In fact, Tong Haifeng is not very worried about his position being exposed. In the past few days, the two sides have been playing a game www.biquge.info of cat and mouse in this sea area, and the reconnaissance planes of both sides have spotted each other many times.

Based on intelligence analysis, it can be concluded that the current approximate distance between the two sides is not suitable for an attack. Therefore, Tong Haifeng, who chose to sail farther for the time being, was not too worried about encountering a large-scale attack. Of course, the necessary precautions still need to be done.

Everything Tong Haifeng did was based on the premise that he was unwilling to join forces with Spruance, who was of equal strength. What he wanted was to wait until Lin Luo and Han Dongwen rushed over to converge after eating Fletcher, and defeated Spruance in one fell swoop with superior forces. Until then, all he had to do was hang Spruance and keep him from escaping. And this mentality and thinking will have an important impact on this naval battle.

It didn't take long, at most about ten minutes. A Ming reconnaissance plane sent back the latest intelligence about the Spruance fleet.

Although the message was interrupted before it was finished, it meant that the reconnaissance plane had been shot down. I didn't have time to report the course or speed. However, Tong Haifeng had already gotten the information he wanted.

After outlining the position between the two sides on the chart, Tong Haifeng smiled at the pencil in his hand, "Sail according to the current course for two hours, then turn back to the original course and continue to move forward." ”

Tong Haifeng stayed away for the time being to avoid a possible attack from Spruance. It is not contradictory that he would turn back two hours later in order to continue to hang Spruance and prevent him from escaping south to join Halsey. Tong Haifeng's heart is big, and he wants to eat Spruance after the convergence.

Hundreds of nautical miles away, on the bridge of the USS Essex, the flagship of Task Force 58, Spruance was listening to the staff officer's debriefing.

"The radio listening department has confirmed that the Daming reconnaissance plane had sent out a wireless telegram before it was shot down." The staff officer's words made all the officers and men in the bridge frown, but Spruance was calm.

"Hmm. I know. Spruance nodded, turned around and stood beside the sailing table, holding his elbow with one hand and pinching his chin with the other hand before speaking softly after a moment of silence, "The whole fleet accelerates to twenty-eight knots, sails to the northeast, and we catch up." ”

"Sir." Chief of Staff Turner asked in confusion: "Judging from the situation in the past few days, the Ming fleet will inevitably flee in the northeast direction." We can't catch up with them. Moreover, if it is so fast, it may cause impact and danger to the boiler of the battleship. ”

Traveling at high speeds can damage the boilers, and if something goes wrong with the boilers of a battleship, it can be a big problem. In this era of aviation warfare, if there is no motivation, there is no other choice but to withdraw from the battlefield or wait for death.

"Don't worry." Spruance smiled and said, "They won't go far, or they will turn back to play hide and seek with us soon." As for the boiler thing, you have to trust the quality of our American industrial products. Especially military products. ”

If nothing else, the quality of the Americans' products is still okay. In particular, the extremely important military industry naturally has a high quality assurance, after all, no one dares to make trouble for themselves in this aspect.

Spruance thought his fleet would be running at high speed for hours, and it would be okay to launch a fierce offensive before dark.

Spruance's plan was simple, to get as close as possible and launch an attack on Daming before dark. Because it's not early, and the distance between the two sides is actually not close. Before the sky darkens, there must be time for a battle to break out between the two sides. However, it is highly likely that there will only be one chance to attack.

Although both sides already know the general direction of the other side, it is impossible for the reconnaissance plane to keep a tight grip on the other side's movements all the time, and this is actually very difficult to do.

Spruance will have an advantage after the start of the war. In addition to this, there was another important reason why Spruance dared to let go of Yibo, a reason why he really made up his mind.

In fact, Spruance also knew that the Ming army on the opposite side would also discover his intentions, and once the war started, the victory between the two sides should be between five and five. Spruance, on the other hand, still dared to attack bravely, relying on the fact that he knew that he had a strong reinforcement.

There was only one person who could become Spruance's reinforcement, and that was William Jr., the commander of Task Force 57. Frederick. Halsey.

To be able to become the commander of a fleet, none of them will be ordinary characters. Even Fletcher has excellent command ability, and his flaws are nothing more than personality.

And excellent commanders like Spruance and Halsey are elite soldiers who stand out from hundreds of thousands of US Navy, and their technical and tactical level and combat will are definitely not comparable to ordinary people.

Spruance was able to deduce that the fleet opposite him was a diversionary fleet, and Halsey could understand that the U.S. Navy could not be defeated by each one, even if he didn't know.

The brave Halsey was not afraid of formidable opponents, and he had already led Task Force 57 from the waters off the distant island of Kiribati when Spruance and Tong Haifeng were playing hide and seek.

Halsey tightly controlled his movements, doing his best to avoid being discovered by the Ming Navy.

Halsey first sent a small detachment to roam the waters near Kiribati, and at the same time used the radio to pretend to send irregular reports to the whole fleet to confuse the Ming navy.

Halsey then sent a destroyer to stay in the lagoon on the island of Kiribati. If he led the fleet to the north, if there was any message that needed to be sent, he would send a seaplane to Kiribati with the message, and after landing, send the message to the destroyer in the lagoon.

These meticulous measures ensured that Halsey successfully evaded the surveillance of the Ming Navy. Halsey then quietly led his Task Force 57 all the way north to the waters near Johnston Atoll, preparing to join forces with Spruance against the main fleet of the Ming Navy.

When the news came that Fletcher's fleet was being attacked by the superior Ming navy, Spruance and Halsey both understood that what they were facing was not the main force of the Ming navy, but a diversion division. The two of them, who were originally preparing for a decisive battle in the fleet, immediately decided to eat Tong Haifeng in one bite!

......

"The Americans are coming in?" At about one o'clock in the afternoon, Tong Haifeng received the latest report from the reconnaissance plane. The U.S. Navy fleet was approaching itself at full speed, and within an hour at most its fleet would be within the radius of the Americans' air forces.

Now Tong Haifeng is facing a decision. That is to turn around and continue to run away, and wait until it gets dark to get out of the battlefield. Or fight to the death with this US fleet to decide the winner.

As an excellent commander, Tong Haifeng knew that the distance between the two sides was actually very dangerous. If the U.S. commander had a strong enough determination force, he could immediately order his attack fleet to strike now, while the fleet continued to accelerate and soon close the short gap in distance. The possibility of such a thing is very high, because since the US commander on the opposite side dares to chase after him all the way, he must have already made up his mind to fight a decisive battle.

Tong Haifeng can understand Spruance's thoughts. At this time, the latest battle report had been transmitted from Lin Luo and Fletcher. If nothing else, Fletcher's Task Force 59 suffered a devastating blow, while Lin Luo and Han Dongwen's fleet suffered little damage.

The Pacific Fleet of the US Navy, which has lost almost a third of its strength, cannot just watch itself fall into the wind like this. Tong Haifeng's fleet became the best choice for the Americans to turn the tables. As long as Tong Haifeng's fleet can be eaten, the two sides will basically return to the same starting line.

"With such a big appetite, I'm not afraid of jumping off a mouth full of teeth!" Tong Haifeng narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly with an indifferent expression.

He is not a fledgling little person, he can become the commander of the First Air Fleet of the Ming Navy, how can he Tong Haifeng be an ordinary character?

"What happened to the U.S. fleet in the waters off Kiribati?" After a moment of deep silence, Tong Haifeng turned to look at his chief of staff and asked aloud.

"The latest intelligence is that the radio signal of the U.S. fleet is still hovering in the waters off Kiribati." The chief of staff's answer made Tong Haifeng breathe a sigh of relief, but he also had doubts in his heart. After all, a good commander shouldn't just watch his allies face a powerful enemy army alone. If it had been him, he would have already come north to support. Could it be that the command of the US Pacific Fleet does not allow it?

"Are there any sightings in the submarine forces?" After hesitating for a moment, Tong Haifeng continued to ask aloud. He would like to be able to obtain more precise information.

"Last night a reconnaissance submarine spotted the fleet from a distance, not much different from the area where the radio was listening." The chief of staff's answer made Tong Haifeng dispel the last trace of hesitation in his heart. Since that fleet was still thousands of miles away, he had nothing to worry about.

In fact, the Ming submarine only spotted the camouflaged fleet left by Halsey in the distance. Because of the long distance and the poor visibility on a rainy night, after discovering the outline of a group of warships, the Ming submarine, which could not be pursued at a speed, took it for granted that it was the huge 57th Task Force. This brought Tong Haifeng a wrong judgment of the situation.

"Lin Luo, they have won a great victory, and the nearest reinforcements are thousands of miles away." Tong Haifeng, who was clasping his arms around and leaning on the sailing table, raised his hand and pinched his chin, squinted his eyes slightly, and whispered to himself, "Why do you think you can eat me?" Could it be that my performance during this period of time has made you feel contemptuous? I'm Tong Haifeng! ”

"The whole fleet is speeding up and ready for battle!" (To be continued.) )