Chapter 1996: The Speechless Longyan Army

The old General Li sighed and said, "Alas, it is a long story. Ever since Xie Fang came up with that so-called military leasing, the Longyan Army left behind by General Qin has been... alas."

Whenever this matter was mentioned, the old General Li felt as pained as if his heart had been carved out by a knife.

Although he had already retired from the imperial court, he still knew of the changes in the Longyan Army over these past few years; otherwise.

His son, Li He, would not have joined the army to follow Qin Zhangfeng.

From Li He's own mouth, he had learned of the formidable nature of General Qin Zhangfeng.

Someone capable of strengthening the Longyan Army to the point of defeating the Tsarist Russia forces was absolutely outstanding.

When he cooperated in battle with Cao Xi, he had also felt the strict military discipline and combat standards of the Longyan Army troops from those in the Longyan Navy.

But he never imagined that the elite troops he once commanded would have such a gap compared to the troops on the Australian mainland—a gap so large it was impossible to bridge.

Seeing the expression revealed by the old General Li, Zuo Zhizhong, who had already heard rumors, stopped asking and instead changed the subject, saying, "General, Sydney Port is now under control. Next is the French forces throughout the whole of Australia. Do you have a detailed distribution map?"

Upon hearing this, the old General Li frowned and said, "Why? Do you want to launch a total offensive against the French forces now?"

"The newly appointed commander of the French forces, Delu, is full of tricks. Launching a total offensive now is truly not a good plan."

Zuo Zhizhong smiled and said, "Delu has already been captured by our General Wu Kunpeng and is currently being interrogated on his Supply Ship."

The old General Li was still thinking about how to cooperate with Zuo Zhizhong to gain a firm foothold in Australia when he suddenly heard this. His mind went blank, and he asked in astonishment, "What did you say? Delu was captured by you?"

Seeing Zuo Zhizhong nod seriously, the old General Li's eyes were suddenly filled with disbelief!

"You actually managed to capture him!"

Zuo Zhizhong did not offer much explanation for this matter; he did not know the specific situation either, only that after Wu Kunpeng went to a small island and returned, he had brought Delu back.

The old General Li took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart, and said, "Good, the younger generation is to be feared!"

"You have done very well!"

"If Delu is taken down, the French forces have nothing to be afraid of. Although they attacked Australia, because their troop supplies never kept up, they have not expanded their territory in Australia to this day."

"They have merely occupied a few relatively important cities in Australia."

"Only by breaking through the ports will the French forces no longer be a threat. I will hand over to you the detailed map of the French garrison that I have known about during this period."

"Then I thank you, General."

The old General Li nodded slightly. Looking at the young men of the next generation, he could not help but sigh in his heart that he was truly old.

The younger generation has now grown up; the enemies they face are even more powerful, yet they still fearlessly crush the opponent's troops.

At this time, in the French homeland in Europe.

Inside an unknown dungeon, they had already been here for a month.

During this month, Zhang Mang met scientists and engineers from other Factories and learned from them that many of their people had also been killed by the hateful French.

Under the shadow of death and fear, their inner resolve gradually collapsed.

Some were unwilling to betray Longyan, but they did not want to die either.

So they fabricated knowledge they knew and told it to the French, but they did not expect that this half-true, half-false knowledge would be easily seen through.

That scientist also died miserably at the hands of the French.

After learning this information, Zhang Mang could now say with absolute certainty that there must be scientists acting as advisors behind the French forces.

Otherwise, they would not have seen through these carefully designed lies that required repeated verification so quickly.

Zhang Mang told his plan to the people he met.

The more people they had to execute this plan, the greater the chance of success would be, but in this month, Zhang Mang had already been moved to countless places.

Yet he had not met a single person he had encountered before.

On this day, he was again taken by the arriving French to a strange place.

"Zhang Mang, Longyan engineer, responsible for the maintenance and testing of brewing equipment. If there are no problems, just sign your name above."

The questioning Frenchman handed over a piece of paper, all written in French.

Zhang Mang looked at the content on the paper, burying the anger in his eyes; this was a confession!

It was to erase Zhang Mang's identity and background entirely; he would become a French immigrant from Longyan, and then be imprisoned by the French for some crime!

This was to wash away his identity so that Longyan could not find his existence.

Zhang Mang clenched his fists secretly; this move was vicious enough!

As long as he signed it, not only would it be difficult for Longyan to find him, but even if they did, they would have no way to use diplomatic means to get him released.

Zhang Mang took a deep breath, calmed his inner emotions, looked at the content on the paper, and wrote his name on it. However, on the character 'Mang' in Zhang Mang, one dot was intentionally or unintentionally left out.

The writing was small; the Frenchman took a look, did not notice the missing stroke, and just put the document away.

Zhang Mang exhaled. It was fortunate that when he was in the Longyan Army, he had learned a little bit of every language; otherwise, he would not have recognized the trap set inside.

"Alright, come with me."

After signing, Zhang Mang was taken out by the French again.

But he had no idea where he was being taken this time. He was familiar with the sections of the road he had walked before, but this stretch of road was completely unfamiliar.

Seeing this, Zhang Mang suppressed the doubts in his heart and continued to walk with the French.

When he arrived at a place filled with the scent of wine, Zhang Mang's spirit jolted; he saw his former colleagues here!

The Frenchman said with extreme indifference, "You will spend the rest of your life here. Enjoy it well, slave from Longyan!"

Bang!

The heavy door was shut and locked. Seeing these all-too-familiar machines, Zhang Mang was filled with hatred.

This was their Longyan brewing machinery.

The French had even moved the equipment from their Factory in Australia over!

He looked at the colleagues walking over, seeing the faces that had completely lost their color, and Zhang Mang asked in a low voice, "What exactly is going on here?"

His colleague looked at him once and then turned to leave.

At this moment, the French behind them suddenly lashed a whip onto Zhang Mang.

Instantly, his skin split and flesh tore!

The immense, tearing pain forced Zhang Mang to bite down on his mouth, preventing him from crying out.

He looked at the French man holding the whip with extreme coldness and unbridled killing intent.

That French man brandished the whip in his hand and, like a petty man who had gotten his way, shouted loudly: "Work faster, you lazy pigs from Longyan!"

"Do you still want to taste the flavor of the whip?"

His whip cracked through the air with bursts of sound.