Iskrovska

I am reading a book about the events that took place in Indo China around 1900. There is a phrase "But you must take that wounded linh; he would hamper me." What does "linh" means? I researched and I assume that it could be either or lính as a soldier in Vietnamese, and mean a Vietnamese soldier, or Linh as a popular name, and every Asian was called "Lihn"(similar to the situation, when each German been called "Hans" during WW2). If you speak Ukrainian/Russian/Polish, how would you translate that? Or just explain it to me in English, please:)