Lei Shaoqing also received a message from Wake Island at the same time. At that time, Han Shaofeng did not know that the 1st Task Force had already joined the 2nd Task Force (the previously determined rendezvous time was at 7:30 in the morning), so Han Shaofeng sent a telegram through the communication channels of the two task forces at the same time (he also sent a telegram to the theater command).

After receiving the telegram, Lei Shaoqing's first reaction was to contact the First Task Force to inquire about the situation and the new arrangements, but at that time he could only contact the First Task Force by radio, which would inevitably expose the location of the Second Task Force. Chang Jianxin immediately raised an objection, Tan Renhao will definitely make reasonable arrangements, if no order comes, then he should act according to the previous task, and he can't easily break the radio silence, which can only lead to the exposure of the fleet! Lei Shaoqing accepted this opinion, and if there was a change in the battle plan, then Tan Renhao would definitely inform him.

At this time, Task Force 1 was maneuvering at full speed in a direction of about 15 degrees north-east to evade. Tan Renhao also thought that Lei Shaoqing would act according to the original plan, but he still did not break the radio silence. His idea is very simple, at this time the second task force is still acting according to the original plan is actually wrong, this can only lead to the second task force in danger, the second task force should immediately turn around, and at the same time contact the bomber group, let the bombers return home, abandon the previous bombing mission, so that the second task force can sail south at least 45 nautical miles before dawn, even if it is discovered by the US reconnaissance planes, then before the US bombers arrive, it can still sail dozens of nautical miles south, This is very likely to break out of the strike range of US bombers and reach a safe sea area. At this time, the 1st Task Force had already maneuvered into position and was ambushed next to the US Task Force. Even if the 2nd Task Force did not escape the range of US bombers, the 1st Task Force would still be able to avenge the 2nd Task Force. Of course, the best outcome was for Task Force 1 to take out Spruance and Task Force 2 to come out unharmed.

Tan Renhao knows. Lei Shaoqing will not easily change the arrangement he made before, that is to say, the second task force will still bomb the US landing site according to the previous arrangement, which will lose at least an hour of turning time, and the evasion distance will be less than 30 nautical miles. The crux of the matter is not really here, maybe Spruance is not yet within the range of striking Task Force 2, of course, this is the best outcome. And not the worst outcome.

The worst result is that even if the second task force goes south at full speed, it will be difficult to escape the strike radius of the US bombers, and the sea area where the US fleet may exist will be very limited. As long as the Second Task Force was attacked, Tan Renhao could roughly determine the location of the US fleet without the information provided by the reconnaissance planes, and then immediately dispatch bombers to contact the reconnaissance planes in front by radio and revise the flight routes of the reconnaissance planes. Find the American fleet before the bombers arrive. Then take out Spruance.

In other words, in this plan, Tan Renhao actually put the second task force in the position of decoy. That's why he sent the fleet north-east. And not the reason for sailing to the east. Spruance is most likely to be seen to the north, so that bombers can be dispatched while keeping as much distance as possible. It is least likely to appear in the east, but it cannot be ruled out, so it is necessary to properly control the distance to the east.

Tan Renhao did not break the radio silence, the chance of the Second Task Force escaping was only about half, and he must not risk the First Task Force, let alone the precious strike force of the First Task Force. If you can attack first and blow up four American aircraft carriers, you will be able to sacrifice the second task force. It would also be a great victory, and they would be heroes, not sinners. As the commander of the fleet, he usually cares about the treatment of officers and soldiers, even if he can't have a good relationship with the officers and soldiers like Hao Dongjue, he also cares about the officers and soldiers in the fleet. In the same way, he knew that sacrifices and costs were inevitable for the sake of victory. After the sacrifice, if the victory can be obtained, it is a worthwhile sacrifice, and if the sacrifice is still a defeat after the sacrifice, it is a worthless sacrifice. Between the two, Tan Renhao will only choose the former, and will never choose the latter.

Lei Shaoqing may not have thought about it so comprehensively as Renhao, but he also realized that the Second Task Force and even the First Task Force were in danger. At half past six, Jiang Wenhan sent a telegram back that they had not found the US landing fleet and artillery formation, and that the plane group had bombed the US positions on the beach and were ready to return home. At this time, Lei Shaoqing began to worry, because he hadn't received any news from the First Task Force until now!

"Is there any news from General Tan?" Lei Shaoqing had already asked the communications staff officer for the fifth time in half an hour.

The communications staff officer shook his head very aggrievedly, he didn't know how to answer the question of the fleet commander, if the first task force had news sent to him, he would definitely tell the fleet commander immediately.

"Old Lei, calm down." Chang Jianxin asked the communications staff officer to walk away, "Ren Hao must have also received the news and made arrangements." The seaplanes of the 1st Task Force were also dispatched, and they did not send a message, at least to prove that Ren Hao knew how to keep the fleet hidden. ”

"Yes, I know, but that's not what I'm worried about!" Lei Shaoqing sighed, "Jiang Wenhan has already sent a telegram back, our bomber group must have also been discovered by the US military, and they can judge our approximate location by the general course of the bomber group." Moreover, the sudden withdrawal of the U.S. landing fleet and artillery formation at least indicates that Spruance already knew that we were in the waters near Wake Island. He must have sent out a reconnaissance plane before dawn, and perhaps now their reconnaissance plane will fly over our heads. There is no way that we can organize a strike force before we are bombed, and hopefully it is in the hands of Task Force 1. ”

Chang Jianxin nodded, and seeing Lei Shaoqing's anxious look, he went to pour a glass of water.

Lei Shaoqing took two sips. "Now we are too close to the First Task Force, and Spruance cannot only send a few reconnaissance planes, if the US reconnaissance planes use the fan-shaped search method, they will definitely find the First Task Force when they discover us, and as long as Spruance is sure that there are fighters on the aircraft carrier of the First Fleet, he will not hesitate to bomb the First Task Force first, and then use the second wave of bombers to deal with us. Spruance had four aircraft carriers in his hands, which could dispatch nearly a hundred and fifty bombers at a time. Neither we nor the First Task Force can withstand the blows of so many fighters! ”

"Then what do you mean......" Chang Jianxin also felt that Lei Shaoqing's worries were reasonable, the end of the second task force was nothing, as long as the first task force seized the main opportunity to kill Spruance, the sacrifice of the second task force would be valuable, but the problem was that if the first task force was hit first, then they would lose the opportunity to kill the enemy.

"I mean. 1We must do everything possible to keep Task Force 1 at odds with us and ensure the safety of Task Force 1! Lei Shaoqing hesitated for a moment, beckoned to call the communications staff officer over, "Immediately send a report to the First Task Force, ask them to break away from us as soon as possible, hide as far away as possible, and can't finish with us!" ”

The communications staff officer was taken aback and immediately looked at Chang Jianxin.

Chang Zhixin hesitated for a moment, then nodded and asked the communications staff officer to send the telegram.

At this time. Task Force 2 is heading south at full speed. Shortly after the telegram was sent, Lei Shaoqing issued a new order, and the fleet's radar was immediately turned on. Search the surrounding airspace while all the air defense fighters are concentrated on the north side of the fleet, ready to meet the enemy. When the radar on the heavy cruiser "Wudinghe" was turned on first, an air target fifteen nautical miles northwest of the fleet was immediately discovered, and it was by no means the fleet's air defense fighters!

The air defense sirens were immediately sounded, and the two air defense fighters that were concentrating on the north side of the fleet immediately killed them. Sure enough, it was a US military reconnaissance plane converted from SBD, but unfortunately, it took five minutes for the air defense fighter to rush over, and before that. The reconnaissance plane had already gotten ten nautical miles closer to the fleet, saw the two aircraft carriers at the core of the fleet, and sent a telegram!

Of course, in the end, the brave reconnaissance plane was shot down.

Lei Shaoqing did not blame anyone, but asked the aviation combat staff to calculate the return time of the bomber group and the remaining fuel, and at the same time asked people to send this information to the First Task Force, and by this time, Lei Shaoqing had not received a telegram from the First Task Force. He didn't think much about it, Tan Renhao must be taking action, and in order to ensure the safety of the fleet, the first task force did not call back. When the aviation operations staff officer sent the report, Lei Shaoqing made another decision, first let the escort fighters land to replenish fuel, and then take off, while the bombers landed in the interval between the landing and takeoff of the escort fighters, and the time for the fighters to take off could not be delayed, and if there was not enough fuel, then they would make a forced landing on the sea.

When he received the first telegram from the Second Task Force, Tan Renhao was still complaining that Lei Shaoqing couldn't hold his breath and exposed his location so easily, but then he received the second telegram and immediately stopped complaining about Lei Shaoqing.

"Do you want our warships to turn on the radar as well?" Hao Dongjue immediately made a suggestion. At present, the distance between the First Task Force and the Second Task Force is only 150 nautical miles, and US reconnaissance planes, according to the most common search method, will also have reconnaissance planes flying towards them.

"Not yet." Tan Renhao looked at the chart and thought.

It was an SBD that was shot down, and the main thing is that the stations on the SBD are good enough and have a long enough range of action. When used as a reconnaissance aircraft, the SBD will replace the 1,000-pound bomb with a large auxiliary fuel tank, so that the reconnaissance aircraft's ground reconnaissance patrol radius will be extended to 300 nautical miles, and if the patrol time at the limit radius is shortened, it can even be increased to 350 nautical miles. If Spruance's reconnaissance search range is 90 degrees, then the U.S. fleet is within 350 nautical meters north of Task Force 2, and most likely within 300 nautical miles.

Tan Renhao quickly marked these ranges on the chart with a scale, and then he ruled out the waters south and west of Wake Island, which were the most unlikely areas for Spruance, and now that the seaplanes they sent had arrived there, and no news had been sent back to prove that the American fleet had not yet been discovered. Then, he ruled out the sea area of 250 to 350 nautical miles to the north, where he arranged dozens of reconnaissance planes, and these reconnaissance planes had already reached the predetermined sea area, and if Spruance was here, he would have been discovered. He also ruled out this sea area 250 to 35 nautical miles to the northeast, where there are also 24 reconnaissance planes, and the possibility of discovering the American fleet should not be very small.

After excluding these areas, all that remains is the sea area within about 85 degrees north and northeast of Task Force 2, within 250 nautical miles. In other words, now Task Force 2 is well within the range of Spruance's strikes.

Tan Renhao could almost imagine that Spruance had already received a telegram from the reconnaissance plane, and that the US military radio listening station must have received the radio signal from the second task force, and Spruance would not hesitate to send out his bombers, at least half of the bombers on the four aircraft carriers. That would be enough to destroy Task Force 2, and Spruance would use the remaining half of the bombers to strike Task Force 1.

"Renhao, we should be vigilant, if we are also discovered, Spruance will definitely bomb us first, and ......"

Tan Renhao shook his hand, he hesitated for a moment, and said to Hao Dongjue: "Describe the routes of our reconnaissance planes, and in addition, mark the sea area that these reconnaissance planes pass through after dawn." ”

Hao Dongjue hesitated slightly, and immediately got busy on the chart, and five minutes later, he marked the sea area that the reconnaissance plane passed after dawn.

Tan Renhao looked at the chart for a while, and then laughed.

"Renhao, we can't hesitate!"

"It seems that we are all underestimating the versatility of Spruance as an opponent!" Tan Renhao sighed, and then clicked on the chart, "Contact the nearest reconnaissance plane in the vicinity, let them search this sea area repeatedly, the bomber is ready to take off, and in addition, turn on the radar!" ”