When he walked into the principal's office, Tan Renhao suddenly felt a little nervous. Although he got the news from Gan Yongxing and knew why the principal called him over this time, Tan Renhao still felt a little nervous. Sometimes, he also felt that this was his own psychological factors at fault, before Jiang Zhongmin's comeback, he never doubted the principal's attitude, and after Jiang Zhongmin's comeback, the principal still took good care of him, but he always felt a little estranged.

"Renhao, sit down." Nie Renfeng was signing a document, he glanced at Tan Renhao, and then said to the secretary next to him, "Just deal with it like this, send it as soon as possible." ”

Tan Renhao sat down on the sofa, it was not the first time he had come to the principal alone, in the past few years, he didn't know how many times he walked into the principal's office, except for the first few times, this was the only time he felt a little awkward.

"You've been busy these days, haven't you?" Nie Renfeng took off his old glasses and walked over, "In two days, we will determine the battle plan, has the chief of staff arranged a lot of things for you?" ”

"It's okay, it's all a bit of a chore." Seeing Nie Renfeng sitting down on the sofa opposite, Tan Renhao suddenly found that the principal looked much older than when he became the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Navy more than four years ago, and even older than when Tan Renhao graduated from the academy. Mobile station ap.. cn

"Yongxing can't be busy alone, so he must find someone to help." Nie Renfeng crossed his hands, "How is the situation of the fleet now?" ”

"The chief of staff has arranged a special person to be in charge, and Zheng Guanhua is in charge of the maintenance of the battleship in Guangzhou, so I didn't ask about these things." Tan Renhao sighed secretly, "It will probably not be until the beginning of June that the repair work of the battleship will be completed." ”

"How is the training of the new aircraft carrier battle group going?" Nie Renfeng seemed to be looking for something to ask.

"Zheng Guanhua is also in charge, I talked to him on the phone two days ago, and the officers and soldiers will be reorganized, and the aviation unit will also be reorganized, using the method of combining the old with the new. In this way, the impact of the new recruits on the fleet will not be very great, and the new aircraft carrier battle group will be able to form combat strength at the fastest speed without delaying the operational arrangements. ”

Nie Renfeng nodded slightly. "That's the best, the first task force is the number one main fleet of the Imperial Navy, and if it can recover its combat effectiveness as soon as possible, then it will be able to go to the battlefield as soon as possible."

Tan Renhao didn't answer, he wasn't very worried about the state of the fleet. Zheng Guanhua still has a certain ability in this regard. At the beginning, before Hao Dongjue went to the Second Task Force, Zheng Guanhua was in charge of the reconstruction of the Second Task Force, and before the First Task Force went to the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic, Zheng Guanhua was also in charge of the fleet's training arrangements. As the chief of staff of the fleet, Zheng Guanhua is organizing training. and the reorganization of the fleet, which can be regarded as one of his strengths.

"Let's talk about something else." Nie Renfeng also changed the topic at this time, "You should have heard about it too." Some time ago, there was a lot of uproar in the Navy about the establishment of a theater fleet commander. At the beginning, this position was actually tailor-made for you, and judging from the operations in the past few years, when there are multiple task forces in a theater of operations, the commander of the theater fleet is very important. Before. We have also discussed this matter, but the problem now is that it is Lei Shaoqing who is the commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater Fleet. ”

Tan Renhao buried his head, and the principal got straight to the point this time and talked about key issues.

"Before, when Yongxing proposed to let Lei Shaoqing serve as the commander of the theater fleet, I didn't object." Nie Renfeng leaned back on the sofa. His expression was a little relaxed, "Lei Shaoqing is also a student I cultivated, and I have a good relationship with you." Over the past few years, his performance on the battlefield is worthy of recognition. But there is a serious problem, before this, Lei Shaoqing did not have any experience and experience in commanding multiple fleets, whether he can take on this important responsibility, this is the first question. Other than that. Lei Shaoqing's status and prestige among fleet commanders are far inferior to yours, can he make the commanders of various fleets obey his command on the battlefield. That's another question. The third question is his ability to grasp the situation of the battle and to coordinate the coordination of the fleet with other forces. It is precisely because of these three issues that I have not been able to clarify the terms of reference of the commander of the theater fleet. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, he had already considered these three questions. In fact, this is only a problem, that is, Lei Shaoqing's status in the navy is not high enough, and if he is appointed commander of the theater fleet, whether he can smoothly command the various fleets will certainly be questioned. The principal's worries and doubts are justified, if Lei Shaoqing can't shoulder this responsibility, and he will command the fleet to fight, it will definitely cause a lot of problems, and this will inevitably affect the combat operation of attacking Australia, if the operation fails, then the principal will have to be responsible. From this point of view, there is nothing surprising that the principal has been slow to make a decision.

"Yesterday, I talked to Yongxing, Yan Guozhong, and Liao Hanxiang. The attitude of the four of us is the same, believing that it is quite necessary to appoint a theater fleet commander with real authority under the circumstances of concentrating four task forces, as well as the Southwest Pacific Theater Fleet, as well as a large number of landing fleets, and transport fleets participating in the war in the Southwest Pacific Theater at the same time. Nie Renfeng's gaze stayed on Tan Renhao's body, "If there is no unified coordination, and the task force is fighting separately, then the battlefield will inevitably be chaotic." But the question is who should be the commander of the fleet in this theater and how large his authority is. ”

"Headmaster, I think it's best not to make too many personnel changes at this time."

Nie Renfeng laughed. "I know that if there is a change of players, it will definitely cause more problems. So the question is focused on one point, the terms of reference of the commander of the theater fleet. ”

Tan Renhao fell silent, this is an extremely sensitive topic, and it is also the focus of the whole issue. There is almost no possibility of replacing Lei Shaoqing, but how much real power Lei Shaoqing can obtain is not something that can be easily guessed.

"At first, I talked to Jiang Zhongmin." Nie Renfeng observed the change in Tan Renhao's expression, "He also thinks that since the Theater Fleet Division has been set up, it should be allowed to play a role." Seemingly. That's the same attitude, right? ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, he didn't hide his thoughts, in fact, there was nothing to hide, his attitude was obvious.

"The question is, how much power should Lei Shaoqing get?"

"Headmaster, if this problem is not solved, I suggest that it be divided into several stages." Hear the principal mention this for the third time. Tan Renhao knew that he couldn't avoid it anymore.

Nie Renfeng frowned slightly, and motioned for Tan Renhao to continue.

"Judging from the current situation, when we attack Australia, the biggest problem in the Southwest Pacific Theater should be the coordination of various forces. Army combat units, Marine Corps, shore-based aviation, strategic strike forces. fleet, logistics support troops, transport units, and much more. With so many arms participating in a landing operation involving millions of troops at the same time, the biggest problem is the coordination and cooperation between the various troops. ”

Nie Renfeng nodded slightly, and Tan Renhao directly talked about the key issue of landing in Australia. It was the largest landing campaign ever planned by the Imperial Navy. The investment of troops alone exceeded 1.2 million, and if the manpower investment in logistics support is included, at least nearly 2 million officers and soldiers of the empire's navy and land were serving in this campaign. And in order to organize these 2 million people and give full play to their combat potential, then organization and coordination are extremely important.

"The fleet is one of the most important components of this landing campaign, especially in the initial stage of the landing operation. The fleet was almost the only combat force capable of supporting the landing force. Therefore, the performance of the fleet on the battlefield determines the victory or defeat of the landing operation. Therefore, the most critical question is whether the fleet can effectively cooperate with other forces. For example, the support provided by the fleet to the landing force, the coordination between the fleet and the logistics support force, the coordination between the fleet, and so on, these are all very crucial problems that must be resolved. Maybe. In battle, the commanders of each task force are capable of commanding their own fleets. Perform combat missions in accordance with the campaign plan. However, with so many fleets participating in combat operations at the same time, coordination is extremely crucial. Therefore, I suggest that Lei Shaoqing should be responsible for coordinating the various fleets and the coordination between the fleets and other units, so that the fleet commander can focus more on operations instead of worrying about some issues unrelated to operations. ”

Nie Renfeng nodded slightly. "So, what's next?"

"This is actually a test of Lei Shaoqing's ability, and as the campaign develops, and Lei Shaoqing proves his ability, I think he can be given more power, such as letting him plan the combat operations of the fleet, and the commander of the task force is still responsible for carrying out combat operations. Then we can consider letting Lei Shaoqing command the fleet to participate in low-intensity combat operations, and gradually expand the scope of authority of the commander of the theater fleet. ”

Nie Renfeng laughed, and he immediately saw that Tan Renhao was advancing step by step.

"Headmaster, actually, ......"

"Say it, what's your final thought?" Nie Renfeng also mentioned the key issue very simply.

"In fact, I think that the current fleet establishment of the Navy is no longer suitable for the next stage of operational requirements." Tan Renhao hesitated slightly, "If we have been using the task force formation, then in less than two years, we are very likely to have more than ten task forces, and these task forces are directly subordinate to the naval command, and they are only commanded by the theater command when participating in campaign operations." And judging by the previous combat operations, the ability of the theater command in directing fleet operations is not very good. If a theater fleet command is set up to be specifically responsible for directing the fleet's operations, this will certainly be more conducive to bringing into play the fleet's combat effectiveness. ”

"What else?" This is also the reason why Nie Renfeng agreed to establish the Theater Fleet Command in the first place.

"In addition, it is to change the current fleet composition of the Navy." Tan Renhao was a little hesitant, and when he noticed that the principal's expression had not changed much, he said, "The task force was created under the pressure of war, and the battles in the past few years have shown that when the strength of the Imperial Navy is not strong enough to easily defeat the opponent, the task force can maximize the combat effectiveness of the fleet, so that our limited forces can fight on multiple battlefields." However, with the expansion of the size of the navy and the increase in the number of task forces, this will inevitably make the command system of the navy more complicated, and this will inevitably have a huge impact on the combat operations of the fleet. In addition, from the point of view of personnel training and recuperation, maintenance and repair of warships, and so on, there are many loopholes in the task force itself. Therefore, I feel that it is necessary to adopt a two-tier system of fleet formation. ”

"What do you mean?" Nie Renfeng frowned slightly.

"Establish a theater fleet and strengthen the combat effectiveness of the theater fleet. Theater fleets generally undertake low-intensity combat missions and are mainly responsible for coordinating operations with other units within the scope of their own theater. At the same time, a certain number of task forces should be retained, and the combat effectiveness of these task forces should be strengthened, making them the mainstay of the navy. Tan Renhao had the courage to say his thoughts, "In this way, the command system can be simplified, and at the same time, the theater commander can have more combat authority, reducing the pressure on the naval command." The most important thing is that, when necessary, the theater fleet itself is the reserve of the task force, and if the task force is lost in combat and its combat effectiveness is weakened, and the navy needs a special task force to fight on the front line, then it can directly transfer troops from the theater fleet to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the task force. ”

"Looks like you're thinking about the same problem as me." Nie Renfeng stood up, "If this set of formations is adopted, then the commander of the theater fleet is very necessary." ”

Tan Renhao immediately stood up, he had been thinking about this issue for a long time. In fact, this is precisely a new problem that the Imperial Navy is now facing.

"Well, I'll consider your suggestion." Nie Renfeng nodded at Tan Renhao, "You hurry up and prepare, spend more energy to cooperate with the chief of staff, and after this battle plan is deployed, you can go back to the fleet!" ”

Tan Renhao didn't delay much time, and immediately said goodbye to the principal, and judging from the principal's attitude, his suggestion had actually been adopted.