War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1382 Jungle tiger, long live the artillery

"Jungle. Tiger Cannon. Long live the artillery. Jungle tiger, long live the artillery?"

In the small living room on the second floor, Wei Ran had difficulty identifying the Chinese characters on the grenade shell that were hidden by paint.

The strokes of these handwriting were not too thick, but they were so neat and beautiful that he almost subconsciously thought of the exquisite craftsmanship of the masters who set up a stall in front of the school to engrave pens when he was a child.

After taking a few close-ups of the paint-scratched grenade and sending them to Xia Shushi, Wei Ran began to study other relics.

Unfortunately, no matter how carefully he searched, none of the other items contained as many secrets as the grenade.

Placing these relics on the table again, Wei Ran closed his eyes and leaned on the sofa, sketching a vague image.

He is most likely from the artillery unit under the 14th Division of the 40th Army that captured the main peak of Laoshan. He may be an artillery observer, or perform the task of protecting artillery observers.

If Xia Shushi's conjecture is correct, then at the end of March 1984, he and his comrades secretly crossed the border to perform artillery guidance missions.

At that time, he was wearing a large five-leaf camouflage that represented the elite, but he was using a paratrooper knife and paratrooper water bottle from the airborne troops. He had glory bombs hanging around his neck and a watch on his hand.

"What does it mean?"

"Culp is 54 years old and I am 53 years old."

And his comrades came from all over the world. Some of them wore a Dongfeng brand watch, and some may have obtained a paratrooper knife and paratrooper kettle through some channels.

After a pause, she continued, "Originally, I had placed my hope in Maya, but that beautiful girl has almost completely fallen into Jima's sugar-coated bullets. Even if the two of them inform me now that they are planning to get married, I will not Accident."

So don't worry, Comrade Victor will definitely help you, and I guess even if you can't get the commission of 23 US dollars, he will help you. "

So, Dongfeng’s comrades at that time

How many survived?

How many of them failed to go back?

So, is it possible that he is a "guide"?

If he was a guide, could these relics be those of his comrades who never made it home? Was it also the hope that Dongfeng gave him to support his survival?

Just as he was thinking wildly with his eyes closed, Suisui, who was only wearing a nightgown, came out of the bedroom and sat on his lap, asking next to his ear, "Didn't you say you can continue later?" ?How long we have to wait?"

Time passed in the afternoon, and there was still no news from Xia Shushi, but Wei Ran had already driven to the forest farm and found Teacher Anna who seemed to be waiting for him.

"Are you here because of Aurora?" Teacher Anna asked as expected.

"How long will it take?"

"She's very good at running things."

Do his surviving comrades still remember him?

This question was undoubtedly the best way to divert attention. Before she finished speaking, she was already picked up by the former and walked to the bedroom.

He is not lying. In this Hongqi Forest Farm, Culp is recognized as a handsome old man, and the teacher Anna in front of him is definitely still charming. At least in appearance, these two people are definitely a good match.

"I think you might not need to spend money, and he will help you."

"I hope so." Zha Xifeng looked thoughtfully at the ground farther and farther out of the porthole, obviously without much confidence.

Channing rolled up his cuffs, shook the tattoo on the back of his hand and said, "Charlie, I don't know what exactly you asked him to investigate for you, but you have to trust the eyes and intuition of an auctioneer.

It is very likely that he also carries an 884 radio on his back, and at the same time, he can also speak Yuehe dialect.

no, wrong

Wei Ran opened his eyes and frowned as he looked at the things on the table, then closed his eyes again and began to think about another possibility.

"It's inevitable to be curious," Wei Ran said bluntly.

Teacher Anna said with a bit of resentment, "Originally I planned to choose one between you and Jima, but it's a pity that although you are satisfactory in most aspects, you are not good at business, and most importantly The most important thing is that you are Chinese.

"Aren't you going to stay and wait for news?" Channing asked, yawning as he fastened his seat belt.

Zha Xifeng also yawned after fastening her seat belt, "And Victor hasn't agreed to take over the job yet. Channing, do you think $23 can convince him to help? That's what I can afford." All the savings.”

Dongfeng is a guide who speaks Yuehe language, and he may even be a "local".

Teacher Anna motioned to Wei Ran to follow her into the office and said, "Do you know what this means?"

Obviously, before Xia Shushi figured out the specific identity of Dongfeng, or before he used a metal book to "cheat", these questions were destined to have no answers.

"if not?"

"That's it?" Wei Ran, who was following behind and thinking wildly, asked in astonishment.

If this person who calls himself "Dongfeng" is even more difficult to speak, he once blamed himself to his adopted son Zha Xifeng, "It was him who did not bring his comrades back."

While he was busy continuing his morning exercises, Zha Xifeng and Charlie had already boarded a flight to the United States.

After Anna brought Wei Ran into her office, she said, "The most important thing is that although she is a mixed-race girl, she is at least legally a Russian, so I don't mind leaving this forest farm to her to manage."

Wei Ran asked curiously, and at the same time, he secretly added in a wicked way, "You two are not going to fall in love, are you?"

Seeing Wei Ran opening his mouth to say something, Anna smiled, picked up the coffee pot and poured Wei Ran a cup of coffee, "Victor, although I can't completely trust you, I believe that you will definitely protect Afu." Le'er, and based on my understanding of you, you are also capable of protecting her, so you see, this is the optimal solution."

When I think about this possibility, everything seems to make sense.

When Victor saw the two gifts that you gave him that day, his demeanor was like a completely different person.

It's a pity that his fiery matchmaker heart is destined to be too busy to worry about it. Teacher Anna walked in front and said without looking back, "If we follow the Soviet system, I will retire in two years. In my Before I retire, I always have to find a qualified successor for the studio."

"So it's Aurora?"

After a pause, Teacher Anna continued, "Not to mention that bastard Jima. He can't even manage the gang he supports. In this regard, he is not even as good as Greva."

Frankly speaking, I can't completely trust you, just like you can't completely trust us, so you rushed over to ask about this matter. "

Do you live in self-blame like him?

Others, in their spare time after fighting, carved those writings on their glory bombs.

"Teacher Anna, you know what I want to ask." Wei Ran took a sip of coffee and said.

"She will take over everything under the sun, and Culp and Daria and I will provide her with all the legal assistance we can."

Anna obviously knew what Wei Ran wanted to ask, "So don't worry, she will not encounter danger from the dark side. In the future, she may become a real queen, a queen who can make more people around her live a good life."

"What about those things that the sun can't reach?" Wei Ran continued to ask.

"Are you interested?" Anna asked with a smile.

"No" Wei Ran shook his head without thinking.

"Since you are not interested, let us old guys who are about to retire take those secrets to the grave."

"Aren't you considering Jima or Maya this time?" Wei Ran asked half jokingly and half seriously.

"They forget it"

Anna smiled and said, "In comparison, the twins beside you are more satisfactory to me. They may be more suitable to take over those things."

Seeing that Wei Ran was about to say something, Anna jumped in and said, "But unfortunately, Mr. Nicholas doesn't allow us to have contact with the twins, so we'd better take those things to the grave."

"What are your plans for life after retirement?" Wei Ran started a new topic minding his own business.

"We don't have pensions"

Anna knocked on her desk, "So we will still work here. From now on, Culp and I will be full-time directors, but we will no longer be involved in management. Okay, Victor, do you have any questions? "

"Okay, Victor, do you have any questions?"

Wei Ran secretly repeated the other party's question in his mind. Of course he understood that the real meaning of this sentence was, "Okay, don't ask anymore, otherwise I will start making up stuff."

"As long as Aurora doesn't get involved in any trouble," Wei Ran finally expressed his attitude.

"of course not"

Anna promised with a smile, "At this point, we can truly trust each other."

"certainly"

Wei Ran also smiled and nodded. This so-called "truly trusting each other" is just that the other party understands that Suisui is his bottom line.

"Let's talk about some lighter topics."

Anna took care of herself and refilled a cup of coffee, "Victor, are you interested in arranging a job for Apolly?"

"Arrange a job for him?" Wei Ran was stunned, "Is he unemployed?" "Gorman will die in the crash this fall, and then the HeLa children who are in charge of Apoli will also die. He will be taken care of by Mr. and Mrs. Gorman." Anna spread her hands, "Frankly speaking, he is indeed about to lose his job."

"Is he willing to leave the town of Tula?" Wei Ran asked a more critical question, "What about the Aurora Tavern?"

"He can't waste his life in such a meaningless place."

Anna put down the coffee cup she had been holding, "It can be seen that he was very happy during the last trip to Antarctica. But it is undeniable that he is almost out of touch with the world. Victor, I hope he can start in the sun A new life.”

"I understand." Wei Ran nodded, "Do you have any additional requirements?"

"Let him enjoy life to the fullest" was Anna's only request.

"I will give you an answer as soon as possible," Wei Ran promised seriously.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Anna stood up and extended an invitation called tea.

“No need for dinner”

Wei Ran stood up knowingly, "If you have time, you can come and sit at my place."

"I will go when I have time," Anna responded with a smile.

After bidding farewell to Teacher Anna, Wei Ran couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he drove away from Hongqi Forest Farm. Although he was still unclear about Teacher Anna's true intention of "making Suisui the crown prince", at least he had made it clear that he attitude and bottom line.

As for April.

Wei Ran didn't know how to arrange him for a while. However, although he didn't know how to help Apolly start a new life, he knew who could give good enough advice.

Wei Ran rushed home in a hurry and went straight to Suisui who was busy in the office.

"A new job for Mr. Ivan?"

"right"

Wei Ran nodded, "This is what Teacher Anna told me. She said that Mr. Ivan is old and his physical condition is no longer suitable to continue living in Tula Town, so I hope we can arrange a leisurely and interesting job." give him."

“This kind of thing is easy to say”

Suisui snapped her fingers without thinking too much, "Ask Uncle Ivan where he plans to start a new life. If he plans to stay in Russia, just take over the job of the library security manager in Greva." .

Lola's coffee bar can also be run by him. Recently, Lola has decided to devote herself to her job as my life assistant. She may not have time to run the bar in the future. "

"Where's Greva?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

"His fruit business is enough to keep him busy."

Suisui raised her chin towards the library outside the office window, "He is even considering renting a larger office space. Even many of his gangsters were sent to vocational schools to study secretarial work. ”

"Let him be the security guard."

"If he wants to visit abroad, he can go to that castle."

Suisui didn't wait for Wei Ran to finish before giving the second option, "The business there is very good now. Mr. Ivan has experience in running the Aurora Tavern. I think he is qualified enough to do the work there."

This is pretty good

Wei Ran murmured secretly in his heart, he didn't really want to have an old guy with a keen eye staring at him.

However, after all, April is different from Culp and others, and his thoughts may not be on himself.

In other words, if the old guy is willing to be the library's security manager, at least he won't have to worry about someone attacking him like he did last year.

"If he wants to live a more ordinary life, he can go to Jima's village."

Suisui actually gave a third option, "Aren't you going to use the weapons you got from Mr. Henry in France to set up a shooting range in Jima's village? Uncle Ivan can also be responsible for this matter."

"Let him choose by himself."

Wei Ran finally decided to leave the choice to April, Anna and others, so he simply took out his mobile phone and conveyed the options given by Suisui to Anna intact.

However, just as he hung up the phone, Xia Shushi sent a request for a video call.

"What's wrong?" Wei Ran asked after getting through.

"found it"

Xia Shushi said proudly, "I found the key information."

"Hurry up and stop showing off," Wei Ran winked at Suisui and urged as he walked downstairs with his cell phone in hand.

"The 'Jungle Tiger' engraved on the glory bomb refers to the 14th Army I guessed before.

This is the absolute ace force. Not only did they participate in the two-mountain battle, but they also participated in the earlier self-defense counterattack against Vietnam. If they had not held back their efforts at that time, they would probably have been able to kill those white-eyed gangsters blocking the resurrection hammer in Hanoi. Wolf.

Moreover, this unit is definitely considered to be a well-established force with outstanding military exploits and numerous heroes.

Let's just say that many of the combat heroes you have seen and heard in textbooks and movies about the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam and the Two Mountains War came from this team.

As for the "Long live the artillery", I guess it refers to the artillery regiment of the 14th Army, or the artillery regiment of the 40th Division, and there is a small probability that it points to the th Artillery Division of the Kunming Military Region. "

After taking a breath, Xia Shushi continued, "Following this idea, I asked several seniors who had served in the 40th Division through my connections. One of them could recognize the person in the background of the photo. That faintly visible mountain top is the main peak of Laoshan."

"Are there any more detailed clues?" Wei Ran asked.

"Have"

As Xia Shushi spoke, he switched the phone's camera to the rear lens, pointed at the group photo displayed on the computer screen, and said, "The old senior told me that these people in the photo may be from the division's reconnaissance company. People, he judged them by the weapons and equipment on these people, and the reason is similar to the reason I communicated with you a few hours ago."

After a pause, Xia Shushi continued, "But the old man I found couldn't explain why there were airborne equipment among the relics. He suspected that those things might be the relics of the comrades of the person you are looking for. But he couldn’t explain the Black Panther vest in the other photo.”

"It's pretty much what I expected."

Wei Ran muttered secretly, then asked, "That's all?"

"There are still most of the last clues."

Xia Shushi turned the camera back and said, "During the battle to conquer Laoshan, we destroyed a total of 188 monkey artillery pieces, 62 ammunition depots, as well as barracks, tanks and armored vehicles, cars, etc.

There were no satellites in that era. These targets were either blown up with cannons or sent to have people touch them to blow them up. No matter which one, people had to be sent to find the targets with their eyes. "

"What do you want to say?" Wei Ran asked.

"The location you marked on the screenshot of the satellite map you sent me is in one of the 62 ammunition depots I just mentioned."

Xia Shushi said, "I am continuing to investigate based on this clue. Now that I have the time and location, I will see if I can find relevant files and records."

"Is it easy to find?" Wei Ran asked.

"It's hard to say, especially without a real name. I'm afraid it will be difficult."

Xia Shushi answered truthfully, "Especially the 40th Division, which I am particularly suspicious of. They have gone through many organizational adjustments since 98, and many archives are not accessible to ordinary people like us, so I can only try to The person who took the photo cannot be found. Of course, there is another way."

"What can be done?" Wei Ran asked subconsciously.

"Post the photos online and hype them up. Maybe someone who experienced them will see them."

"No, don't do that." Wei Ran rejected the proposal without even thinking about it.

"Are you concerned?"

"I don't think it's a good thing to let those who witnessed it recall what happened before we're not sure what happened."

Wei Ran answered truthfully, "This is indeed trouble-free for us, but for those people, wouldn't it be too cruel?"

"I didn't expect this"

Xia Shushi patted his forehead and said, "Then I will continue to search along the original line of thought, but I guess it will take some time."

"Take your time, we have plenty of time." Wei Ran said.

"Then let's just hang up." Xia Shushi had already hung up the video call before he finished speaking.

“In the end, I still have to rely on you.”

After hanging up the phone, Wei Ran rubbed the tattoo on his left hand and made a decision while muttering to himself.

(End of this chapter)