War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1112 Exploring the Abandoned Camp
On the uninhabited Sukhaya Tunguska River, three six-wheeled monster trucks with dazzling headlights were separated by 30 meters, slowly crushing the flat snow, and headed towards the difficult destination. moving forward.

In the warm compartment, Sui Sui had already taken off her boots, curled up on the flat passenger seat and dozed off. Beside her feet, the dog Beria, who served as a floor mat, was also on all fours. Snoring.

Since they left the Yenisei River, they have walked along the river for five or six hours. At this time, all they can see around them is the larch forest that can't be seen at all, only when the car lights sweep through the forest. , the occasional flashes of green eyes, and the howling of wolves mixed in the cold wind.

Fortunately, at this time, the river outside the car window finally had a fork in the shape of a Mercedes-Benz car logo. On the branched river, there is another branch that can be more than 200 meters long and 80 meters wide. River island full of larch.

Although the Hexin Island is covered with thick ice and snow like the frozen river, when the headlights of the three cars shone on it, both Wei Ran and Kajianka sisters noticed the construction on the Hexin Island at a glance. The sentry tower looked particularly solid.

The height of this sentry tower can be fifteen to sixteen meters. Although the lower part cannot be seen clearly due to the cover of trees and snow, the top of the sentry tower seems to have the function of a lighthouse, with a full circle of windows.I took out the binoculars and looked, and there seemed to be abandoned searchlights in those windows.

And those searchlights seemed to be aimed at the forest glade on the north bank of the river fork.

Move the car slightly so that the headlights are aimed at this open space, and there is barely a pier covered with snow and a relatively gentle slope.

As for what's behind this pier, what's in the depths of this forest glade, because of the height, you can only see clearly by driving up the car.

"Are you there?" Sui Sui, who was dozing off originally, asked vaguely while stretching and yawning.

"arrive"

Wei Ran put away the binoculars while speaking, and drove the monster truck to the open space on the shore first along the slope.

The area of ​​this open space guarding the river bank is not too large, and it is only a hundred meters square when fully loaded. However, at the end of the northwest corner of the open space, there are two lines that can still be seen. The width is only six or seven meters, all the way to the northwest corner. The logging road stretches out for an unknown distance.

The main reason why he was so sure that this was a logging road was the scattered wooden fences on the side of the road.

"There's nothing around here?" Sui Sui, who had already put on her boots, pressed her face against the double-layer heat-insulated car window, and asked with difficulty concealing her disappointment while looking outside.

"It's probably still inside"

As Wei Ran spoke, he lightly stepped on the accelerator, and slowly drove along one of the roads into the depths of the forest.Sui Sui, who was sitting in the co-pilot, also widened her eyes.

After driving along this road for 300 meters, a larger forest glade also appeared.

"There is a house!" Sui Sui was the first to shout out, and at the same time, her hand also pointed to the left front of the car.

Turning the head of the car slightly, as the headlights swept across, the four people in the three cars also saw everything in this forest clearing.There are not just buildings, but more than one building!
Although it is not completely visible due to the snow cover, it can still be distinguished. These wreckages are standard tundra cabins. The height of the ground is about one meter above the ground, and there are walls made of thigh-thick logs overlapping each other. , and stone chimneys.

It's a pity, after all, too much time has passed, whether it is the thick log walls or the chimneys built with stones, they are all incomplete and collapsed.

After a rough count, there are sixteen or seventeen wooden house wrecks that can be distinguished in this open space, and they are arranged in three rows horizontally and vertically.At the edge of the clearing, you can still see a ring of barbed wire that has grown with the trees.

To the west of this clearing, there are two other logging roads.Continue along one of the logging roads and go deeper for a hundred meters, and you will find a large forest glade that can be 200 meters wide and you can't see the end at a glance.

After all, more than half a century has passed, just like the two clearings I just passed by. Although this clearing is not full of waist-thick mature trees on both sides, there are still many shrubs and wild plants that cannot be covered by snow. secondary forest.

Turning the car around and returning to the open space where the wreckage of the wooden house remained, after the three cars parked side by side, Anfisa opened the car window, poked out the muzzle of the AK12 that Wei Ran had given her before, and pointed the trigger at the night sky.

"Da da!" After two consecutive gunshots, the wild things peeping in the surrounding woods also dispersed, and temporarily lent this piece of homeland to Wei Ran and others.

After a while, sisters Katenka got into the carriage of Wei Ran and Suisui, and sat at the dining table without any greetings, making it clear that they were waiting for the meal to start.

As for exploring this abandoned labor camp, there is naturally no rush. They have been walking for nearly ten hours since they set off from Turukhansk. Apart from simply eating some canned instant noodles on the way, But I haven't even eaten a proper meal.

Seeing that Sui Sui, who hadn't fully woken up yet, didn't intend to help, Wei Ran shook his head helplessly, rummaged through boxes and cabinets to find a crock pot that could be as big as a volleyball, opened the sealing paper, and put it on the gas stove.

These earthen pots are considered "Soviet specialties" launched by the Aurora Tavern in the small town of Tula. However, after being improved by the Chinese leader Su Lie who helped Sui Sui lead the team and his little girlfriend, the earthen pots, in addition to being very Soviet In addition to the special beef stew with potatoes and cream, there are also various flavors such as stewed beef brisket with tomatoes, braised meat in brown sauce, pork belly chicken, etc. that are more suitable for Chinese tastes.

And although these things were launched by the Aurora Tavern in name, they were also welcomed by those polar drivers.

But in fact, these "socialist earthen pot dishes" are Su Lie's (chapter 752 Chinese-born) uncle who runs a restaurant. He asks his chefs to cook them together, and then take the transport plane to the small town of Tula with tourists. for sale.No need to guess, Sui Sui and Aurora Tavern must be responsible for the profit of this earthen pot dish.

Taking advantage of the time when the solidified main dish was heated and melted in the crock, Wei Ran did not forget to steam a few hard big Lieba on another stove.

Finally, after brewing an extra pot of tea and pouring a cup for each of the three girls, Wei Ran sat beside Sui Sui with a plate of sliced ​​watermelon, which was also prepared by Sui Sui.

"How can we find it later?" Sui Sui asked while eating a piece of watermelon with a toothpick.

"Look for a fart." Wei Ran yawned, "After eating and going to bed, set an alarm clock and wait until dawn."

Only then did Sui Sui remember that she and her dog Beria were sleeping on the road just now, "That's fine, I'll stand guard for you later."

"Don't take Beria's job"

Anfisa said jokingly, and Beria, whose name was called, subconsciously raised his head and opened his mouth, allowing Anfiya to throw a piece of watermelon into its mouth.

Although it is said that we will talk about it after dawn, Wei Ran still took out his tablet computer, called up the re-taken note photos, compared the hand-painted map of the labor camp, and together with the three girls, distinguished the wreckage of the wooden house not far from the car window. It is the building in the hand-drawn map, and the house where Mesut, a German prisoner of war, lived.

When the pork belly chicken in the crock was completely boiled and bubbling, Wei Ran threw in the pre-cut carrots, green peppers and a small handful of enoki mushrooms.

After waiting for a while, steamed crock pot dishes and steamed soft Lieba were brought to the table one after another. Sui Sui also dug out a jar of pickled cucumbers and opened it. Leah also gestured with her eyes, while involuntarily drooling from the corner of her mouth.

Each opened a can of cold beer, and the four of them filled their stomachs while chatting, and Beria also got the leftover crock pot dishes and Lieba as he wished.

Satiated with food and drink, the Kajianka sisters got into their respective cars and prepared to rest. Wei Ran and Sui Sui also got into the rest cabin. After setting the alarm clock, they safely left the work of vigilance to squatting in the driver's seat Beria on.

When Wei Ran and Sui Sui were woken up by the alarm clock, it was finally dawn outside the window, and even the raging cold wind, because of the cover of the surrounding forest, even the snowflakes on the surface were hard to blow.

"boom!"

Well-dressed Wei Ran took out the Nagant revolver and shot it out the window. After waiting for a while, he opened the car door and was the first to go out with his survival shotgun.

Following closely behind, Suisui took Beria by the hand, letting the Katenka sisters with rifles guard her in the middle, and followed behind Wei Ran.

Stepping on the wide ruts deliberately rolled out by tires last night, the four of them and a dog carefully observed the wreckage of each wooden house.

Although these wooden houses are generally small in size, they can be regarded as sparrows inside. Although they are small, they have all internal organs. In a few houses that are relatively complete, you can still see fireplaces that seem to be transformed from tin oil barrels, as well as wooden beds with upper and lower bunks and hangers. Abandoned debris such as oil lamps and pots and pans on the log walls.

"It looks much smaller than the No. 52 mine we have been to," Sui Sui couldn't help but said.

"Mine No. 52 is a correctional camp." Wei Ran paused and said, "It's also the so-called Gulag, so naturally the scale is much larger."

"What about this?" Sui Sui asked, pointing to the surroundings.

"In terms of scale, this logging camp can only be regarded as a labor reform farm, which exists just like the collective farms in the Soviet era."

Wei Ran thought for a while, and introduced in a way that the other party could understand, "There used to be Soviet lumberjacks working here, but because of the lack of manpower, I applied to transfer some prisoners of war to labor reform, and by the way supplement the urgently needed labor force. .

Frankly speaking, those who have the opportunity to reform through labor, whether they are sent to this kind of wilderness, or to the White Russia or Wu Kelan farms at that time, are all good fortune tellers.

As long as they are reformed through labor, their treatment is generally good, and they can also receive wages and holidays, and most of them even have the opportunity to join the party.

Even the militiamen who guarded them and the Soviets who worked with them mostly did not regard them as heinous criminals.Especially in this kind of place, it is too far away from the front line. The Soviets here really don’t have much dislike for the Germans or nuclear recruiters. This is why some prisoners of war refuse to repatriate and choose to stay.

Of course, except for war criminals, their conditions will be relatively worse, and the guards will be stricter. "

"So what are you looking for?"

"evidence"

"Evidence? What evidence?" Sui Sui couldn't help asking.

"The evidence of war criminals is used here." Wei Ran stopped and said, "The Second Lieutenant Mesut I am looking for this time disappeared in November 1951. This time is very special."

"Special?" Sui Sui became more and more at a loss, and even Katenka sisters were curiously listening to the story.

"East Germany was formed in October 1949"

Wei Ran explained patiently, "After the establishment of East Germany, most of the German prisoners of war were repatriated to build their democratic republic. At the end of the year, there were only about 6000 German prisoners of war in the entire Soviet Union. [-] people, and the rest went back to their hometowns.

The reason why these more than 8 people were left behind was that they were convicted as war criminals and sentenced to 25 years or more in prison and forced labor because of conclusive evidence. "

"Like the hero in that movie?" Sui Sui said subconsciously, "So the hero in that movie is also a war criminal?"

"Otherwise, why would he be sentenced to 25 years in prison?"

Wei Ran spread his hands, "Of course, in fact, after West Germany's Prime Minister Konrad visited the Soviet Union in 1955, the remaining 8 war criminals were actually given an amnesty by drinking corncobs. All are still alive and Those German prisoners who were willing to leave returned to Germany by the end of 1956."

"So what you mean is that this Mesut is actually a war criminal?" Sui Sui asked after realizing it, "Where's the little devil? Where's the little devil you mentioned on the way?"

"The devil's situation is a little different"

Wei Ran said objectively enough, "Although the devils committed a lot of war crimes in China, and a considerable part of the devils sent to the Soviet Union were captured by the Kwantung Army from China.

But in fact, the ghost prisoners of war in the Soviet Union have been repatriated to work since December 47. They are similar to picking animals. First, they are weak and sick, and then they are disabled at work. Go back and spread the red faith.

This kind of repatriation work lasted until April 1950. There were a total of 4 boat trips, and a total of about 251 devils were sent back to their hometowns.Of course, these are not all. "

"What about the rest?" Anfisa, who was listening to the excitement, asked the question that Sui Sui wanted to ask, "They all froze to death?"

"At most, a small part of them froze to death, mainly because the Cold War started in 1950, and the Sino-Japanese War also started, and the devils and the Soviet Union hadn't actually established diplomatic relations at that time."

Wei Ran introduced with a smile, "In short, because of the international situation, the Soviet Union suspended the repatriation work, and it was not restarted until the end of 1953."

"So in fact, most of them have gone back?" Sui Sui asked with difficulty concealing her disappointment.

"may not"

Wei Ran nodded regretfully, "Although due to natural conditions and lack of supplies, no matter whether German prisoners of war, devil prisoners of war, or prisoners of other small-fart countries, it is inevitable that some people with poor resistance or those who do not listen to persuasion will die. But it’s not as exaggerated as the Internet said that hundreds of thousands died and only a few thousand people were left. Objectively speaking, the Soviet Union still cherishes these cheap labor.”

Hearing this, Sui Sui concluded, "So, the reason why the Mesut you are looking for is locked up here is because he might be a war criminal.

And the reason why the surviving nuclear recruiter was detained here was because the repatriation work was suspended due to the international situation, so he couldn't go back? "

"That's about it"

Wei Ran paused and continued, "It's a pity that this place was abandoned too early, and this logging field is too small. I'm afraid that the information about this place will not be found before the disintegration of the Soviet Union, otherwise there would be no such trouble."

"Tell me what you are looking for, we will help you!" Sui Sui volunteered.

"Hard to say"

Wei Ran pulled away the remaining snow on the rotten door with his hands, carefully observed the doorknob and the door frame and said, "In short, it looks like something that would appear in a prison, such as shackles or something."

Hearing this, Sui Sui immediately looked at the sentry tower on the Hexin Island behind him, exchanged glances with Sister Katenka, and handed Beria's leash to Wei Ran, "Let's go to that sentry tower Look, be careful yourself."

"Don't go up rashly"

Wei Ran took the leash and reminded, "It's been more than half a century, and it's this damn place again, a gust of wind could blow it down."

"Do not worry!"

Sui Sui obviously had her own plan, so she greeted the Katenka sisters and quickly got into a monster truck and drove to the fork of the river a few hundred meters away.

Regardless of these three girls who were unlikely to be of much help, Wei Ran finally found a special building in the corner of the forest on the northernmost side of the open space after searching alone.

The reason why this building is special is that half of the house is a wooden building that has already been crushed by snow, but the other half next to it is a stone building that still has four walls.

This piece of stone building, which seems to be more than 20 square meters, is built directly on a stone floor slightly above the ground, and does not raise the floor like the other half of the wooden building.

In addition, the chimneys built next to the stone walls are also thicker than those seen before.

Going around to the door and looking in, Wei Ran took out an engineer shovel from the metal book and carefully scraped off the snow on the ground until he was sure that the ground was also rocky, then he walked in and roughly cleaned the surrounding snow After a while.

As the snow on various abandoned objects was shoveled out of the stone wall by engineers, some rusty objects were gradually revealed.

The most conspicuous thing in this room is the corner position, the large fireplace made of stones and mud, and the diagonal position, the vise fixed on a log table placed against the wall that seems to collapse at any time .

Under the log table, there are several iron anvils of different shapes, but covered with thick rust, and a pile of rusty horseshoes.Even on the walls, there are some objects that can only be seen in blacksmith shops.

And on the side of the large fireplace, there was a small pile of black cinders against the wall, and a rusty shovel was even stuck on top of the cinders.

Obviously, the reason why this room is made of stone walls is probably related to the fact that this is a blacksmith's shop that needs frequent fire.

Leaving the room with only walls left for the time being, Wei Ran searched according to the reproduced hand-painted map, and easily found a remnant wooden fence at the edge of the woodland less than 20 meters away.

Looking back at the wreckage of the stone-walled building, he compared the hand-drawn map again to find the location of the stables and the location of the warehouse.

After such a long time, all that can be seen from the position of the stable is a piece of rotten wood that is almost integrated with the ground and completely covered by snow.

Instead, the location of the warehouse is also a house built on a stone floor.Unlike the suspected blacksmith shop building, this house has neither a fireplace nor a window, and even the surviving iron door is covered with a layer of iron sheet that seems to be cut from an oil drum.

Not only that, although this room with stone walls has not been lifted off the ground, but the foundation is much higher. Looking in from the only door, you can still see the remaining floor on the ground and the floor below the floor is nearly one meter high. of the suspension.

It's a pity that the space under the floor is still intact except for a few places near the wall, and most of the rest have been buried and filled by snow and the collapsed roof.

Wei Ran didn't dare to venture in, Wei Ran, who had come here to put on a show, turned around and walked back.

Although his side has not gained much, Sui Sui's side has gained a lot.The girl didn't even leave the warm truck at all, but directly raised a drone and flew it to the guard tower on Hexin Island by herself.

With the help of this drone, Wei Ran, who came back on snowshoes, can clearly see through the screen that in the abandoned sentry tower, except for two movable searchlights, There are four big horns on the top of the sentry tower.

Not only that, when the drone flew north along the tributary for about 600 meters, it also found another pier on the left bank, as well as a barren coniferous forest after being cut down on both banks.

No need to discuss at all, after Suisui took back the drone, the four of them and one dog immediately left the abandoned camp in three big trucks, drove to Hexin Island first, and stopped at the sentry tower below.

This may not be a big deal when viewed from a distance, but when the three cars parked under the sentry tower, they found that the diameter of the base of the tower may be 10 meters, and the iron gate at the entrance is still covered with iron. The chain is tightly wound.

"boom!"

To be cautious, Wei Ran stretched his hand out of the car window as usual and pulled the trigger to fire a bullet.

After waiting for a while, he put on his snowshoes again and opened the car door, and was the first to go out with a shotgun in his hand.Sui Sui led Beria and followed behind him.

As for the Katenka sisters, they did not leave the truck this time, but got out of the skylight, armed with guns to guard against any beasts that might come out from other directions.

Walking all the way to the bottom of the sentry tower, Wei Ran glanced at the padlock on the iron chain, signaling Sui Sui to stand a little further away, and then replaced the shotgun with a slug.

"boom!"

After the muffled gunshots, the Soviet padlock that had been strong for an unknown number of years shattered, and even several sections of the rusty iron chain were blown away.

After reloading the shotgun with a bullet, Wei Ran walked up the steps and opened the iron door wrapped in iron chains.

However, what he didn't expect was that behind this iron door, there was an extra thick wooden door that was also in a fairly good state of preservation.

As the wooden door that was not locked at all was pushed open, he also saw various irrelevant things in this abandoned watchtower.

Under the beam of the flashlight, on the first floor of the sentry tower, there are several greasy 200-liter oil drums that are still sealed with lead, as well as two small gasoline generators produced by the devil in 2015 and a The Taiwan has been rusted, the Minsk brand fuel generator produced by the Soviet Union in 1947.

In the room on this floor, in addition to the oil drum and the generator, there were also two tin boats, and various types of animal traps hung all over the walls.

If Ji Ma was here at this time, he would be able to explain to Wei Ran clearly and logically through these different shapes of traps, which ones are used to catch wolves, which ones are used to catch bears, and which ones are specially designed for catching wolves. Used to catch foxes.

Looking at Sui Sui behind him, Wei Ran carefully walked into the room on the first floor of the sentry tower, and used his gun to lift off the canvas covering the wall.

Under the greasy canvas, there were two high-pressure water pumps and things like water pants, and besides that, there was a large roll of fishing nets.

When seeing these things, there is no need to guess. It seems that someone not only regards this place as a poaching base, but also as a base for digging mammoth ivory in summer.

This kind of business is not only available in Inta, but also in the small town of Yakutsk and Tula that I have been to, and there is no shortage here.

Although there are slight differences due to different latitudes, basically, except around the time of the polar night, they have things to do throughout the year, especially when the polar day appears, which is also their busiest time.

"It seems that there is no need to find anything of value here," Sui Sui said with difficulty hiding her disappointment.

"I'll go up and have a look." Wei Ran said, stepping on the still solid concrete steps, and carefully climbed up to the second floor.

The second floor of the sentry tower seems to have been re-floored for reinforcement, and the road leading to the upper floor was blocked, but because of this, there is nothing related to the abandoned camp not far away. .

Without any effort to continue climbing, Wei Ran turned around and went downstairs, wrapped the iron gate with iron chains again, and beckoned Sui Sui to return to the truck, left this Hexin Island, and drove to another one in the north direction. pier.

This time, they had just driven the car ashore, and the four of them noticed at a glance that there were slightly raised bumps on the ground near the edge of the open space, as well as stone tombstones that could not be completely covered by snow!
"Finally found the right place." In the truck, Wei Ran and Suisui muttered in unison.

(End of this chapter)