War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1398 Response

On the bank of the mountain torrent, in a simple tent built with raincoats, the knife squad leader pointed two flashlights at the pus-oozing wounds on his thighs, letting Wei Ran inject him with anesthetic, then clean up the rotten flesh bit by bit, and finally performed surgery on the wounds. Stitching treatment.

"You can become a hygienist now," Squad Leader Dao sighed while Wei Ran was dressing the wound.

"I have a manual for the barefoot doctor"

Wei Ran explained casually while bandaging the wound, "When I was guarding the cat's ear piercing, I would read it over if nothing happened. I learned something at least."

"When I'm free, I often read the book "Friends of Military and Civilian Talents" given by the instructor," Squad Leader Dao said in a low voice, "I'm learning to keep bees."

"Keeping bees?"

"Yes, keeping bees."

The squad leader said with a smile on his face, "I've seen it several times. The technique is not difficult. We have flowers all year round, and I also kept bees when I was young. It's always a living."

"Don't you want to stay in the army?" Wei Ran said as he finished waterproofing the wound.

Squad Leader Dao smiled, "Is that something I don't want to do?"

With a silent sigh, Wei Ran gave the other party a shot of antibiotics and a long overdue shot of antibiotics.

After packing up the medical supplies that might be useful in the future, wrapping the body in a raincoat and putting it into a backpack, Wei Ran then began to rummage through the trophies that Squad Leader Dao had just collected.

Among these things, in addition to two Type 56 light machine guns and a Type 56 submachine gun with a folding stock, the most valuable seizures were the 884 radio station left by the communications soldier and some compressed biscuits produced by China, as well as a total of more than 20-piece wooden handle grenade produced in China.

That's it, he didn't even count the supplies that he hadn't had time to collect from the corpses opposite.

After some picking and choosing, he put the useful things, especially the radio, into the backpack, and carefully wrapped and tied them tightly with the raincoat taken off the body. The knife squad leader first climbed the rope to the other side, and then used nylon The thread pulled Wei Ran's basket tied to the rope bridge over.

At the same time, Wei Ran would also pick up the remaining things and throw them into the flash flood together with the corpses.

By the time he climbed over on the rope, the squad leader had already placed the two light machine guns he had just pulled over with his backpack on the edge of the rope bridge.

"Come and help"

Squad Leader Dao waited for Wei Ran to stand still, and immediately called him over. He carried several of the corpses to both sides of the machine gun. After posing as if he was controlling the machine gun, he put enough camouflage on them, and then he put them on the machine gun. Several nylon strings tied to a rope bridge were tied to the trigger.

You can almost expect that when the people on the opposite side are about to climb over the rope bridge, these two machine guns will immediately open fire and unleash a raging barrage.

Under the command of the knife squad leader, Wei Ran replaced the obstacle-clearing knife found on the corpse, cut down some "Bu"-shaped tree branches, and used them to jam the body of the machine gun, firmly fixing the direction of the shot. , to prevent them from running around due to recoil.

Finally, a few wooden-handled grenades were stuffed under each of these corpses and the firing wire was tied to the corpse's belt. Only then did Wei Ran and the two men have time to search the remaining corpses in detail.

In line with the principle of no waste, the two "commanded" the corpses to lie down in various favorable positions, kindly helped them pick up their weapons again, and tied the triggers and rope bridges of their weapons with nylon threads. together.

Without further delay, Wei Ran put the basket on his back. Holding a troubleshooting knife in one hand and a flashlight in the other, he led the way, while the knife squad leader walked behind with the captured radio station on his back.

From time to time, he would respond with a few words on the radio in Vietnamese, urging the "brothers" behind him to rush to the destination as soon as possible to pick up the wounded, or he would change the channel and issue various false orders.

In addition, the old squad leader also used a throat-type microphone to keep in touch with Platoon Leader Luo and others on the other side of the mountain using code words.

Just as the two were about to climb to the top of the mountain, intensive "firefights" came from the foot of the mountain behind them amid the constant urging of the squad leader.

Hearing the sound of the firefight at the foot of the mountain getting louder and louder, Wei Ran stopped in a hurry, and in the faint red light, he used a wooden-handled grenade to set off a trip mine again.

"Platoon Leader Luo and the others have reached the top of the mountain," Squad Leader Dao reminded in a low voice, "Throw away the excess supplies and let's climb up in one go."

Hearing this, Wei Ran, who was about to stand up, immediately took out all the remaining grenades in his backpack to strengthen the power of the trip thunder.

After everything was arranged, the two quickened their pace amidst the gunfire that continued down the mountain, looking for their companions in the darkness.

Under the leadership of Squad Leader Dao, or rather under the guidance of his companions in the command plane, Wei Ran followed Squad Leader Dao up the ridge and easily found Platoon Leader Luo and others who had already set up a position and were waiting for them. !

"Old squad leader! Comrade Wei Ran!"

Platoon Leader Luo shook hands with the two of them excitedly, "I finally caught up with you. Are you injured?"

"without"

"Captain Dao has another injury on his leg, which has been preliminarily dealt with just now." Wei Ran answered first.

"Nothing serious"

Squad Leader Dao hurriedly said before Platoon Leader Luo spoke, "The pursuers are already behind us, let's retreat first."

"Alright!"

After speaking, Platoon Leader Luo issued an order to the rest of the people who were on guard with guns, "Leap forward, prepare for battle, and bury the big cake. Haidongqing, Dazhai, let's set off first and go to the place where we were hiding before."

"Yes!"

Everyone whose name was called responded in unison. Zhao Yuejin and Wang Beizhan each took out one and placed it facing the enemy at the position where Wei Ran and Wei Ran had just gone up the mountain.

Before they could finish their work, Platoon Leader Luo had already summoned Squad Leader Dao and Wei Ran to follow them. Under the leadership of Hai Dongqing and Li Dazhai, they were cutting through the mountain while moving laterally down the mountain.

Along the way, no matter who led the way, Hai Dongqing or Platoon Leader Luo, Squad Leader Dao and Wei Ran, or even Zhao Yuejin and Wang Beizhan behind, everyone remained quiet, neither asking anything nor explaining anything. , but on the other side of the mountain, the explosion of grenades would be heard from time to time.

They marched all the way to the foot of the mountain, where a rope bridge had been set up in advance to cross the cave. However, Hai Dongqing, who was leading the way, had no intention of going to the other side. Instead, he led them close to the shore of the mountain torrent and started to move upstream.

"We came from the other side, and there were a lot of mines placed there, which were enough to lure the pursuers over."

Platoon leader Luo finally explained, while Zhao Yuejin and Wang Beizhan, who were walking behind Wei Ran, carefully restored the places they had stepped on to their original state.

Guided by the mountain torrent, they walked upstream for a distance of two or three kilometers, but they climbed halfway up the mountain again and found a large piece of exposed rock, as well as a small one hidden in the rock that was not too big and leaked from all directions. A leaky cave.

The group of people squeezed into the cave reluctantly and covered the entrance with their own raincoats. Platoon leader Luo gave squad leader Dao and Wei Ran a cigarette each and asked in a low voice, "Old squad leader, please tell me what's going on." .”

Squad Leader Dao glanced at Wei Ran through the light of his cigarette, and then began to tell what happened after they separated from Lu Yao and others.

However, in the retelling of Squad Leader Dao, they neither encountered the more difficult wolf cub Nahan again and rescued him, nor intercepted the head of Ganzhu Village, nor did they blow up the son of the hospital director, nor did they even mention it. And those enemies that were annihilated not long ago.

In the story of Squad Leader Knife, the two of them never killed any enemies except for escaping, attracting firepower, and laying mines.

Knowing that Squad Leader Gangdao's glance told him to keep it secret, Wei Ran immediately asked Hai Dongqing for another cigarette after the other party finished telling his story, and asked about their experiences at that time.

"Dazhai and I took turns carrying Lu Yao over a mountain, and then used the command plane to contact the platoon leader."

Hai Dongqing explained concisely while helping Wei Ran light a cigarette, "Later, we escorted Lu Yao and Zhang Hongliang, whose wounds were infected, back overnight, and delivered them to Platoon Leader Zhang who responded that night."

Before he finished speaking, Li Dazhai also said, "Platoon Leader Luo judged that you will definitely return to the connection point, so we have been waiting near the connection point these days for your radio to turn on."

"How are Lu Yao and Zhang Hongliang doing?" Squad Leader Dao also asked after rekindling a decent one.

"Life saved"

As Platoon Leader Luo spoke, he gave each of Wei Ran and Wei Ran half a piece of compressed biscuit, "I contacted Platoon Leader Zhang on the command plane early yesterday morning, and he told me that Lu Yao had completed the operation. The wound on Zhang Hongliang's arm was The infection from the gunshot wound is a little serious, but it shouldn’t be serious.”

"That's good"

The squad leader Dao murmured, looking at the rain curtain outside and silently eating the compressed biscuits in his hand.

"Lao Dao, something happened to Xiao Xifeng now, I..."

"I know." Squad Leader Dao nodded before the other party finished speaking.

"You and Wei Ran should both take a rest." Platoon Leader Luo changed the subject, "We will go back immediately after daybreak."

"Comrade Wei Ran, Lu Yao has something to give you."

Hai Dongqing saw that squad leader Dao and platoon leader Luo had finished their conversation, and then whispered to Wei Ran.

"What?" Wei Ran, who had already finished the biscuits in three or two mouthfuls, asked curiously while taking off his liberation shoes and soaked socks.

"this"

Hai Dongqing said, already opening his backpack, taking out the Zhujiang brand camera from it and handing it over, "He said he asked you to take a few more photos back, especially for the Knife Squad Leader."

Reaching out to take the camera, Wei Ran hesitated for a moment and then nodded, "I will take a few more pictures."

"He also said that the camera was lent to you." Haidong Qinghan said with a smile, "He asked you to take the time to personally send the camera back to him after you go back."

"I will send him back." Wei Ran looked at the camera in his hand and made a new promise.

"Have a good sleep." Hai Dongqing took the initiative to end the chat.

After putting away the camera, Wei Ran lay down on the unfolded raincoat next to Squad Leader Dao, and soon fell into dreamland. At the same time, Hai Dongqing and others listened carefully to the movement in the rain curtain, guarding against enemies who might come over. In the blink of an eye, the next morning, when Wei Ran woke up, the rain outside had become much lighter, but the thick morning fog also reduced visibility to less than five meters.

Looking down at the camera in his arms, Wei Ran took advantage of the people hiding in the small cave to have breakfast and pressed the shutter on them, and took an additional close-up of each person with a simple and honest smile.

After hastily filling their stomachs, Squad Leader Dao and Wei Ran once again walked at the front of the team, leading everyone to continue down the mountain and continue along the valley where the flood was still flowing.

The only difference is that this time they were extra careful to avoid leaving too many traces along the way. Not only did they not plant any landmines or trip mines, they even accidentally bumped into two local militiamen and chose to stay far away. To avoid being discovered by the other party.

However, even with such caution and caution, when the fog cleared near noon, an accident still happened!

"Snapped!"

Not long after Hai Dongqing and Li Dazhai replaced Wei Ran and Dao Squad Leader in their exploration work, a not-so-big explosion came from under Li Dazhai's feet, and he also let out a gritted teeth sound. With a suppressed scream, he fell to the ground holding his legs!

"Dazhai!"

Hai Dongqing exclaimed, but before he could run over, Platoon Leader Luo grabbed his arm.

Without being reminded at all, engineer Zhao Yuejin took off his backpack and took out his dagger, and carefully walked over following the footprints left by Li Dazhai, while Wang Beizhan, Wei Ran and the knife squad leader immediately set up their weapons.

Soon, Hai Dongqing also calmed down and also raised his weapon to watch the surroundings.

In just a short time, militiamen at the foot of the mountain were already firing strings of bullets, and the sound of shooting was getting louder and louder!

During the excruciating wait, about three to five minutes later, Zhao Yuejin carried back Li Dazhai who had stepped on a landmine.

Seeing this, Wei Ran and Hai Dongqing put down their weapons one after another, took out first aid and surrounded them.

Just by looking at the wound, Wei Ran could confirm that it was caused by an American M14 mine. If it were replaced by another mine, it would not be as simple as breaking half of the foot, such as the Type 58 mine. , let alone one leg, I am afraid most of the lower body will not exist.

Seeing that Hai Dongqing had tied up the opponent's ankles with the leggings he had taken off in advance, Wei Ran did not dare to delay, and helped Li Dazhai inject an anesthetic as quickly as possible, and then waited for the medicine to take effect. He took off his broken Jiefang shoes.

After some observation, he immediately took out the surgical bag, almost roughly clamped the main bleeding blood vessel with a hemostat, and put a condom found in the medical bag on the wound, and then started emergency bandaging.

When he finally put an extra condom on the bandaged wound and put a sock on it, Hai Dongqing immediately picked up Li Dazhai who gritted his teeth and persisted, while Wei Ran tacitly cleaned up the blood-stained wound. He picked up the gauze and picked up the damaged half of the foot that had been blasted. At the same time, he also put on the backpack that belonged to Hai Dongqing.

Not daring to delay any further, everyone immediately quickened their pace, and under the leadership of Squad Leader Dao, they changed directions and moved forward quickly.

Fortunately, this place was not far from the border, and they deliberately avoided it. As dusk approached, they finally returned to the cave where they started as a connecting point without any danger.

Although they are still on the territory of Yue Di at this moment, they can already rely on the 7013 command plane to contact Platoon Leader Zhang who is responsible for the response on the opposite side.

Not only that, according to Platoon Leader Luo, artillery and even mortars from our own position on the opposite side can cover the area around this hiding point, and there is also a front observation station that has been observing the situation here - that front observation station was originally Lu Yaohe The place where Xiao Xifeng stayed.

Platoon leader Zhang was contacted urgently through the command plane. Within five minutes, the roaring mortars flew overhead and hit the soldiers who had been chasing them head-on.

With the cover of their own mortars, everyone set off again, taking turns carrying Li Dazhai, who had suffered severe blood loss, and ran back risking his life.

"Platoon commander, am I going to die?"

On Platoon Leader Luo's back, Li Dazhai asked tremblingly, his feeble tone filled with traces of unconcealable panic.

"No, you can't die!"

Platoon Leader Luo gritted his teeth and said as he ran, "I was much more seriously injured than you. Squad Leader Dao also carried me like this. It took me two days to find the doctor. Didn't I survive?"

"Dazhai, don't sleep." Hai Dongqing said, and reached out to pinch Li Dazhai's pale lips.

"Not sleeping"

Under the stimulation of pain, Li Dazhai also became more awake and asked with a cry, "I haven't said anything about my wife yet. If I am lame, will I no longer be called my wife?"

"cannot"

Wei Ran also came over and said firmly, "Didn't Lu Yao say he has a sister-in-law? Do you remember her name? She seems to be a college student as well."

"Remember, remember." Li Dazhai shivered again, "It seems to be called Bai Meiqing. What a nice name."

"When you go back, maybe you can be in the same ward as Lu Yao."

Wei Ran said seductively while supporting the other person's head with his hands, "When the time comes, let Lu Yao send your photos to his sister-in-law. Maybe she will like to help you."

"If you guys are successful then, I have to go to your house to have a wedding banquet." Hai Dongqing also stretched out his hand from the other side to help support Li Dazhai's shoulders, "Drink your best wine."

"I'll go there then. I heard your mutton is really delicious." Wang Beizhan, who was carrying a machine gun, also ran up and said.

"There's me too"

Platoon leader Luo, who was carrying Li Dazhai, encouraged him, "Dazhai, if you keep at it, we'll go back soon."

"Yeah" Li Dazhai gritted his teeth and responded.

Under the cover of mortars and dim sky, everyone ran faster and faster, and finally came to the dangerous minefield again.

"Follow my footsteps"

Zhao Yuejin looked around, and confidently handed over his safety to Squad Leader Dao who was holding a gun behind him and Wei Ran who was chasing him. He turned on the mine detector and began to walk through this minefield that they had walked through countless times. .

Under the cover of the mortar fire that continued without stopping, the people formed a dangerous column, with the latter stepping on the footsteps of the former and walking step by step in the deadly minefield.

Almost at the same time that the mortars stopped, Hai Dongqing and Wang Beizhan, who were walking at the end, just left the minefield and conveniently deployed one each to face the enemy.

"Speed ​​up, Platoon Leader Zhang's men have already set off to meet us."

Platoon Leader Luo, who was carrying Li Dazhai on his back, whispered, "Eagle, give your command plane to Squad Leader Dao!"

Before he finished speaking, Hai Dongqing, who had just caught up with the rear of the team, immediately ran a few steps to the front of the team and handed the command plane to Squad Leader Dao.

The latter took over the command plane, put on his earphones and started communicating while running.

After running so fast for only more than ten minutes, the explosion of landmines was heard behind them. Apparently, the shelling had just ended and they had already caught up!

"How far is it?" Wei Ran asked Squad Leader Dao who was running in front.

"Hurry!" Squad Leader Dao responded hurriedly, but increased his speed again.

After running like this for more than 20 minutes, the knife squad leader suddenly reminded, "Be careful, we are getting closer, don't let go."

Before he could finish his words, someone emerged from the bushes more than ten meters ahead and waved to them, then pointed in a direction. Then, the man retracted into the bushes holding a machine gun. inside.

Under the guidance of the machine gunner, they adjusted their direction slightly, and soon they saw the platoon leader Zhang and the two stretcher bearers who were ready!

"hurry up!"

Platoon Leader Zhang, who was carrying a 56 pound in his hand, greeted the panting Platoon Leader Luo and put Li Dazhai on the stretcher. The two groups ignored communication and escorted the stretcher back in a tacit understanding.

"The mortars are ready. The shelling point is where we are waiting for you. When will the mines be detonated and when will the shelling begin? So let's run faster."

While Platoon Leader Zhang was speaking, several soldiers behind him had already laid out various landmines.

Not only that, all the way back, the soldiers under his command were like a goddess scattering flowers or a boy scattering wealth, throwing behind them the Type 72 anti-infantry mines with dead leaves stuck to both sides.

"Boom! Boom!"

At this moment, the Type 66 directional mine was triggered and detonated. The explosion sounded like a signal, and in an instant, the pursuers were hit with a mortar in the face.

After such obstruction, Wei Ran and others finally got rid of the tail behind them temporarily.

"Old knife"

Platoon Leader Luo ran a few steps to catch up with Squad Leader Dao, and said guiltily, "The conditions in Dazhai are..."

"I know," Squad Leader Dao responded simply, "I don't need it either, I just have one condition."

"you say"

"I want to go there again and bring Xiao Xifeng and Cha Yongfang back."

Squad Leader Dao looked at his own position that was becoming clearer and clearer in front of him, and said with an extremely serious tone and attitude, "This is my only request."

"I understand." Platoon Leader Luo took a deep breath and gave an answer that was definitely not a promise.

He should be talking about the second-class meritorious service.

Wei Ran sighed silently, stepped forward and quickened his pace, surpassing Squad Leader Dao and Platoon Leader Luo, and then caught up with the young soldiers he didn't know ahead of him and surpassed them and everyone else.

Finally, he stood on a rock in the dusk, raised the Nikon camera he took out from the metal book, and pressed the shutter again and again towards the young soldiers wearing five-leaf camouflage, until he There is only blinding white light left in the lens.

(End of this chapter)