"How is the situation in the fleet?" Su Xiong asked.

"Now, the entire fleet still has 18 main guns to use, of which Mecklenburg has 7, Hessen has 5, and Oldenburg has 6. Although the Japanese shelling failed to penetrate our main armor belt, it still brought water inflows ranging from 1,500 tons to 2,500 tons to each warship. The two power axles on the left side of Hessen seem to have suffered some damage, but there is no big problem. There are still three destroyers following us, and the remaining torpedoes on them are less than 5 rounds. In short, our combat power may be only half as high as before. The ammunition is not very abundant." Raider reported to Su Xiong.

"It's a bit bad." Su Xiong frowned. "Theoretically, if the Japanese split two intact Fuso-class battleships and some destroyers, we will not be able to break through the opponent's defense." Redel continued.

"Can we determine the location of the Japanese Joint Fleet now?" Su Xiong asked.

"It's not yet. We currently lack reconnaissance power. If we want to determine, we can only go through two ways. One way is to launch an attack by the Japanese fleet, and the other way is to wait for Japan to break the radio silence again. But overall, we are not far from them, after all, we have arrived near the core area." Raidel said.

"God of General, we must block the attacks of the Japanese fleet on the transport fleet and targets on the shore. Otherwise, after this evening, the United States may have to pay more than five-digit casualties! If the transport fleet is lost, the United States of America's Army, which exceeds 100,000 on the island, will also be in crisis. You should now immediately join the armored cruiser team of General Fletcher and then establish a front." Nimitz said anxiously as he looked at Su Xiong, who had not issued a combat order for a long time.

"However, we got together and were beaten down by the main force of the Japanese Joint Fleet in one round?" Su Xiong sneered: "Okay, major, accept the reality. Tonight, the United States of America is destined to undergo a baptism of blood and fire. This is a war. Wars will always fail and losses. We are not gods, and we can only save within our ability. Do you understand what I mean?"

"And, Nimitz, because you are a German, I would like to say one more thing. In the future, if you can sit in the position of the fleet commander, then you must treat yourself as a problem solver, not a problem raiser! I am now a problem solver. We all know the problems you raised, but we cannot come up with a solution, so your statement just now is meaningless. If possible, I hope you can be quiet in the next time. Tonight, the right and wrong of the German fleet will be praised by later generations." Su Xiong said earnestly.

"Redel, do you have any ideas?" Su Xiong turned to his old friend again.

"Hey, fight the fleet, it's almost impossible to stop the Japanese fleet from the front." Redel's answer was very straightforward.

"The heroes have similar views." Su Xiong said with a smile. According to the tacit understanding between the two, Su Xiong naturally knew Redel's idea, that is, since the remaining power in Su Xiong's hands did not have the ability to directly block the attack of the Japanese Combined Fleet, the only way was to attack a branch of the Japanese Combined Fleet, and then let the Japanese fleet have some concerns and cannot effectively launch the attack. The target of the attack was the same as what Fletcher thought before, and naturally it was to fight according to the weakest King Kong-class battlecruiser in the Japanese fleet!

To be honest, although the situation of the Suxiong fleet is not good now, there is still no problem in killing Suzuki Kantaro's second battleship squadron with 3V4! For the Japanese Navy, if four fast battleships are sunk tonight, then even if the remaining 6 Fuso-class battleships are easy to fight, the Japanese will lose, because after this battle, theoretically, the Japanese fleet can no longer replenish the fast battleships except for two Nagato-class battleships!

Of course, the Japanese would definitely not watch their King Kong-class battlecruiser be beaten into a scumbag by Su Xiong, so they would naturally try their best to save it. This undoubtedly relieves the pressure on the transport fleet. The so-called surround Wei and rescue Zhao is the reason. Only by using this method can the Su Xiong fleet survive the three hours before Benson's fleet returns!

Maybe some people have said that if the Japanese fleet does not divide its troops, once you attack the King Kong-class battlecruiser, then the Fusang-class will definitely attack you. I don’t understand this, right? In the last battle tonight, the Japanese joint fleet will definitely divide its troops! The reason is very simple! Although the transport fleet is stationed in one area, it is also very divided. In order to better kill opponents, the Japanese fleet can only disperse the fleet. Moreover, in the Japanese's cognition, the only resistance force in this area is Old Fletcher's armored cruiser detachment. Even the King Kong-class is enough to kill Old Fletcher. Therefore, in order to maximize the results of the battle, the Japanese will inevitably disperse the fleet, and even the destroyer detachment will scatter out to hunt American transport ships without resistance.

"When will we do it?" Raidel asked.

"It depends on the situation. We must take action after the Japanese fleet disperses." Su Xiong said.

Just as Su Xiong and Fletcher Lao were considering how to delay the Japanese fleet and buy time for the evacuation of the transport fleet, the Japanese fleet was also preparing. However, the Americans' rescue operations were on the contrary, the Japanese were considering how to efficiently massacre their opponents!

"Reorganize the fleet. The previous marshaling method is very unsuitable for handling some emergencies." Betty said to the Joint Fleet Commander Shigetaro Yoshimatsu.

"Why? I need a reason. Now, the main ships are all organized according to the ship type, which is very suitable for mobilization and command." Shigetaro Yoshimatsu said. Although the former is still the title of commander of the joint fleet, due to Betty's outstanding performance tonight, the top Japanese Navy leaders attached great importance to Betty's opinions. As long as there is a suitable reason, they will definitely adopt it.

"First, we need to split a warning fleet to deploy it to the west to alert Benson's fleet. After all, we already know that Benson's fleet began to return and our bait was useless."

"Second, the strength of the two battleship squadrons in our hands is too unbalanced. The six Fuso-class battleships of the first battleship squadron are too strong and their firepower is severely oversupply. The Ibuki horn in the second battleship squadron has been severely damaged, and the three King Kong-class battleship cruisers are the level of lions and tigers. Don't forget, there may be a monster hidden around us!" Betty said meaningfully.
Chapter completed!