Lei Shaoqing, who had just been promoted to general and served as the chief of the general staff of the theater, showed a lot more, especially in terms of the temperament of the whole person, he seemed much more confident than before. Although few people knew about Tan Renhao's relinquishment of the position of chief of the general staff of the theater at that time, Lei Shaoqing knew that Tan Renhao was secretly helping him when he received the appointment. He always wanted to find an opportunity to thank Tan Renhao alone, but after Tan Renhao arrived in Panama City, he had been having other entertainment, and Lei Shaoqing did not find the opportunity to chat with Tan Renhao alone. It wasn't until the banquet was about to end that Lei Shaoqing took the time to rush over.

"Renhao, I want to thank you this time."

"There's nothing to thank, don't mention those things." Tan Renhao also knows what his friend has to say. "How's it going, does it feel good right now? Is the new military binding ready? ”

Lei Shaoqing laughed. "I haven't thought about it yet, and the old and new uniforms are the same."

"That's not going to work, the old ones don't go, the new ones don't come. Panama City should have our tailors, who have time to order two new uniforms. Tan Renhao sat on the sofa opposite Lei Shaoqing. However, the position of chief of the general staff of this theater is not easy to sit in, and I am afraid that I will not be able to sit down, so I dare not go. ”

"Yes, I just talked about it yesterday, and I don't have much confidence."

"If you don't have faith, you have to find it as soon as possible." Tan Renhao said directly, "Taking this step, you are one step closer to your goal, now is not the time to retreat, you should believe in yourself." Moreover, there are our brothers here. What else do you need to worry about? ”

"Well, with your help, I have nothing to worry about. The things of Lao Chang and Dong Jue have also been arranged, right? At that time, Lei Shaoqing already knew about the establishment of the United Fleet.

"It's pretty much all arranged, but I haven't found the time to talk to the two of them yet. By the way, have you been in contact with Huang Xiaotian in the past few days? Tan Renhao is still a little worried about Huang Xiaotiandi's attitude, after all, moving him from a position of real power to a position without much power will definitely cause resistance.

"He's here today, too, just a few hours before you, and I haven't had a chance to talk to him alone. However, it seems that Huang Xiaotian's problem should not be big. ”

Tan Renhao frowned slightly, he didn't believe Lei Shaoqing's words.

"I also thought about Huang Xiaotian's problem, but on the other hand, if he stayed in the fleet, he would never be able to surpass you, or even Jiang Zhongmin, how to say, now Jiang Zhongmin can be regarded as the king of one party. And I think. He is not the one who is willing to be the commander of the Third Fleet of the Empire, then he has to find another way, and this time he was asked to go to the general staff of the theater to exercise, which just gave him an opportunity to familiarize himself with the operations of other arms of the army, which could allow him to make up for the shortcomings in his ability, which would definitely be helpful for his future development. Lei Shaoqing shrugged his shoulders and said, "Of course, this is all my analysis, as for whether he thinks so." We won't know until I've talked to him. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, after Lei Shaoqing's analysis, he also felt that it made sense.

In fact, every general has a flaw in ability, or a weakness. For example, Tan Renhao was only a fleet commander who was proficient in aviation operations at the beginning. It is precisely because he participated in many large-scale campaign operations during the war, and many times, he not only undertook the task of commanding the fleet to fight on the battlefield, but also was responsible for other combat operations, such as the landing operation at Port Moresby, and the strategic bombing of Japan. These service experiences are the necessary capital for Tan Renhao to grow from a fleet commander to an all-round general. It can be said that if any general wants to move to a higher level, it is necessary to obtain all-round ability, which is why the Navy attaches great importance to the service experience of generals, and the generals who have been trained will serve in many positions. Thus the main reason for the final recognition. As Lei Shaoqing said, if Huang Xiaotian has been in the Third Fleet, then he will always be just a fleet commander, and his promotion path has basically come to an end. If he wants to get more opportunities and become a better general, then he has to leave the fleet and go to other units to do something unrelated to the fleet's operations, or to get in touch with the combat operations of other arms through this way. At the beginning, Tan Renhao was forced to leave the fleet several times. Instead, it was a blessing in disguise, and now. Huang Xiaotian could only take the initiative to leave the fleet, otherwise, he would not want to get more room for development.

"Don't worry, I'll find time to talk to him about Huang Xiaotian." Lei Shaoqing leaned back on the sofa and took out a cigarette at the same time. "Now that the matter of the Combined Fleet has been decided, when are you going to attack the Americans?"

"Atlantic Fleet?"

Lei Shaoqing nodded slightly, now only the Atlantic Fleet can meet the standard of becoming the opponent of the Combined Fleet, and it is the only opponent.

"Could it be that Spruance is ready to move again?" Tan Renhao also leaned back on the sofa, when he left the war zone and returned to the empire, he had already received information that it would be difficult for the Atlantic Fleet to regain combat effectiveness in mid-July, and it was only mid-July.

"I have also been monitoring the situation of the Atlantic Fleet, and the intelligence department has also put a lot of effort into this, and there is no intelligence yet that the Atlantic Fleet will go to sea in the near future, but we don't have to wait for the enemy to come to the door, we can take the initiative to find the enemy for a decisive battle."

Tan Renhao didn't say anything, he also thought about this problem, but he vetoed the idea of taking the initiative to challenge many times.

If Tan Renhao was just a fleet commander, he would definitely be more active, even if the opponent at this time was still Spruance, but after the "Battle of San Diego", the Atlantic Fleet not only suffered a great loss in strength, but also suffered a great drop in morale, and I am afraid that even Spruance would not have much confidence. During this period, the Imperial Navy straightened out the command relationship, and although the size of the fleet did not increase, the combat effectiveness of the fleet increased significantly. Under the rise and fall, Tan Renhao is confident that he will defeat Spruance Land, but the problem is that now he is not just a fleet commander.

From the perspective of the overall battle situation, there is no need for Tan Renhao to take the initiative to challenge the Atlantic Fleet. First, you can avoid taking risks, after all, Tan Renhao at this time is not Tan Renhao when the war broke out, and he is no longer so adventurous. The second is that losses can be reduced, for

Say, the meaning of reducing losses at this point is certainly important. The third is to avoid doing it, and the significance of reducing losses at this time is definitely very important. The third is to avoid doing it, and the significance of reducing losses at this time is definitely very important. The third is to avoid doing it, and the significance of reducing losses at this time is definitely very important. The third is to avoid doing it, and the significance of reducing losses at this time is definitely very important. The third is to avoid doing it, and the significance of reducing losses at this time is definitely very important. Third, it is necessary to avoid making unnecessary sacrifices, for fear that no officer or soldier will be willing to make senseless sacrifices, and if the commander of the fleet commands indiscriminately, this will have a considerable impact on the morale of the military. Finally, and most importantly, there is no need to defeat the Atlantic Fleet. As Luo Yunchong spread his hands and feet, the Norfolk military port would be bombed sooner or later, and the Atlantic Fleet would either be blown up in the harbor by heavy bombers or flee farther away, neither of which would pose a threat to Tan Renhao. What's more, with the destruction of the industrial base of the United States, it is a question of whether it can provide enough spare parts for maintenance and sufficient ammunition and fuel for the Atlantic Fleet.

It can be said that in terms of the overall situation of the war, the Atlantic Fleet itself has lost much meaning, and if the United Fleet is allowed to risk it for this, is it worth it? On the contrary, it is more important to let the fleet play a more important role elsewhere. For example, supporting Han Shaofeng's defeat of Cuba and the Bahamas was quite positive for advancing the course of the war. It can even go out of the Gulf of Mexico to support Gu Xunlei's operation, which also has an obvious effect. Therefore, according to Tan Renhao's idea, at this time, there is no need to use the fleet to deal with the fleet, but the fleet should play a more critical role against the Atlantic fleet, and perhaps other forces will do a better and more thorough job than the combined fleet.

Lei Shaoqing wanted to continue, but he immediately noticed Tan Renhao's expression. "Why, you don't want to deal with Spruance anymore?"

"I don't have a personal grudge against him, so what is there to deal with?"

"However, his presence is a threat." Lei Shaoqing was a little anxious, and Tan Renhao had been fighting against Spruance for several years. Does it change your perspective all at once?

Tan Renhao smiled and shook his head. "Don't think so seriously, if the United States doesn't even have a decent warship, then Spruance is capable, what can he do?"

"I also understand this truth, but the problem is that now there are several aircraft carriers in the Atlantic Fleet, and the United States is still actively building more warships, so we should go and destroy the Atlantic Fleet and let Spruance be the commander of the light pole."

"Do we need to do it?" Tan Renhao asked rhetorically. "I've thought about this for a long time, but fundamentally speaking, it's not the fleet that is advancing the war now, but the aviation, especially Luo Yunchong's heavy bombers. If we want to defeat the United States as soon as possible, not just the American Navy, then we must take the initiative to cooperate with Luo Yunchong, which is also the reason why you are arranged to be the chief of the general staff of the theater. The Atlantic Fleet was a threat, but the Americans could not turn the tide of the war with a single fleet. It is even more impossible to defeat us. On the contrary, if we can assist Luo Yunchong and defeat the United States as soon as possible, even if the Atlantic Fleet survives, it will be captured by us, so is it necessary for us to devote time and energy to dealing with the Atlantic Fleet now? ”

"This ......"

"Shaoqing, you have also worked in the position of staff officer for a lot of time, and you have been to several war zones. Moreover, he has been assisting the commander of the theater in directing the actions of all arms of the armed forces, and the priorities must be clearly distinguished. Let's just say that we're running out of time right now. If we can't defeat the United States as soon as possible and make the United States surrender, then we will eventually land in the United States and fight on an unprecedented scale. The same losses are also unprecedented ground wars, which is more important than the Atlantic Fleet to avoid the loss of millions of imperial soldiers? ”

"I know, but ......"

"I also understand what you mean, as long as Spruance doesn't come out to make trouble, then I won't go to him for trouble, in the near future, my main responsibility is to cooperate with Luo Yunchong and get to the doorstep of the United States as soon as possible. Contrarily. If Spruance takes the initiative to fight me, then I will not have the slightest fear, and when the time comes, I will think about how to deal with him. ”

"If we do advance to Cuba, then the Atlantic Fleet will inevitably come out."

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, he also thought of this. Cuba is to the United States what the Ryukyu Islands are to the Empire. As long as the Marines hit Cuba, the United States will fight hard. The US Navy will also fight hard, when the time comes. The Atlantic Fleet will inevitably come out and launch a counterattack.

"We should make a relevant battle plan before then, and we can't think of a way back then."

"I know that." Tan Renhao breathed a long sigh of relief, it seems that if he doesn't give Lei Shaoqing an answer, Lei Shaoqing will really not give up today. "After I talk to Lao Chang and Dongjue, I will arrange this matter, after all, the two of them have a lot of experience, and I am more relieved to be in charge of them."

"It's okay, at least I won't let Dongjue come to me for a drink without doing anything for a day, how can I have time to drink with him every day?"

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "You're haunted by him too?"

"Yes, this kid, as long as he has nothing to do, he will go to make trouble for others, and he is still like this." Lei Shaoqing also smiled and shook his head.

"Come on, I'll find something for him to do tomorrow so that he doesn't pester you." Tan Renhao gave Lei Shaoqing a reassurance. "Now, there are so many things that are dying, if he wants to be idle, it is impossible, and when he is busy, see what else he has to find someone else to drink."

"You're putting him in charge of making a battle plan?"

"It's just one thing, there's one more important thing for him to do." Tan Renhao is talking about the allocation of new warships by the fleet. However, he didn't rush to tell Lei Shaoqing. "It's not too early, the activities outside are over, right?"

"It's almost, the staff officer should also go back to rest, otherwise he won't have the energy tomorrow."

"Then I'm going back to rest, I've been on a plane for two days, and I haven't stopped along the way." Tan Renhao stood up, "Shaoqing, don't think so much, do what is happening in front of you well, I am not alarmist, the appointment given to you this time is quite important, you have to know the severity." ”

Lei Shaoqing nodded immediately, when he received the appointment, he knew how much this new position meant to him. It can be said that after working as the commander of the theater fleet and the commander of the base for several years, Lei Shaoqing needs such an opportunity in front of him to gain more space for development!