After closing the door of the cabin, Zheng Guanhua took out a folded message from his pocket. His expression was a little weird, and Tan Renhao couldn't help but wonder, what could make Zheng Guanhua so cautious.

"General Tan, this is a telegram sent in the afternoon, it was not originally sent to us, but our radio intercepted it." Zheng Guanhua hesitated for a moment and gave the telegram to Tan Renhao, "The telegram was sent to General Jiang Zhongmin, forwarded by Colombo, and the sender was the commander of the navy. ”

Tan Renhao was secretly startled, he also hesitated for a moment, then unfolded the message, and then quickly browsed it, and then, his eyebrows furrowed, and his expression sank.

"I'm a bit nosy, this telegram should not have been received, just ......"... ap．16

"It's okay, I've received it anyway." Tan Renhao quickly adjusted his mentality, "You go get busy first, how are the preparations for the departure of the fleet?" ”

"There are only a few destroyers refueling, and all the preparations can be made in two hours, and now the main thing is that the replenishment of the third task force is a little slower."

"Then you go and deal with the fleet's affairs first, and when the third task force is ready to leave, we will leave here." Tan Renhao looked at Zheng Guanhua, "Let the officers and soldiers adjust their state, the fleet has rested here for a while, and what should be put down has to be in the direction, and after the battle, we will deal with other things!" ”

Zheng Guanhua nodded, he knew that Tan Renhao was talking about some special relationships between those officers and soldiers of the fleet and the locals.

After Zheng Guanhua went out, Tan Renhao let out a sigh, and then turned out the telegram. The signature on the telegram was Nie Renfeng. In other words, this was a telegram sent by Nie Renfeng himself, if it was sent by the naval command. Generally, it will be signed by Gan Yongxing. The content of the telegram was only one sentence, that is, to ask Jiang Zhongmin to return to the Zhoushan Naval Headquarters as soon as possible. Weng Yiming has recovered from his injury and will rush to Colombo in the next few days, and Weng Yiming will replace Jiang Zhongmin.

Ordinary people would not find the content of this telegram strange, after all, Weng Yiming was the commander of the South Atlantic Theater, and Jiang Zhongmin was only the commander of the Fifth Task Force. What Jiang Zhongmin is doing now. In fact, it was within the purview of the theater commander, and after Weng Yiming was wounded (the chief of staff of the South Atlantic Theater stayed in Cape Town to command the marines to resist the British and French expeditionary forces, and has not returned to Colombo, but led the remnants of the troops to retreat to the hinterland of the African continent), Jiang Zhongmin temporarily took the position of theater commander. Now that Weng Yiming has recovered from his injuries, it is almost time for him to come back and continue to take charge of the command work in the theater, and the aircraft carrier "Qiandao Lake" of the Fifth Task Force has also arrived at the port of Guangzhou and is undergoing a comprehensive overhaul, so it is normal for Jiang Zhongmin to be recruited back at this time. Someone must be responsible for the rebuilding of the Fifth Task Force.

But Tan Renhao didn't take this telegram so simply. Let's not talk about whether Weng Yiming can immediately adapt to the cooperative relationship with Tan Renhao and Chang Jianxin after replacing Jiang Zhongmin. Can it provide timely assistance to Task Force 1 and Task Force 3. Let's just say that Jiang Zhongmin was transferred back at this time, obviously not for the reconstruction of the Fifth Task Force. The chief of staff of the Fifth Task Force had already returned to Guangzhou with the aircraft carrier "Qiandao Lake", and under normal circumstances, in the early days of the rebuilding of the fleet. The chief of staff is responsible for handling the details, just as Zheng Guanhua was in charge of the second task force in the early stage of reconstruction, instead of the new commander Hao Dongjue, and only when the fleet is about to recover its combat effectiveness and there are many important matters to be dealt with, the fleet commander must return to the fleet. Obviously, the transfer of Jiang Zhongmin back now is not to let him be in charge of the reconstruction of the Fifth Task Force, or that there will be a major change in the reconstruction of the Fifth Task Force.

Judging from the situation on this side of the Indian Ocean, Jiang Zhongmin and Tan Renhao, often recommend Xindi, cooperate very well, and the three of them know each other very well, Tan Renhao is about to launch a general attack, and the operation to attack Capton is about to begin, even if Nie Renfeng is anxious to ask Jiang Zhongmin to go back to report, then letting Jiang Zhongmin stay here for a few more days may not necessarily have a bad impact on the situation on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. If Weng Yiming is allowed to come over now, not to mention anything else, just getting familiar with Jiang Zhongmin's previous arrangements, Weng Yiming will have to spend a lot of time, and this is extremely unfavorable to the upcoming attack of Tan Renhao and Chang Jianxin.

Of course, this is not the most important question, the most important thing is, why did Nie Renfeng let Jiang Zhongmin go back? Before, Tan Renhao had already thought of this problem, and now the Imperial Navy already has redundant warships, and according to Tan Renhao's previous analysis, it is very likely that the Sixth Task Force will be formed, but now, Tan Renhao no longer thinks so. Task Force 5 had been destroyed, and although the "Thousand Islands" had escaped, it was determined that the aircraft carrier would have to stay in the dockyard for at least three months, if not four months, after a basic overhaul in Colombo. Because most of the trauma was caused by large-caliber shells, the internal structure of the hull was seriously damaged, and the repair time would certainly be long. In other words, if Task Force 5 is to regain its combat effectiveness in the short term, it will have to get new aircraft carriers, and right now, there are exactly a few newly commissioned aircraft carriers in the Imperial Navy.

If Nie Renfeng chooses to restore the combat effectiveness of the Fifth Task Force first, then there is no need to immediately establish the Sixth Task Force, and this naturally avoids the need to select a new fleet commander. Jiang Zhongmin is a fleet commander, and Nie Renfeng is now recruiting Jiang Zhongmin back, obviously to restore the combat effectiveness of the Fifth Task Force.

Tan Renhao had thought of these for a long time, but he had previously believed that if the Fifth Task Force regained its combat effectiveness, it would continue to operate in the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, and the First Task Force would be called back to the Pacific Theater, and the First Task Force would organize counterattacks against the US Navy. The problem was that if Task Force 5 was to remain in the Indian Ocean, it would have to organize its activities in the Lion City or even Colombo, where the additional ships would be concentrated without having to return to the Empire itself. Jiang Zhongmin didn't need to take the time to run back to the naval headquarters.

Subsequently, Task Force 5 will have the Lion City and, more likely, Colombo as its home port. It was active in the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic, and in the reconquest of Cape Town. Once Cape Town's infrastructure had been rebuilt, it would not be too late for Task Force 5 to move to Cape Town. And the current arrangement is obviously not like this, this is what Tan Renhao is most unwilling to do.

The principal recruited Jiang Zhongmin back, and let Tan Renhao and Chang Jianxin stay in the Indian Ocean, which showed the importance of the Indian Ocean battlefield. However, two other points are illustrated. First, until the Anglo-French Combined Expeditionary Fleet was annihilated or defeated, the First Task Force and the Third Task Force did not want to leave the Indian Ocean. Another problem is that Task Force 5 will move to the Pacific Ocean, and it is likely that it will be the main force in the Pacific.

Thinking of this, Tan Renhao had to consider the issue of personal interests. This is also the place where he is most dissatisfied with the principal's arrangement this time. The Indian Ocean battlefield is indeed important, but the problem is that this is not the battlefield of Tan Renhao, the Pacific is the battlefield of Tan Renhao, and it is the most important battlefield.

From the outbreak of war. Tan Renhao has been leading the fleet to fight in the Pacific Ocean, so to speak, for more than four years. He built up a series of battles in the Pacific, won many major victories, and turned the tide of war step by step. Almost every major victory in the Pacific theater was directly or indirectly related to Tan Renhao.

And. Over the past four years or so, Tan Renhao has established his own foundation in the Pacific theater. The commanders, chiefs of staff, and even most of the important staff officers of the two task forces now operating in the Pacific Theater were brought out by Tan Renhao. And Lei Shaoqing, who was appointed commander of the Southwest Pacific Theater Fleet, is Tan Renhao's brother. It is clear that the Pacific Theater is Tan Renhao's base and his lair, and all his foundations, connections, and relationships are in the Pacific Ocean, not in the Indian Ocean. Moreover, the Imperial Navy was able to win step by step in the Pacific Ocean, which is inseparable from Tan Renhao's military exploits.

Well, now that the situation on the Pacific side has opened, and the combat operation is getting smoother and smoother, the Australian mainland is about to be attacked, and Liao Hanxiang is definitely actively preparing for an attack on the Hawaiian Islands. At this time, the principal transferred Jiang Zhongmin back, which was very unfair to Tan Renhao. Not to mention anything else, after Jiang Zhongmin led the Fifth Task Force back to the Pacific Battlefield, the strength of the Fifth Task Force was definitely not below the Second Task Force and the Fourth Task Force, but Huang Xiaotian and Hao Dongjue's qualifications were not as good as Jiang Zhongmin's, and the two were not Nie Renfeng's descendants, so the status of the Fifth Task Force could be imagined.

In other words, the principal asked Jiang Zhongmin to go back at this time, making it clear that he wanted to weaken Tan Renhao's influence on the Pacific side, and this is the foundation that Tan Renhao spent several years and worked hard to establish! Not to mention the psychological imbalance of Renhao, whoever changes will feel very aggrieved at this time, and even more aggrieved.

Tan Renhao can even imagine that after the Fifth Task Force participated in the battles in the Pacific, most of the Second Task Force or the Fourth Task Force would go to the Central Pacific to assist Liao Hanxiang in attacking the Hawaiian Islands and containing the main fleet of the US army. Task Force 5 and another task force were in the southwest Pacific to assist the Marines in landing on the Australian mainland. Because Lei Shaoqing is only a commander responsible for coordinating the fleet with other forces, the command of the fleet is still in the hands of the commander of the task force, and after Jiang Zhongmin arrives in the Southwest Pacific Theater, whether it is Huang Xiaotian or Hao Dongjue, it is very likely to obey Jiang Zhongmin's command. Then, when the time comes, the Australian continent will be defeated, and the number one hero of the fleet will be Jiang Zhongmin, not Huang Xiaotian or Hao Dongjue, let alone Tan Renhao and Lei Shaoqing!

Even if personnel relations are not taken into account, the quality of the officers and men of the Fifth Task Force will be in question after it is rebuilt, so it will certainly first find a place with relatively low intensity and relatively little threat to train its troops, rather than being directly sent to fight a decisive battle with the enemy's main fleet. The Southwest Pacific Theater is a relatively ideal battlefield, where the Fifth Task Force does not face much maritime threat and has a large number of battle plans, making it a good place for military training. On the contrary, in the Central Pacific theater, the disadvantage of the US military is not obvious, and it is very likely that the US military will concentrate all its fleets to launch a counterattack in the Central Pacific first.

One can imagine how depressed Tan Renhao was when he speculated these results. He could even conclude that after Task Force 5 arrived in the Southwest Pacific Theater, Task Force 4, which was in better condition, would be sent to the Central Pacific Theater, and there was another key factor in this. That is, Huang Xiaotian and Jiang Zhongmin have cooperated before, and Huang Xiaotian is Zheng, Jiang Zhongmin is the deputy, if the principal really wants to support Jiang Zhongmin to fight against Tan Renhao, then Huang Xiaotian will definitely be taken away from the Southwest Pacific Battlefield, and Hao Dongjue and Jiang Zhongmin have no cooperative relationship, and they have only become the commander of the fleet not long ago, if the two task forces cooperate with each other, then Hao Dongjue must listen to Jiang Zhongmin's command!

Tan Renhao even thought about how Lei Shaoqing, Hao Dongjue and Huang Xiaotian would feel after the principal made this arrangement. Especially Hao Dongjue, he was even worried that Hao Dongjue would overreact at this time. If Hao Dongjue really messed up, Tan Renhao wouldn't be able to help him at all. And with Hao Dongjue's temper, if he doesn't make something, I'm afraid it will be a miracle.

A few months ago, Tan Renhao thought that the principal was deliberately supporting Jiang Zhongmin, and he didn't have any disgust at that time, after all, it is a good thing to have a competitor, and the principal will definitely avoid the situation of a dominant family, and it will also be more conducive to the development of the navy, and at the same time, it can also reduce the chance of Tan Renhao being in the limelight, so that Tan Renhao has more time to hide behind and develop his own power. But now, Tan Renhao is a little skeptical of his judgment, is the principal doing all this to help him?

Tan Renhao didn't know how long he had been sitting, and when there was a knock on the door, he came back to reality, perhaps, this is also a new battlefield!