Zhang Meng likes to snatch food.

Not for thrills and challenges, but for survival.

He set his sights on Fiji, because Fiji was a natural barrier to the Tang Empire. Expand the strategic defense depth of the Tang Empire to the north, keep the Japanese enemy out of the country, and ensure the safety of Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

At the same time, Fiji is very close to Australia and New Zealand to the west, and the transportation artery from the Coral Sea to the Pacific Ocean is one of the key points to ensure the transportation and supply lines between the Tang Empire and Australia. To the east is American Samoa.

It is impossible for Zhang Meng to be comfortable in the small place of six or seven hundred square kilometers now, and he has already expanded his life. It's just that the strength was not good before, and I had to be honest with my tail between my legs, but now with the continuous expansion of the military strength of the Tang Empire, the demand for territory has naturally become stronger.

The Tang Empire lacked strategic depth, in order to ensure the absolute security of the capital Chang'an. Zhang Meng established an absolute defensive circle in the Pacific Ocean within a radius of 3,000 kilometers around the Tang Empire, with the capital Chang'an as the central point.

The Absolute Defense Circle shoulders the task of defending the future airspace and territorial waters of the Tang Empire, completely keeping the enemy far away from the country.

On the nodes of the circle with a radius of 3,000 kilometers, the absolute defense circle is divided into the Baker Islands and Kiribati to the north, Polynesia to the east, Raoul Islands to the south, and New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and Nauru to the west.

This absolute defensive circle is currently occupied by the five countries of Britain, France, the United States, Japan, and New Zealand, especially Kiribati and Nauru to the north and northwest are actually occupied by the Japanese army, posing a serious threat to the absolute defensive circle of the Tang Empire.

In this way, within the 3,000-kilometer absolute defensive circle, Fiji, which is 500 kilometers away from Datang, has become the only barrier between Datang mainland and Japan's advance stronghold, and its importance is self-evident.

Fiji was the first stop in Zhang Meng's expansion, and only by controlling Fiji could he have the opportunity to expand to the surrounding British, French, American, Japanese, and new colonies.

If you can't do the first step, then the follow-up will be even more difficult.

A day later, a British force of about 1,300 men, consisting of New Zealand and Australia, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Kadiran, landed in Tavua in the north of Viti Levu, Fiji's main island, in three warships.

Despite the stubborn resistance of the troops of the Grand Chief of Latour, the British troops were forced to retreat under the heavy bombardment of the battleship artillery, and dozens of dead and wounded of the Latour army were forced to retreat.

The British occupied Tavua that day, intending to recruit more British supporters on the spot, but the Indian chief Maddie was dumbfounded when he returned to his tribe.

His tribe had long since been razed to the ground, scorched everywhere, and his people had been slaughtered by the Fia army of Latu, concentrated in several mass graves.

Maddie was furious, and he had no chance of making a comeback.

Lieutenant Colonel Kadiran immediately made a report to the Xiangshang level, saying that the Indians in Fiji had been slaughtered, and even if the regime and army of the Grand Chief of Latour were destroyed, it would be impossible to rule Fiji as before, because there were only Fijian natives left, and they could not be loyal to the British.

Henry immediately ordered Kadilan to capture Suva as quickly as possible, overthrow the Grand Chief of Latour, and rescue the captive Bane and hundreds of British prisoners of war, and other matters to be considered later.

So Kadilan stayed in Tavua for a day, and after replenishing all kinds of weapons and supplies, he captured Vai Luotu and Klovo along the Tomaniwi Mountain Road, Latu's army was much stronger than the British army in terms of weapons and equipment, but unfortunately it was not well trained, and after resisting for seven days, it was broken through by the British night attack, and this time it lost hundreds of people, which immediately made Latu panic.

At the same time, at the instigation of Maddie, Kadiran retaliated against the Fidans along the way. How Latour's army and the Tang army slaughtered the Indians at the beginning, now the British army and the remnants of Maddie's Indian army slaughter the Filipinos as usual.

Along the way, tens of thousands of Fii civilians were killed and wounded, and one by one the Fii tribes and villages became no-man's land.

War has always been like this, either retaliation or counter-retaliation.

Latu asked Zhang Meng for help again, and promised Zhang Meng more benefits, and was even willing to lease Fiji's second largest island, Vanua Island, and the surrounding islands to the Tang Empire.

Zhang Meng wanted to eat away at Fiji step by step, and immediately accepted Latour's promise. However, Zhang Meng knew very well that Latour's promise could not be recognized by the British, and only by keeping Latour could he do it.

However, Latour's army lacked actual combat effectiveness, and even if they were given weapons and equipment, they would not be able to defeat the British. But Zhang Meng could not openly use the Tang Army to fight the British army.

After thinking about it, Zhang Meng selected more than 500 Tongan soldiers from the Tang Army. Since the Fiji and Tongan belong to the same branch and speak the same language, Zhang Meng used these more than 500 Tongan soldiers to pretend to be Latu's subordinates.

These more than 500 well-trained Don soldiers mixed into Latour's army, and when the British army reached Suva, they were immediately met with stubborn resistance.

The British army was unimpeded all the way, and the vulnerability of Latour's army had penetrated into the hearts of every British officer and soldier, and they were a little proud. Even Lieutenant Colonel Kadiran had reported to Henry that Suva would be captured in three hours, showing that he thought victory was in his hands.

The strength of Latour's army skyrocketed, and the British army underestimated the enemy. Under this length, the British army suddenly suffered a big loss, and more than 300 people were broken in a single charge.

Kadilan was furious and organized another attack, but he did not realize the seriousness of the problem.

In the next few attacks, the British army was beaten back by the heavy fire of Latour's army, and several hundred men were lost.

Kadilan became nervous at this moment, and carefully observed that there was nothing abnormal in the Latour army on the opposite side, thinking that the other party knew that the end was coming, so he fought to the death.

Kadilan decided to repeat his old trick and once again avoided the opponent's superior firepower by means of a night attack.

That night, the British launched a night attack.

Unexpectedly, Latu's army clearly lacked night battles and lost several positions one after another.

Kadilan was immediately relieved that Latour's army had been defeated by him in this way before, so the British army immediately launched a general attack.

But what he didn't know was that this time the other side deliberately retreated, and the defensive position was the real Latour's men, pretending to be Latour's 500 Tang troops and dividing them into two routes, and was outflanking the British rear in a roundabout way.

At two o'clock in the morning, the British army successfully captured the city hall of Suva, but at the same time the British rear supply depot and flank cover force were completely wiped out by the Latour army.

Shocked by the news, Kadiran hurriedly organized his troops to prepare to recapture the supply depot.

In the darkness, a cold shot rang out, and Kadilan was shot and killed.

It was fired by a sniper in the Tang army's ambush in Suva, and with the death of Kadiran, the remaining 400 or so British troops were leaderless.

When Latour's army counterattacked Suva, they surrendered.

The next day, the news reached Henry. Henry was shocked and immediately reported the battle to Downing Street.

There are various indications that the Tang army is likely to be involved in this war, but there is no evidence in Downing Street, and the Tang Empire flatly denies it.

After much deliberation, Downing Street asked Zhang Meng to send troops to help the British suppress the Fijian rebels.

Either a showdown with the British, or sending troops to Fiji to suppress the Latour army, the British government gave Zhang Meng a multiple-choice question.

When Henry made an appointment with Zhang Meng again, he truthfully conveyed the meaning of Downing Street.

Zhang Meng was surprised by the British approach, but he was not shocked in his heart, and he had already prepared a countermeasure.

"If you want me to send troops, you can! But what's in it for me? ”

"The British Empire will pay you all the costs of the troops and the losses in the battle as compensation, and the fact that your country had reached an agreement with Latour to build an air base at Nadi Airport will no longer be pursued in Downing Street."

"That doesn't seem to be enough!"

"What are the conditions of His Highness?"

"I want the whole of Fiji Islands, I can buy it for money!"

Zhang Meng smiled slightly and said what he had thought that had been hidden in his heart for a long time.

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