A US military transport plane, under the cover of four fighter planes, took off from Dajia Airport and headed straight for Tainan. The plane was a little bumpy in the air, and Ouyang Jian, Bai Chongxi, He Long, and Chennault did it in the cabin, and their expressions were very relaxed. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, several commanders of the Joint Command flew into the sky, what are they going to do? It turned out that the committee had received a notification that a fleet of the US Navy was going to arrive at Kaohsiung Port.

The sudden appearance of the US fleet in Tainan surprised everyone. After the conclusion of the first phase of the Taiwan Strait Campaign, the US High Command decided to cancel the landing campaign in the Philippines and directly launch the Okinawa Campaign to create conditions for attacking the Japanese mainland, and to use Taiwan, an unsinkable aircraft carrier, to control the waters of the western Pacific Ocean and completely cut off the Japanese army's maritime ties with the Philippines and the South Seas. In addition, to speed up the course of the war and land on the Japanese mainland as soon as possible to force it to surrender. In this way, the Philippines and even the South Seas can be defeated without a fight.

When the opportunity came, the US Pacific Fleet, on the orders of the US High Command, seized the opportunity to dispatch a mixed fleet to Taiwan, a move that greatly surprised the allies and the Japanese army. In order to maintain secrecy, the U.S. military did not inform the Chinese government until the fleet arrived in Tainan. According to the US report, the fleet consists of 27 warships, including 2 cruisers, 4 destroyers, 6 gunboats, 2 anti-submarine ships, 1 minesweeper, 2 supply ships, 6 landing ships, and 4 transport ships. The purpose of this fleet is to support the Chinese army in launching landing operations along the coast and achieving the goal of controlling China's coastal waters.

The US High Command believes that it is only a matter of time before the Chinese army conquers Taiwan, and if the Japanese army does not react, if it can deploy a fleet in Taiwan as soon as possible and, under the protection of shore-based combat aircraft, gradually control China's coastal waters to the north, while supporting the Chinese army in its operations, it will create conditions for attacking the Japanese mainland. Ouyang Jian and others received the report from the military committee, so they hurried to Tainan to welcome the arrival of the fleet. The commander of this mixed fleet was Admiral Nimitz, United States Admiral.

The transport plane landed on the runway with some potholes at Tainan Airport, and after the plane came to a standstill, Ouyang Jian and the others got off the plane. As far as the eye can see, the airfield is desolate and in disarray, and it can be seen that the Japanese army has carried out large-scale damage to the airfield when they retreated. The main generals of the 9th Corps greeted them at the airport, and everyone exchanged a brief greeting, and then drove to the dock. The Kaohsiung Military Port wharf is also in a mess, with obvious traces of destruction. The crowd paused on the dock and looked out over the sea to the southeast.

"Did you get in touch with the U.S. fleet?" Bai Chongxi asked, and the chief of staff of the 9th Corps replied: "I have been contacted, and according to their speed of travel, they will arrive at about 10 o'clock." "Brother Ouyang, it's still half an hour until 10 o'clock!" "The Allied fleet is coming!" As soon as Bai Chongxi's words fell, an operational staff officer shouted excitedly. Ouyang Jian took the binoculars from the guard's hand to check, and sure enough, the shadow of the fleet appeared on the sea. The U.S. fleet rode the wind and waves, mighty and magnificent.

"Brother Ouyang, when will China have such a fleet?" Bai Chongxi sighed. "Yes, in the near future, our own fleet will be galloping across the oceans. Ladies and gentlemen, it is the mission of our Holy Spirit to completely shake off China's humiliating history of having no sea and defense, and we must build a strong navy, and I am confident in this! "The silhouette of the U.S. fleet is becoming clearer and clearer, especially the huge body of the flagship is very eye-catching." Brother Ouyang, to tell you the truth, I don't have any research on battleships, I want to know how much you know about American battleships? ”

In the face of Bai Chongxi's inquiry, Ouyang Jian raised his telescope again and looked at the flagship, and soon he judged the type of flagship and said: "The flagship of the U.S. fleet is the Iowa-class battleship, which is the largest battleship produced by the United States last year, a total of 4 are: Iowa BB-61, New Jersey BB-62, Missouri BB-63, Wisconsin BB-64."" BB-62, BB-63, the two battleships are New Jersey and USS Missouri! Bai Chongxi said excitedly. General Ouyang, your intelligence is terrifying, we don't know any of these situations! Chennault said enviously.

"Iowa-class battleships with a standard displacement of 35,000 tons and a full load displacement of 46,000 tons. The weapon system is a triple 406 mm main gun, with a length of 270.4 meters, a width of 33 meters, a speed of 33 knots, a cruising range of 18,000 nautical miles, and a crew of 2,346 people. This was the last rank battleship produced by the US Navy. It was proved by the Battle of the Pacific that it was a foregone conclusion that aircraft carriers would replace battleships, after which the era of battleship supremacy at sea was gone! Ouyang Jian's comments shocked everyone present.

The flagship Missouri sounded the whistle in greeting, and Ouyang Jian looked at the fleet and continued: "The arrival of the U.S. fleet is of great help to our sea transportation. Look, the Americans think very thoroughly, gunboats, transport ships, landing ships, this is what we urgently need and our weakness, what is the icing on the cake and charcoal in the snow? As he spoke, the U.S. fleet entered the dock in a mighty manner, and although the dock of the military port was damaged by the Japanese army, there was no problem for the warship to dock. The flagship USS Missouri slowly stopped at the dock, the side gangway was lowered, and the commander of the American fleet, General Nimitz, surrounded by his entourage, disembarked along the zigzag gangway.

Admiral Nimitz was tall and steady, and it was impossible to tell that he was close to his age. The black and white military hat is attached to the eyebrows, and the pair of sunken and slender eyes and closed lips show that this man has a strong personality. The two sides exchanged military salutes and greetings. Nimitz belonged to the unruly category, even when he saw his compatriot Chennault, he only nodded slightly, but he had extra respect for Ouyang Jian. This move can be seen completely from the frankness of the Americans. Simple conversation, Ouyang Jian's fluent English, made Nimitz feel very cordial.

"General Ouyang, your prestige is like thunder. In particular, the launch of the Taiwan Strait Campaign, without the support of a powerful fleet, not only succeeded in landing but also won successive battles, creating a miracle in military history. Ouyang smiled at Nimitz's bluntness: "General Nimitz, it's not how clever my command is, but that we have the necessary conditions. The special geographical situation of the Taiwan Strait, the Japanese army's erroneous judgment, the sortie of airborne troops, and the powerful air support are the necessary conditions for ensuring a successful landing in the Taiwan Strait campaign, and all of them are indispensable! ”

"General Ouyang, it seems simple but how difficult it is to implement can be imagined, according to our Americans' military point of view, this is almost an impossible military adventure, but you did it. The successful landing of Chinese troops in Taiwan has played a tremendous role in promoting the strategic offensive in the Pacific theater. The US High Command decided to cancel the plan to land in the Philippines and make every effort to assist the Chinese army in conquering Taiwan and create conditions for launching an attack on the Japanese mainland. This time, I am under the order of the Navy Command to lead the task force to accept your command and fully assist your troops in the battle. ”

Nimitz did not shy away from expressing it very clearly, and did not mention how to fight at the top. Ouyang Jian was worried that what he said would be more explicit, so he had to change the topic and said, "General Nimitz, at present, our sea transportation is a bottleneck, and I hope that your landing ships and transport ships will fully assist in transportation." The second phase of the Taiwan Strait campaign will be more difficult and will be more difficult, and we need to hoard a large amount of combat materials. ”“OK！ There is nothing wrong with that. My transport ships and landing ships are loaded with war materiel, including ammunition, which can be used as a priority to support your operations. ”

The generals made a short stop at the Kaohsiung Military Port, and then Ouyang Jian and the generals, accompanied by General Nimitz, boarded the battleship USS Missouri. According to the current war situation, the landing ships and transport ships include two anti-submarine ships, and four destroyers remain in the Kaohsiung Military Port. Other warships, including the USS Missouri and the USS New Jersey, headed for the Grace Joint Command. The U.S. fleet split in two, and warships such as the flagship USS Missouri sailed north into the Taiwan Strait. Due to the large number of mines on the sea surface in the strait, the US minesweepers opened the way in front to prevent the warships behind from hitting the Japanese mines.

The mines laid by the Japanese army in the channel of the strait are almost all magnetic mines. Magnetic mines have little effect on wooden ships, but they can pose a deadly threat to the steel bodies of American warships. As expected, the fleet sailed north for less than two hours, and the minesweeper was easily encountered by a black guy. At this time, Ouyang Jian and Nimitz stood on the deck to watch, only to see the mechanical grip of the minesweeper, easily lifting the mine from the sea and gently placing it on the deck, the mine floated in the sea for a long time, and the whole body was crawling with plankton in the sea.

American sailors began to dismantle the mine fuses, and the minesweepers continued to sail north. "General Ouyang, you are very lucky, the mines laid by the Japanese army are not dangerous to your wooden boat, but they are fatal to the battleship. The explosion of the cleared mine was powerful enough to sink a destroyer. "General Nimitz, we have no way to use wooden boats to launch a sea-crossing operation." "General Ouyang, the Japanese submarine is still the biggest threat, I want to know about your anti-submarine capabilities." "General Nimitz, in the waters of Taiwan, my submarine hunting wooden ship patrols 24 hours a day, and will ensure the absolute safety of the fleet!"

While Ouyang Jian and Nimitz were talking, Chief of Staff Bai Chongxi and He Long visited the battleship on the deck. The two of them discussed while looking at the flowers, "Deputy Commander He, I heard that your Red Star Fleet has formed a scale. "I can't talk about the scale, but there is no problem with the personnel reserve. If we have such a fleet, we can call it a real navy! "Listen to Commander Ouyang's meaning, in the future, we will not engage in giant ships and artillery, but directly build an aircraft carrier fleet." "Commander Ouyang conceived from this, and I believe in his ability."

"Deputy Commander He, can you tell us a little bit about it?" "I don't know about the construction of the navy, as far as I know, the Mawei shipyard has expanded two docks of about 50,000 tons, presumably we are preparing to build aircraft carrier warships." "May that day come soon!" As they talked, they looked forward to the future, and their hearts rose with pride in building a strong navy.

At this time, Nimitz asked: "General Ouyang, the U.S. Navy urgently needs Keelung Harbor, I want to know when the second phase of the offensive will begin?" "Around mid-February, according to the campaign deployment, Taiwan will be conquered at the end of March!" However, to Ouyang Jian's expectations, as well as the expectations of the Military Committee and the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, the arrival of the American fleet was uncertain, and the Japanese army suddenly withdrew from Songhu.