Volume 2: War breaks out Chapter 28 Internal Struggle (Part 2)
The room fell silent again. Lei Shaoqing had the urge to speak, but Tan Renhao quietly stopped him.
Vice Admiral Jiang Bangguo was not wrong. The three battleships would take several months to repair. However, it was more obvious that Jiang Bangguo did not support the counterattack proposed by the Fifth Fleet. This was probably directly related to the fact that he still did not trust the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier.
After Jiang Bangguo expressed his attitude, the expressions of the other fleet commanders also relaxed. With Jiang Bangguo taking the lead in opposing, they no longer needed to confront Sajitin directly.
Obviously, these fleet commanders also did not believe that the Fifth Fleet could turn the tide.
Sajitin's expression didn't change much, but it could be seen that Jiang Bangguo's words made it difficult for him to step down.
This is the main reason why Jiang Bangguo has not been able to become an admiral for so many years and has been left in the Second Fleet.
During World War I, Jiang Bangguo commanded the Second Fleet to block the Western Combined Fleet near the Anambas Islands for nearly a year, buying time for the Imperial Navy's subsequent counterattack. After the war, Jiang Bangguo always believed that he should become the commander of the navy, rather than Sagittin in the First Fleet.
The result of the competition between the two was very clear. In a fit of rage, Jiang Bangguo gave up even the chance to be promoted to admiral, and remained in the Second Fleet as his lieutenant general commander for more than 20 years.
"Mr. Jiang, then the other warships of the Second Fleet should be loaned to the Fifth Fleet temporarily, right?"
Liao Hanxiang was of course aware of the conflict between Sajiting and Jiang Bangguo, and his words gave Sajiting a way out.
"Old Jiang, those battleships should remain in the Second Fleet. The warships that are not damaged or can be quickly repaired should be temporarily transferred to the Fifth Fleet to participate in the counterattack campaign."
This time, Sajitin did not use a negotiating tone at all. "Everyone, do you have any other opinions?"
Seeing that Sagittin had revealed his trump card, the other fleet commanders did not express any objection. After all, it was the Second Fleet that was weakened, so what did it have to do with them?
"Well, that's all for today."
Sajiting glanced at the generals and said, "Within five days, all the warships of the Second Fleet that can sail must arrive at Zhoushan Port. Anyone who violates this will be punished according to the Imperial Navy's military law!"
Tan Renhao also saw that Marshal Sajitin was already very annoyed with these fleet commanders, and that Sajitin obviously wanted to weaken the Second Fleet or even abolish its organization, otherwise he would not have directly targeted the Second Fleet.
At this time, he saw the look in Liao Hanxiang's eyes, and quickly called Lei Shaoqing, and after leaving the meeting room, he went directly to Liao Hanxiang's office.
After Liao Hanxiang let the two people in, he closed the office door and poured a glass of water for each of them.
"As you can see, even at this time, the commanders of each fleet are still making their own plans.
It was impossible for Marshal Sagittin not to get angry.
However, now the First Fleet and the Third Fleet are in name only, and the Second Fleet has also suffered heavy losses. Marshal Sagittin wants to take this opportunity to completely reorganize the Imperial Navy's organization.
I am not very clear about the specific plan, but it will definitely be to redivide the fleets according to war zones in order to disintegrate the interest groups of each fleet.
However, this is not something you should be concerned about.
Tan Renhao, how confident are you about this counterattack?"
"More than 50%."
Tan Renhao answered directly.
Liao Hanxiang nodded slightly, obviously he was quite satisfied with this answer.
"If everything goes well, then we actually have a good chance of winning."
Tan Renhao gave a forced smile. "No matter what, we must turn the tide of the war as soon as possible, at least in some areas. This will give us hope. If we continue to passively take the beating, I'm afraid we will be defeated within two years."
"So we can only take a gamble?"
Tan Renhao nodded.
"War itself is a gamble, but we can only take action when we are sure, rather than blindly following suit. If we cannot seize the initiative in naval battles, we will never be able to win."
"Okay, I have confidence in you."
Liao Hanxiang went to get a document. "This is a plan sent by the Army yesterday. They will strengthen the defense force on Jeju Island in the near future and require us to provide transport ships. You have read this report. I will arrange a transport fleet as soon as possible to cooperate with your counterattack."
Tan Renhao nodded, this is the most crucial link.
"Now, you need to further determine the details of the counterattack plan. Although it cannot be foolproof, it should at least give us more hope."
Liao Hanxiang quickly lit up a cigarette, "So, you have to focus all your energy on this.
I have already said hello to Wu Xianyu and Ji Xiaobin, they will fully cooperate with you.
This counterattack is nominally commanded by General Wu Xianyu, but I hope you can play a greater role."
"I will do my best."
Liao Hanxiang stood up with a smile, which was his way of seeing the guest off.
When he sent the two men to the door, he added, "Of course, you have to come back alive. I don't want to lose my most important subordinates."
Tan Renhao and Lei Shaoqing smiled awkwardly, then left Liao Hanxiang's office.
"Renhao, are you sure?"
Lei Shaoqing was still a little worried about Tan Renhao's plan.
"This is the most uncertain of all. Do we have any better choice?"
Tan Renhao glanced at his companions and said, "At least, we have the support of the Navy Commander and the Chief of Staff, and we can't even lose confidence in ourselves, right?"
Lei Shaoqing smiled and nodded. If those who made the plan had no confidence, how could they expect others to have confidence in them? However, confidence alone was still not enough. Just as Tan Renhao said to Liao Hanxiang, war was gambling, and whether one could win depended on how big the cards in one's hand were and how well one knew the cards in the opponent's hand.
If both of these conditions are met, then victory will be more certain.
Tan Renhao's office was on the floor below. When he walked into the office, Hao Dongjue and Chang Jianxin were gathered around a radio.
"Renhao, you guys are back just in time. Prime Minister Xue Xiyue is issuing an imperial mobilization order over the radio !"
Tan Renhao and Lei Shaoqing immediately brought chairs and sat over.
Prime Minister Xue Xiyue had already published the Empire's declaration of war in the newspaper two days ago, and now the Prime Minister wanted to mobilize the Empire's military and civilians through radio broadcasts to unleash the Empire's full war potential.
