The time soon came to the end of June, when the first batch of four "Lake"-class aircraft carriers (named "Qinghai Lake", "Xingkai Lake", "Hulun Lake" and "Bear Lake" respectively, all of which were called "Qinghai Lake" class) completed sea trials and were officially incorporated into the battle sequence of the Imperial Navy, the first step of the naval reform promoted by Nie Renfeng was also completed.

In the hundreds of years of history of the Imperial Navy, before Nie Renfeng became the commander of the Imperial Navy, there were a total of four institutional changes. The center of every reform is the reform of the personnel system, which is also a characteristic of the reform of the military system. In a highly hierarchical contingent like the military, the personnel system is the most important, and all command bases are built on the personnel system. It can be said that the personnel system has a direct bearing on the interests of every serviceman and is also the focus of concern of all servicemen. In order to adopt a new command system, it is necessary to make adjustments to the personnel system to adapt to the new command system.

In Nie Renfeng's second naval reform, the establishment of a new theater command system based on "accountability" is the core, and in this core, the fleet is the key. Therefore, it is crucial to restore the position of the fleet in the navy and increase the power of the commander of the fleet. Among them, it is most important to change the original system of the military rank of fleet commanders and raise the level of military ranks of fleet commanders.

Tan Renhao was the first task force commander to be promoted from rear admiral to vice admiral, and he was also the only task force commander in this promotion. At that time, the other four commanders of the task force were still rear admirals, but the possibility of their promotion was retained, and whether they could be promoted or not depended on their performance on the battlefield.

This time, it was still Nie Renfeng who personally bestowed the title on his favorite student, and after pinning the new epaulettes, Tan Renhao still didn't feel much excitement. A new system has been established, and along with the increase in rank, the responsibility has also increased considerably. As the commander of the fleet, Tan Renhao will have greater powers in the future, but at the same time. He also had to contribute more. Nie Renfeng has tied his status and responsibility, honor and obligation together, and while gaining a new position, he must also take on new responsibilities.

Tan Renhao was well aware of this, so he wasn't excited. Five years ago, Tan Renhao never dreamed that he would become a lieutenant general at the age of twenty-five, when he was still training in the military academy. The most that can be thought of is to become the captain of a destroyer at the age of 25, or an important officer on a large battleship. Anyway, he didn't expect that he would be able to become a lieutenant general so quickly, and he wasn't even very sure if he could become a general. The honor and status came too quickly, which made Tan Renhao feel like he was in a dream.

"Ren Hao, you don't need to change this military uniform, you are wearing it quite appropriately!"

Gan Yongxing also came to congratulate, and he also brought a bottle of champagne. "Well, these ornaments should be changed, though. In two days, I'll find someone to customize it for you. ”

"Chief of Staff. You're so kind! ”

Tan Renhao took the wine glass, and the ornaments Gan Yongxing said were those badges on the military uniform that represented the service experience. Those who understand the naval rank system can recognize at a glance from the badge what the other party has done and what honors they have received. Of course. Tan Renhao's service experience is very short, so the colors on his badge are not rich.

"Anyway, we should also celebrate the newly promoted vice admiral of the Imperial Navy!"

Gan Yongxing raised his glass, "Of course, this is all the promotion of the principal, Renhao, you will have to work harder in the future!" ”

"Thank you, Principal, thank you, Chief of Staff!"

Tan Renhao also raised his glass.

Nie Renfeng finally clinked glasses with the two. "Status and responsibility are equal. Originally, I wanted to arrange a new location for you, but all things considered. That's why I've decided to keep you in Task Force 1. ”

Tan Renhao glanced at the principal gratefully. "Actually, I also think that I should continue to be in the fleet now, after all, there are still many things I need to learn, and my current ability is not qualified for other jobs."

"Renhao, you don't have to tell me these humble words, I know your ability very well."

Nie Renfeng sat down, and also invited Tan Renhao and Gan Yongxing to sit down. "All four new aircraft carriers are already in service. It will take about a month of training. You can arrange Hao Dongjue to be in charge of these things, as the chief of staff of the fleet, this is also his duty. I discussed it with Yongxing, and we both agreed that the aircraft carrier 'Xuanzong' was no longer suitable for the First Task Force. ”

"This ......"

Tan Renhao was slightly taken aback, according to his guess, the four newly commissioned aircraft carriers should be divided equally by the two task forces, so that both task forces will be restored to the strength of the three-aircraft carrier battle group. If the "Xuanzong" is withdrawn from the First Task Force, then the First Task Force will have only two aircraft carriers, which, obviously, weakens the strength of the fleet.

"Actually, that's mostly what I mean."

Gan Yongxing took the principal's words and said, "I asked the shipyard, although the 'Xuanzong' can be repaired, but many fatal flaws cannot be changed, if you want to make a major change, the cost will not be much lower than building a new aircraft carrier, and the time it will take is not much less than building a new aircraft carrier, this price is not worth it." ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, the repair work of the aircraft carrier is relatively simple, as long as the hull is repaired, you can leave the dock, and the time to occupy the dock is relatively small. On the other hand, if it were to be overhauled, it would have to stay in the dock all the time, and it would take up several months of the dock. This will inevitably delay the construction of new aircraft carriers, because large docks are required to build aircraft carriers and aircraft carriers, and the large docks owned by any country are limited.

"As for the purpose of the 'Xuanzong', our initial plan is to use it as a training aircraft carrier."

Gan Yongxing glanced at the principal, "The damage to the 'Huaihe' is also very serious, and the original plan was to transfer the aircraft carriers that have been in service for a long time in the two existing task forces to form another task force. But now, we only have six aircraft carriers, and after consideration, we all think that until the US Navy does not have enough aircraft carriers, it is enough for a task force to maintain two aircraft carriers. The two extra aircraft carriers will be used to form a training fleet, of which the 'Xuanzong' will mainly carry out training missions in the future, so that the pilots will have the opportunity to gain experience in taking off and landing on aircraft carriers in the rear after completing the training at the six airfields and before officially joining the naval aviation. Of course, this new task force will certainly not be completed until next year, and now we have only preliminarily completed the training of officers and men, and when we have a new aircraft carrier, we will immediately expand the strength of the fleet, so that we will not come back to train qualified personnel at that time. ”

When Gan Yongxing introduced the situation, Tan Renhao was also thinking quickly, and when Gan Yongxing finished speaking, he immediately said: "This plan is very good, judging from the current situation, it is really not necessary for a task force to be equipped with three aircraft carriers, and two aircraft carriers are enough to deal with most of the tasks." Other than that. As the size of the Navy increases, there will definitely be a need for more personnel, and the size of the fleet officers and men, pilots, and aviation service personnel will all need to be expanded. In the past, we relied on veterans to fight, and the quality of veterans is worthy of recognition, but in the future, we must rely on more new recruits, so that the recruits can master more abilities before they go to the battlefield, and this will be helpful for future wars. In my opinion. It would be better to form a separate training fleet. It is specially responsible for the training of new recruits, and there are also pilots who are trained to adapt to combat on aircraft carriers after completing general training. Such. We will be able to increase the strength of the navy faster than our opponents! ”

Gan Yongxing nodded with a smile, and then looked at Nie Renfeng.

"It's a great plan, but it's only temporary."

Nie Renfeng spoke, "Actually, we're already thinking about this aspect. It would be a waste to use a large fleet carrier as a training battleship. Although the 'Xuanzong' is already backward, it is still a fleet aircraft carrier. In fact, the 'Xuanzong' was only temporarily used as a training aircraft carrier. If necessary, it can be incorporated into the Imperial Navy's task force at any time. Other than that. Work has already begun on a specially built small training aircraft carrier, which is expected to be launched by the end of the year. In the future, as the scope of the Imperial Navy's activities expands, we will also consider building smaller aircraft carriers that are less performant, but inexpensive enough to perform some secondary missions. ”

"Like those escort aircraft carriers deployed by the U.S. Navy in the Atlantic?"

Tan Renhao immediately thought of the key point.

"yes, I guess it's about the same."

Gan Yongxing answered this question, "We have not attached much importance to escorting aircraft carriers before, first, the navy does not have enough strength to escort aircraft carriers. Second, on the frontal battlefield, the role of these small aircraft carriers is not important, of course, the most critical thing is that we do not have the need for this, and our main sea routes are actually under our control. With the expansion of the scale of warfare in the future, especially the increase in the number of Deng-6 combat operations, if the fleet aircraft carrier is used to support the 6th Sentai Squadron, it will not only be risky, but also wasteful, so we are considering the large-scale construction of small aircraft carriers, mainly for the use of the Deng-6 troops. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, but did not rush to speak. The Battle of the Mariana Islands proved that it would be difficult for the 6th Sentai to land on the enemy-controlled islands without adequate air cover and air support. Although in the later stages of the campaign, the HNA ground-based air force used the airfields on the occupied islands to provide strong support for the 6th Sentai Group, as the war expanded, the 6th Sentai Group's offensive range would also expand, and if there were no occupied islands around, it would have to rely on the fleet's carrier aircraft to provide air cover and support. The risk of having a fleet carrier perform such a mission is very high, and if a fleet carrier is severely damaged, it is equivalent to losing the support of hundreds of fighters, and it is also equivalent to the loss of a powerful aircraft carrier battle group for the Imperial Navy. Conversely, a small, low-cost aircraft carrier can afford losses and can also perform the most basic tasks such as supporting the 6th Sentai Group.

"Okay, the chief of staff will arrange this matter, we just want to know your attitude towards the lack of one aircraft carrier in the first task force."

"Headmaster, since I returned to the First Task Force, I have been commanding two aircraft carriers to fight, but there is no one missing!"

Nie Renfeng laughed, and talking about Renhao's words meant that he had no opinion. "Well, then, the matter is settled for the time being. Another question is, we are preparing to establish a new theater command, who do you think is more suitable to be the theater commander? ”

"Pacific theater?"

Tan Renhao frowned slightly, he didn't want to sit in that position.

"The new theater plan has not yet come out, but there will definitely be a more powerful theater command, and at the same time the responsibilities of the new theater commander are heavy."

Gan Yongxing hesitated, "In the future, campaign-level operations will be directly under the responsibility of the theater commander, and will no longer be commanded by the naval command. From planning to implementation, the theater command is responsible, and the requirements for the theater commander are very high. ”

"It has to be a responsible, capable person to take on such responsibilities. Of course, I'm definitely not going to! ”

Tan Renhao vetoed himself first.

"We didn't think about you either."

Nie Renfeng smiled and shook his head, "What do you think, how is Liao Hanxiang?" ”

Tan Renhao was stunned, he didn't know how to answer now, how to say that Liao Hanxiang was his father-in-law, if he said yes, it would be a bit of personal feelings, but he couldn't say no, he couldn't doubt his father-in-law and elder.

"Headmaster, you're asking the wrong person."

Under Gan Yongxing's reminder, Nie Renfeng also immediately realized. "Okay, then we'll solve this problem ourselves. Ren Hao, now that you are a lieutenant general, we have said everything that should be said, and it will depend on your performance in the future! ”

"Thank you, Headmaster, Chief of Staff, I won't let you down!"

Tan Renhao immediately stood up, he knew that the principal was sending off the guests, "Principal, when will I be able to return to the fleet?" ”

Nie Renfeng smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, after the fleet is fully restored, you will have a mission, for now, you still stay in the headquarters. I've got some things you need to take care of. ”

Tan Renhao sighed secretly, it seems that it is better to return to the headquarters less in the future.

"Come back tomorrow."

Nie Renfeng sent Tan Renhao to the door, "Liao Hanxiang will come back today, you guys have a good chat, come to me tomorrow morning." ”

"Then I'll take my leave!"

Tan Renhao glanced at Gan Yongxing, who was standing next to him, and knew that the principal and the chief of staff still had something to discuss, so he couldn't delay any longer.