeditionary fleet was his next step into the future!

"General, I was ready earlier, do you want me to send it over now?"

Tan Renhao turned around, and Duchenne was standing next to him. "No, let's go to the command cabin later, I'll go over after I'm washed."

Du Xing immediately noticed the change in Tan Renhao's expression, it can be said that he knew the difference in mentality represented by Tan Renhao's different expressions, he nodded hurriedly, and went to prepare breakfast for Tan Renhao.

When Tan Renhao arrived at the command cabin, Zheng Guanhua was arranging the affairs of the fleet with several staff officers. These staff officers are all new to their posts, and the staff officers who were on duty at night have now gone to rest. Not long after, Du Xing brought Tan Renhao's breakfast, and Zheng Guanhua's adjutant quickly sent another breakfast.

"Xiao Zheng, are you only eating now?" Tan Renhao noticed the time on the navigation clock, it was already half past eight.

"It's okay, I didn't get busy at first." Zheng Guanhua walked over, "The supper I ate last night has not been digested yet, and the canteen should be recommended in the future, and some easy-to-digest food should be prepared for supper." ”

Tan Renhao smiled and sat down. "Wait for you to rest, I'll think about the battle plan in the morning, and we'll make it more concrete in the afternoon. The fleet is leaving the Mozambique Channel tomorrow, and we need to finalize the operation as soon as possible and then inform Task Force 3. ”

"Then we'll make a plan in the morning, and I'll be fine if I go to rest in the afternoon."

"There's no need to be in such a hurry, there are some details I haven't thought through." Tan Renhao looked at Zheng Guanhua, "You go to rest after breakfast, and I will send someone to call you in the afternoon." ”

Zheng Guanhua smiled and nodded, and didn't say anything more. During this period of time, Zheng Guanhua also noticed that Tan Renhao was a person with a very regular schedule, and outside of the combat period, his activities in the fleet were almost as accurate as clocks, and like today, he was two hours later than before, and it was the first time that he came to change shifts at half past eight.

After Zheng Guanhua went to rest, Tan Renhao arranged the daily affairs of the fleet to several main staff officers according to his previous habits, and he himself began to think about this combat operation. Those staff officers who had been in the First Task Force for several years were very aware of the characteristics of the commander, so when Tan Renhao began to think about the problem, they would not come over to disturb the commander unless there were special circumstances.

A large number of parameters have been marked on the charts, and the nautical staff officers have even indicated several pre-set routes on them, as well as several predetermined points in time on the route, that is, the approximate time when the point will be reached. These are the specific tasks of the nautical staff officers. In addition, on the basis of the information previously received, the chart estimates the range of sea areas in which the enemy fleet may appear at different speeds, which are distinguished by several lines of different colors. The sea area circled by the red line is the sea area that can be reached by the enemy fleet at the economic cruising speed, which is the most dangerous sea area, and the sea area circled by the brown line is the sea area that the enemy fleet can reach when sailing at the fastest cruise speed. And this is a dangerous sea. The sea area circled by the yellow line is the sea area that can be reached by the enemy fleet at the fastest speed, and this is the sea area that is threatening. The area covered by long-range patrol aircraft deployed on the island of Madagascar is also marked on the tidal flats, and this area is divided into several parts. The closer the part to the island of Madagascar means that the denser the patrol routes of the patrol aircraft, the more likely it is to spot the enemy fleet. And the more peripheral the part, the more dispersed the patrol route of the reconnaissance aircraft, the less likely it is to detect the enemy fleet. These are all the most basic tasks, and they are all tasks that the staff officers of the fleet command must complete before the commander starts to make decisions, and they are also the basis for Tan Renhao's decision-making. And according to the regulations of the Imperial Navy. During the war, the information on the charts had to be updated at least every four hours, or even at any time if needed. Even on a normal cruise, it must be updated at least every twelve hours. Therefore, the nautical chart itself is not a completely fixed map, but a map whose information changes from time to time, which is the difference between a nautical chart and a map.

It took Tan Renhao half an hour to figure out the information on the chart, he looked at it very carefully, and he thought deeply. At this time. He was completely in combat mode, and his mind was focused on combat operations. And the crux of the matter is still the reliability of that intelligence.

The joint Anglo-French expeditionary fleet did not leave Cape Town, if at all. Is that a retreat, or is it taking the initiative to take the initiative? It's already April 8, and the weather conditions are much better than they were just over a month ago, especially in the South Atlantic. The weather is changing rapidly, and it may be two days before it is suitable for aircraft carrier operations. What choice would Cunningham make in this situation? Fight to the death with the Imperial fleet, or try to protect yourself?

Tan Renhao did not consider the authenticity of that information, the reliability of the information itself was not high, he could only rely on the characteristics of the opponent, as well as the environment on the real battlefield, weather changes and other factors to speculate on the opponent's actions. But when he laid out the problems and shifted himself to Cunningham's position, he found that he could not make an accurate judgment about Cunningham's possible actions.

Under the circumstances, Cunningham's choice between retreat and confrontation was almost opposite. If they retreat, they can protect themselves, and as long as the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet is still active in the South Atlantic, even if it retreats to the Gold Coast, then the two main fleets of the Tang Empire will not dare to leave the Indian Ocean easily, which will provide great help to the US counterattack in the Pacific. In particular, containing the First Task Force and preventing Tan Renhao from going to the Pacific to deal with Spruance can be said to be Cunningham's number one task.

On the contrary, if Cunningham chooses to take the initiative to meet the battle, and seizes the opportunity to take out the two task forces of the Tang Empire, or even only the first task force, then he has won a major victory. At that time, the Tang Empire would either completely retreat to the North Indian Ocean and endure the heavy losses of the North Indian Ocean route, or it would have to send a new task force into the Indian Ocean to confront the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet. And no matter which fleet is sent, it will inevitably seriously weaken the strength of the Tang Imperial Navy in the Pacific, which will be of great help to the counterattack of the US military, and can even completely change the balance of power in the Pacific.

In other words, if Cunningham had chosen to retreat at that time, he could achieve the most basic strategic objectives without taking too many risks, which was a conservative tactic. On the contrary, if he chooses to fight, he will have to take a risk, but the rewards of success are extremely fruitful. As long as the tide of the war in the Pacific is completely reversed, the situation of the entire war will be completely changed. Cunningham must have known about it.

So, is he going to be conservative or risky? At first, Tan Renhao was still a little unsure, but he immediately realized that since Cunningham dared to venture in the Mozambique Channel, he was not a conservative commander. And the harvest after the success of this adventure is indeed too tempting, not to mention Cunningham, I'm afraid even Spruance will choose to take risks at this time!

Thinking of this, Tan Renhao's thinking is also much clearer, and the situation in front of him is also much clearer.

If Cunningham chose to fight, he would have much more tactical freedom than retreat, and there were many places where he could ambush the Tang fleet. For example, the southern end of the Mozambique Channel, the Indian Ocean east of the Cape of Good Hope, the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Town, and even the waters northwest of Cape Town. These places are ideal places for ambushes. If the Anglo-French expeditionary force had deployed shore-based patrol aircraft in Cape Town and other sides of the southern tip of Africa, then Cunningham could also use the help of shore-based patrol aircraft in combat operations to find the Tang fleet, and he could hide and kill them when the time came.

The question is, where will Cunningham choose the ambush site? Tan Renhao first ruled out the waters at the southern end of the Mozambique Channel, which was too far from the stronghold of the Anglo-French expeditionary force, and with the support of the fleet from the imperial shore-based patrol aircraft, Cunningham had little room to exert his capabilities. However, on the next route, almost every place could become an ambush for Cunningham!

While thinking, Tan Renhao also made relevant lines on the chart. If we just think about it, it is difficult to form a specific and comprehensive understanding of the battlefield situation, and with the help of the chart, we can imagine a more vivid scene and get a more direct impression by marking some important parameters on the chart.

From morning to afternoon, Tan Renhao didn't even go to lunch, and when he marked all kinds of situations on the chart, he also had a relatively direct understanding of the situation on the battlefield, and he also made a general analysis of the probability of several possible situations. At this point, Tan Renhao also formed an overall battle plan in his mind.

In the evening, Zheng Guanhua returned to the command cabin, and when he saw so much data marked by Tan Renhao on the chart, he also knew that the commander already had a specific battle idea.

"Let's go, let's go to dinner first, I'm F4U broken!" Tan Renhao also felt that his stomach was protesting, "After dinner, let's discuss the specific details again, the opportunity is in front of us!" ”

Zheng Guanhua immediately followed Tan Renhao to the restaurant, and he was naturally very happy to see that the commander had recovered his state.