afterglow

Chapter 622 Tell her not to rush = Your Majesty, don’t worry; where did the three battleships come from?

"This... this kind of reply is too presumptuous. I will change the wording for you."

"No need, just send it as it is, and ask questions every day, just like fighting a war and checking on the post regularly."

As the saying goes, it is the eunuchs who are anxious when the emperor is not. Now there are no eunuchs, only generals. Moreover, not only the emperor is anxious, but the generals are also anxious.

In the end, the communications staff officer did not send out Zhou Changfeng's original words, so he modified the wording to become "We have our own arrangements for the battle, I hope Your Majesty will not worry and wait for good news" and so on.

Zhu Lingjing was of course concerned about the progress of the Battle of Maui. If the Battle of Oahu established the Ming Dynasty's dominant position in this war - always suppressing the U.S. military, then the Battle of Maui might very well be the final battle to decide the outcome.

Today, the capital city of Yingtian was covered with dark clouds, and it had been raining heavily since early morning.

There was no written law regulating the emperor's work and rest schedule. Before Zhu Shiyan's death, Zhu Lingjing usually got up at 6 a.m. and rested for 6 or 7 consecutive days. However, in the past year, she had obviously slacked off a lot, and gradually got up at 7:30 a.m.

In terms of daily life, compared to our ancestors in ancient times who had people to help them with dressing and bathing, Zhu Lingjing does not need anyone to help her with dressing and washing.

Of course, this is nothing to be proud of.

The breakfast was light and simple, with only three items: wontons, egg custard, and red date cake, and a cup of warm wolfberry tea.

At this time, outside, a servant came quickly with a telegram and handed it to Su Yiyi who was waiting at the door.

Then, Su Yiyi knocked on the door gently, pushed it open, stepped over the threshold and walked in.

"Uh... Your Majesty, there's a call back from the front." She put the telegram on the small round table, "It's basically asking you not to worry..."

Zhu Lingjing, who looked calm, didn't take it seriously at first. She just glanced at him and then looked away.

Hmm? Why is the reply above not quite right?

So she looked over again and quickly read the two sentences at the end of the article.

It goes without saying that this was someone else's suggestion. This kind of polite words is not Zhou's habit at all. Normally, his replies are simple and direct in plain language to explain the matter.

Staring at the big bright red wolfberries floating in the glass, she naturally imagined Zhou's expression and movements.

"This guy has become too powerful." Zhu Lingjing rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly, but she was not angry.

The current situation is very good for the Ming Dynasty. Previously, there were some concerns among the government and the public, fearing that after the strategic stalemate, the United States would gain the upper hand by relying on its national strength. Now there seems to be no such sign.

The heroism of the Battle of Tarawa not only terrified the entire U.S. military, but also deeply shocked the American people.

The Battle of Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian direction once again ended in victory, with thousands killed or wounded and tens of thousands captured, undoubtedly inflicting a heavy blow.

In addition to the public's opposition, more voices advocating peace have emerged in the American political, economic and business circles. If there are many far-reaching reasons for fighting a hard battle with Germany in Europe, then continuing a bloody battle with the Ming in the Pacific is really a lack of strong support.

In fact, most military personnel are very pessimistic. They even believe that even if they win every battle in the future, they will not be able to take back the Philippines in the end.

Therefore, the determination of the American top leaders in the Pacific War, which is costly and has low returns, has been completely shaken.

This is also one of the reasons why Zhu Lingjing can sit on the Diaoyutai with ease.

If people’s hearts are divided and military morale is lacking, what use will be the best weapons and equipment?
What's next? Just counter it.

As for the ongoing landing battle on Maui, she keenly felt that there were considerable obstacles.

Unlike capturing isolated islands, Maui's connection with the Big Island was not cut off. After clearing the aerial mines in the straits and main waterways, the US military was able to transport troops and supplies to Maui.

Then, it all depends on how the navy performs.

At noon that day, in Maalaea Bay on Maui Island, in the command cabin of the amphibious command ship Fa Zheng...

Deng Siquan, commander of the 38th Division, Ye Yirui, commander of the 31st Division, and Zou Pu, commander-in-chief of the 76th Special Fleet, gathered together to analyze the situation and tactical strategies.

The primary goal is still to cut off the bottleneck of Maui Island, but in the past three days, the Ming army is still quite far from achieving this goal.

Zhou Changfeng's offensive arrangement was not as aggressive as before, and the same was true for Simon Buckner. Both sides were quite conservative.

Our side does not have complete air superiority, and there is no guarantee that the operation will not be disconnected or delayed due to air strikes. In this case, it is too risky to make a breakthrough in depth.

Although the U.S. military would also face the threat of air strikes, this was ultimately in their pre-set positions that had been prepared long ago, so it was easier to organize the action. They only needed to concentrate their counterattack forces to encircle the narrow area on both sides. The Ming army, on the other hand, had to infiltrate and break through while guarding against counterattacks, so they had a lot more to consider.

Zhou Changfeng was still struggling with whether he should launch a large-scale attack. Aerial reconnaissance showed that the 2nd Marine Division of the US Army was gathering in the southwest of the Big Island. Several docks and anchorages on the Big Island were also home to a large number of LST landing ships and LCVP landing craft.

It is obvious that the US military has made preparations - if the Ming army advances deep into the northern part of the island, it will launch a counterattack and counter landing at the same time.

A few hours after lunch, Zhou Changfeng and his staff simulated the situation under this circumstance twice in the command cabin of the Fa Zheng. The two simulations selected the beach most likely for the reverse landing.

"... Most of the enemy's two divisions on the island are holding their positions. It is no problem for each of them to send out a regiment to counterattack. Together with the other independent forces, there are about 5,000 people and hundreds of tanks. If a whole division comes at this time, it will be difficult to deal with. After we advance more than ten miles into the territory, we will have to leave a regiment to cover our flank." Ye Yirui concluded in a deep voice.

"I don't recommend taking risks. Without air superiority, it will be extremely difficult to recover once a mistake is made." Zhao Hanfeng expressed his attitude with a serious expression.

"..." Zhou Changfeng just smoked one cigarette after another and was silent for a long time, "What did the navy say?"

"Xia Jinbo still wants to try to lure the enemy." Zou Pu replied.

"Okay." Zhou Changfeng nodded and said, "Let's slow down the land operations and see what the navy does."

The problem facing the Ming Navy now is intelligence confusion, which has greatly affected internal decision-making.

By deciphering the intercepted telegrams, Tousoma speculated based on a small amount of decoded words that the US military seemed to be planning to retake the Aleutian Islands.

The information reported by the Intelligence Office of the Grand Marshal's Office was even more confusing, that is, there was a suspicion that a US expeditionary fleet wanted to raid Midway Island.

A long-distance raid on Midway Island was simply unthinkable, and the Navy considered it an unrealistic fantasy that was impossible.

It was possible to retake Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, but it would be ridiculous to divide our forces to retake the Aleutian Islands when the fighting was raging in Hawaii.

However, the German Foreign Ministry recently informed the Ming side of a secret intelligence - the United States is developing an ultra-long-range heavy bomber that may be able to fly 10,000 kilometers away, and it is progressing very quickly and will soon begin mass production.

This made the Grand Commandery very alert. After linking the known intelligence, they speculated that the US military might want to deploy this new type of long-range bomber to the Aleutian Islands and then launch an air strike on the Ming mainland. The Grand Commandery's General Staff suggested that the Navy should dispatch two or three aircraft carriers to Midway Island instead of assembling all of them at the Kauai anchorage. This would reduce the risk of being attacked by surprise and facilitate timely dispatch in case of abnormal conditions in other directions.

The Ming Navy had other plans. The navy's top brass unanimously believed that the most important thing was to destroy the Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers, and they insisted on concentrating their forces and not easily dividing their forces.

This is divided into two strategies: one is to sneak attack the anchorage of the US fleet, and the other is to lure the US aircraft carrier to attack.

After weighing the pros and cons, the Navy finally chose to lure the US aircraft carrier to attack, in an effort to cut off several of its fingers.

Zhou Changfeng actually prefers to have the navy launch a surprise attack on the anchorage of the US fleet and seize control of the sea, so as to better blockade the strait between Maui and the Big Island and cut off the connection between the two.

However, it seems reasonable to lure the enemy's aircraft carrier into attacking and then destroying it.

It can be said that the Ming Navy was tired of the fact that its main offensive operations were centered on landing and island seizure, and the navy seemed to have become a servant of the landing force.

Since the war began, except for the South China Sea Fleet's raid on the British Royal Navy's Ceylon base, the rest of the naval battles have almost all revolved around capturing islands.

The Navy proposed several ideas, such as a raid on the San Diego base on the west coast of the United States and a raid on Brisbane, Australia, but they were all rejected.

Therefore, the navy is increasingly dissatisfied with this application model, believing that it restricts and constrains its performance, and they strongly demand independent and autonomous operations.

It was against this backdrop that the military top brass relaxed restrictions.

This time, the Navy formulated a very active combat plan, intending to lure out the US aircraft carrier task force and inflict severe damage to it. The fleet was also divided into three parts: bait, main force, and reinforcements.

诱饵为丙字八十五空袭舰队，混编有2艘航母北落师门号和紫微左垣号，还有1艘高速战列舰开皇号、2艘防空巡洋舰、6艘驱逐舰、1艘高速给油舰。

主力为丙字一〇四空袭舰队，混编有3艘航母紫微右垣号、启明号、长庚号，还有1艘高速战列舰龙朔号、3艘防空巡洋舰、2艘轻型巡洋舰、8艘驱逐舰、2艘高速给油舰。

The reinforcements were the Ding-shaped 1th Squadron, which included one aircraft carrier, the Taiwei Zuoyuan, one battlecruiser, the Yongyuan, five destroyers, and one high-speed tanker.

The Ming Navy was generous and spared no expense to ensure that the enemy's main force was lured out. Even armored aircraft carriers such as the Ziwei Zuoyuan were used as bait.

Of course, there is another consideration as well - armored aircraft carriers have better survivability and should be able to continue retreating after being attacked.

On April 4, the participating forces set sail from the anchorage in the waters west of Kauai Island and sailed directly northeast.

On April 4, the three fleets changed their courses one after another and sailed due east.

On April 4, the decoy fleet arrived at the designated location 6 km northeast of the Big Island of Hawaii and began a large-scale search and attack.

That afternoon, a fleet code-named SX-177 was unexpectedly attacked by air. The Ming army's carrier-based aircraft took advantage of the weak and the SX-177 fleet was almost wiped out by repeated attacks from bombs and torpedoes.

4艘自由轮、1艘C3远洋货轮、2艘护航驱逐舰被击沉，仅有弗莱彻级驱逐舰伯伊德号（DD-544）幸存逃脱。

The Pacific Fleet Command attached great importance to this. It was really uncharacteristic for the Ming fleet to attack the sea transport lines so actively and alone.

"Maybe they thought the submarines weren't effective enough. They could sink two of our ships, but we still have eight. So, they sent the aircraft carriers." Colonel Barnett shrugged.

"Commander, the Hornet and Essex can set off. I think I'm ready." Major General Thomas Kinkaid, who was full of fighting spirit, volunteered.

Chester Nimitz agreed and then quickly and concisely arranged the interception plan.

But he was still quite cautious and felt that it might not be that simple.

To be on the safe side, he asked, "When can the Enterprise depart?"

Captain Barnett thought for a moment and replied, "If we interrupt the maintenance work now, the Enterprise will not be ready to sail until tomorrow night at the earliest."

"Okay, then finish the maintenance immediately and leave as soon as possible."

"Understood. As you wish, Commander."

The sea transport line is vital. The next fleet will arrive in five days, and the threat of the Ming fleet must be eliminated.

The situation is urgent, so act quickly.

After a busy period, several warships weighed anchor and set sail at midnight, heading towards the northeast sea.

TF-49特遣舰队以2艘航母大黄蜂号和埃塞克斯号为核心，另有1艘高速战列舰北卡罗来纳号、2艘重型巡洋舰印第安纳波利斯号和昆西号、1艘防空巡洋舰朱诺号、9艘驱逐舰。

The US fleet set off in a hurry, appearing quite hasty.

At that time, the US military would definitely launch another attack only after obtaining certain intelligence. After all, a year or two ago, the number of aircraft carriers was small, so they had to be cautious; now that the number of aircraft carriers is large, it would be obviously a bit reckless.

The next day, July 4st.

The U.S. military launched a total of 19 PBY Catalina and PBM Mariner seaplanes one after another at the seaplane dock on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The Ming army fleet did the same, and began to launch carrier-based aircraft continuously from dawn, trying to detect the movements of the US fleet as soon as possible.

On the bridge of the giant armored aircraft carrier Chang Gung, Ouyang Zhanghua was playing chess with a staff officer with excellent chess skills.

Although he appeared calm on the surface, he was still nervous in his heart. No one could be sure that the enemy would be fooled. Who knew that the enemy might have seen through his plan to lure the enemy?
Coincidentally, the 219th Squadron and the Amberjack (SS-) submarine were once not far apart, approaching the limit of visual observation distance.

However, when the Amberfish was sailing on the water and charging, it was discovered that the power compartment was leaking, so the captain ordered the diesel engine to stop temporarily. The Amberfish floated without power and was pushed by the wind and ocean currents. It had deviated by six or seven kilometers before the repair was completed. Otherwise, it would have been very likely to discover the Ming fleet.

At 4:7 on April 12, a Type 49 carrier-based bomber from the USS Fomalhaut discovered the track on the sea, then flew north along the track and discovered the TF-49 task force.

Two US carrier-based aircraft were seen approaching, and the aircraft then sent a telegram to report the situation, "Enemy aircraft carrier fleet discovered, a total of 12 ships, heading 15 degrees."

Four minutes later, the aircraft evaded and corrected itself again, "Confirmed enemy fleet size, 2 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, speed 14 knots, coordinates 23°1'N, 149°2'W."

"Where did the three battleships come from?" After receiving the reconnaissance report, Ouyang Zhanghua couldn't help but feel confused.

He hesitated for a few seconds, then ordered loudly, "Never mind, it doesn't matter. Pass the order, our fleet changes its heading to 170, and the fleet prepares for battle."

(End of this chapter)