Liu Songru was also a man. After being defeated, he kept his promise and told him everything he knew.
Lin Yu learned from him that the Xiang Army had placed the captured Taiping Army soldiers on River Heart Island outside Tianjing City.
This island was located in the middle of the Yangtze River, and there was a rapid river in all directions. Even if the Taiping soldiers sneaked out, they would not be able to cross the river without a boat. Therefore, in the eyes of the Xiang army, it was the safest place to leave them here.
"How many Taiping Country soldiers have you captured?”
Lin Yu thought for a moment and asked.
"About 3000 people? The rest were either killed or escorted to the capital to offer prisoners!”
The Xiang army had annihilated the Taiping Country. In order to claim credit, they had organized a large number of captives, including the royal relatives and important generals of the Taiping Country. They had sent a large number of troops to escort them to the capital to present the captives to the Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi to show their military achievements and exchange for rewards.
"How many guards are there on the island?"
"About a battalion!"
Each battalion of the Xiang Army had about 500 people. It was normal to send 500 people to guard 3000 unarmed prisoners of war.
After hearing this, Lin Yu immediately thought about it.
He was currently lacking an army. If he only had a navy, he would not be able to establish a foothold on land. Therefore, the most urgent matter at hand was to form an army of his own.
However, it was not easy to build an army.
If they were to recruit their own troops, firstly, they would not have enough time. Now that there were enemies everywhere, they did not have enough time to recruit.
Secondly, these new recruits had not undergone any training. Their combat strength was worrying. They might not be able to count on them in the short term!
However, the Taiping captives captured by the Xiang army were different. They were originally soldiers, so they did not lack combat experience and combat skills.
As long as he could rescue them, arm them with his own weapons, and organize them in the name of Princess Yi Mei, they would immediately be able to form a fighting force and become an army that could be put into battle.
Ding! System Notification: The system mission to rescue the Taiping Army has been issued. Please take note!
He was just thinking about whether he should take the risk to save these people, but the next second, the system's mission came.
Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat and he immediately opened the mission to check.
Mission Introduction: After the Taiping Country Army was defeated, the Qing army placed the captured Taiping Country Army on the River Heart Island outside Tianjing City. These prisoners of war are excellent soldiers. If the host can rescue them, they will become the soldiers under the host and help the host conquer the world!
[Mission Reward: Upon completion of the mission, you will receive 1,000,000 taels of silver, a 5000-ton transport ship, and 1000 Mauser 1888 rifles!]
Perhaps it was because the difficulty of the mission was higher than the previous one, so the system reward this time was more abundant.
In addition to the reward of one million taels of silver, there was also a five-thousand-ton transport ship and a thousand Mauser rifles.
These two items were the equipment that Lin Yu was very lacking at the moment. If he could complete the mission and obtain the reward, these items would immediately come in handy!
[Special reward: Taiping Country's General Li Xiucheng is also among the captives. If you rescue him, the system will reward you with an additional 1,000,000 taels of silver. The host will also receive Li Xiucheng's loyalty!]
Eh?
Lin Yu, who had already thought that the reward this time was very generous, was immediately amused when he heard the system's supplement.
It was really what he wanted!
To build an army, he needed an outstanding general to oversee it, and he did not have such a talent under his command.
However, the system had given Li Xiucheng to him. As a famous general of Taiping Country, Li Xiucheng was very strong. If he could get his help, it would be worth it even if he didn't want the one million taels of silver!
Therefore, Lin Yu immediately made the decision to head to Tianjing City to rescue Lee Xiucheng and the captured Taiping Country soldiers.
……
Just as Lin Yu defeated the Xiang Army that had come to challenge him and decided to head to Tianjing to rescue the trapped prisoners of war...
In Tianjing City, Zeng Guofan, who had just finished visiting the Taiping Country's palace, suddenly said to his subordinates,"
"I heard that you captured the leader of the bandits, Li Xiucheng. Where is he now?”
"General, Lee Xiucheng is currently locked up in the prisoner of war camp on River Heart Island. Do you want to see him?”
"Mm, bring him here. I want to see who this guy who caused us such a huge loss in Three Rivers Town is!”
A few years ago, in Sanhe Town of Luzhou Prefecture, the Xiang Army's number one general, Li Xubin, and his six thousand men were ambushed by the Taiping Army. The entire army, including the general, was wiped out.
This battle was a huge blow to the Xiang army. Li Xubin and his men were the most elite troops of the Xiang army at that time. Their losses greatly damaged the Xiang army and it took a long time for them to recover.
And the one leading this battle was none other than this Li Xiucheng.
Therefore, Zeng Guofan hated Li Xiucheng to the core.
Now that he was the victor and the other party was his prisoner, he naturally had to take this great opportunity to humiliate the other party.
……
As night fell, the lights on both sides of the river lit up the sky. The hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Xiang Army camped for dozens of miles. The lights in the camp illuminated the entire river red.
From a distance, these sparks looked like stars in the Milky Way. It looked quite spectacular!
However, none of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the ground noticed that a group of uninvited guests had appeared above them.
"Zeng Guofan, this guy, really can't be underestimated!”
In order to figure out the deployment of the Xiang Army and the location of the prisoner of war camp on River Heart Island, it would be easier for him to formulate a battle plan.
Lin Yu sent out all three reconnaissance planes on the ship in advance to gather information.
Through the photos brought back by these reconnaissance planes, he understood the current distribution of the Xiang army.
"The main force of the Xiang Army is in Tianjing City. There are fewer troops here in Jiangbei. Their navy is stationed upstream in River Heart Continent, and their prisoners of war are detained downstream in the Eight Trigrams State!”
Looking at the map that he had obtained from the Qing army, Lin Yu told the soldiers who participated in this operation,"
"Our goal is to rescue the prisoners of war trapped on the island. You guys quietly dock on the east side of River Heart Island, then move north and hide!”
"At the appointed time, the Flame Dragon will fire at the Xiang Army camp on River Heart Island to attract the enemy's attention. At that time, you will take the opportunity to attack from behind, destroy the enemy in one fell swoop, and rescue the prisoners!”
"Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
"Any more questions?"
Lin Yu nodded in satisfaction. He looked at everyone and asked.
"Captain, there are more than 3000 prisoners of war on the island. How are we going to take them away after we rescue them? The Flame Dragon couldn't fit so many people, right?”
This was a good question. If he had known about the reward announced by the system, Lin Yu might not have known what to do.
However, now that he knew that the system would reward him with a transport ship after completing the mission, he was no longer worried about this problem.
"After rescuing the prisoners of war, bring them to the place where you landed. There will naturally be a ship to pick you up, understand?”
"Understood!"
"Any more questions?"
"No more!"
"Very good, let's go!"
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]