War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1458 Regular guests in the prisoner of war camp

When the white light faded, before Wei Ran could see his surroundings clearly, he suddenly felt a sense of hunger and powerlessness that almost made him feel like he was back in Leningrad.

As his five senses gradually became richer and more real, Wei Ran then smelled a complex smell that was almost fermented and mixed with the rich smell of rancid, sweat, and chicken feces.

In the blink of an eye, his vision gradually became clearer, and he also saw the surrounding scene clearly.

This is an empty field with a circle of thatched houses built around it. Wherever you look, black or white people in twos and threes wearing prison uniforms are wandering around like wandering spirits, or they simply find a corner to sit in a daze and bask in the sun. Pick up biting fleas from your hair or crotch.

Closer in front of him was a bamboo fence that surrounded him.

Turning around and looking back, in addition to a few large and ugly turkeys, there was also Zach who was busy picking up turkey eggs in the bamboo basket.

At this time, Zach was still tall, but he had lost a lot of weight. Although there were no shackles on his feet, there was an iron hoop with a bell. Moreover, his long hair has been tied into a small braid on the back of his head, and his face has a beard that is almost the same as that of his classmate Ledeng.

Looking at himself again, he was no better than the other party. His hair was equally long and tied into braids, and his beard covered almost half of his face. He also held a broken shovel in his hand.

Under the tattered, rancid and smelly prison uniform, a layer of sour and smelly mud had accumulated on his skin. His feet were wearing tire slippers, and there was also an iron hoop with a bell on his ankle.

I tried to take a step, and the cowbell with the size of a teacup at my ankle was clanging. Although the clanging sound was not pleasant, the movement was really not small at all.

Are you in a prisoner of war camp again? I'm familiar with this job

Wei Ran pondered secretly while also checking various parts of his body.

Fortunately, although the whole body seemed to be in poor hygiene and malnourished, at least except for the healed gunshot wound on the calf, there were no scars left by torture or any obvious discomfort anywhere on the body.

"Victor, don't be in a daze, clean up the chicken manure quickly, and then we can rest." As Zach spoke, he already picked up another freckle-covered turkey egg skillfully.

Hearing this, Wei Ran was stunned, nodded quickly, and shoveled the feces on the ground together with a shovel.

Before he finished his work, Zach stuffed two turkey eggs into his pocket, and then walked out of the fence alone with the basket containing the eggs.

Almost immediately, two more prisoners of war came over carrying a bamboo dung basket.

Is it you?

Wei Ran couldn't help but be stunned. These two people were none other than Robert, the communications soldier of Team T who was knocked out of the helicopter before Bai Guang, and the helicopter pilot!

Compared with himself and Zach, these two people seemed cleaner. At first, Dock's hair was not long, and he didn't have such a long beard.

After coming back to his senses, Wei Ran waved the shovel as usual and put the smelly chicken manure into the manure basket one by one. He let the two men work together to carry it to a distance and poured it into a manure pit. .

After a while, Zach came back with a basket. At this time, his basket was filled with rotten vegetable leaves, leftovers and other kitchen waste.

"Guess who I just saw?"

Zach whispered as he threw the kitchen waste to the surrounding turkeys.

"Who?"

Wei Ran didn't wait for the other party to speak, then continued to guess, "Troye?"

"It's not him." Zach shook his head, "It would be great if it was him."

"Who is that?" Wei Ran guessed again, "Is it Angus?"

"Angus?"

Zach reacted immediately, then shook his head again, "I don't want to see him here, he will definitely be tortured to death."

"So who is it?"

"Do you remember the first time we were captured last year?"

Zach asked in a low voice, "That Charlie who asked you to help treat the wounded and can speak English, I just saw him."

"Is it him?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows, "Why is he here?"

"I am not sure as well"

Zach shook his head, "But I recognized him, and he must have noticed me."

"you sure?"

Wei Ran held up his beard with his hand, "Are you sure you can recognize this?"

"I took the initiative to say hello to him!"

Zach said proudly, "I hope the other party still remembers us, so maybe we can get a chance to take a shower and get a haircut."

"I hope what you said is true," Wei Ran said with a wink, "Robert and the others are here."

Hearing this, Zach immediately closed his mouth and continued to share the food waste in the basket with the turkeys.

"Good guy Zach!"

From far away, the black communications soldier Robert said hello. It wasn't until he got closer that he couldn't wait to lower his voice and asked, "Zach, where's our share?"

"This is yours, Mr. Robert."

Zach said, taking out a turkey egg from his pocket and handing it to the other person, and then took out a second one and handed it to the helicopter pilot, "Clint, this is yours."

"thanks!"

The two of them thanked each other in unison. After receiving the turkey eggs, they didn't move at all. They just looked left and right, then lightly knocked on the bamboo fence, and then poked a small hole with their dirty fingers. He brought it to his mouth and sucked hard, sucking the egg liquid into his mouth, and swallowed it with a look of intoxication.

"Let's eat quickly," Zach urged Wei Ran.

Hearing this, Wei Ran reacted and immediately leaned the shovel against the fence, took out the two turkey eggs that Zach had just given to him from his pocket, and gave one of them to Zach.

After taking the turkey egg, Zach also made a small hole in the fence, and then he couldn't wait to put it to his mouth and started sucking it.

Seeing Robert and the pilot named Clint looking expectantly at the turkey eggs in his hands, Wei Ran stretched out his hand and knocked on the handle of the shovel, imitating their example and ate the smelly and thick egg liquid.

As soon as he swallowed it, Zach had already picked up the shovel and dug up the remaining chicken manure, and he and Robert threw the empty eggshells in in no particular order.

When Wei Ran also threw the eggshells in, Zach immediately used a shovel to smash the eggshells and put them in the chicken manure.

Until the two became indistinguishable from each other, the shovel returned to Wei Ran's hand.

Without needing to be reminded, he immediately scooped up a shovelful of chicken manure and put it into the manure basket. Zach also threw the remaining kitchen scraps to the turkeys.

After Robert and Clint left with the last basket of chicken manure, Zach also waved to Wei Ran who had finished his work to leave the chicken pen, walked to a wooden house not far away, and found a corner where he could bask in the sun and sit down. .

Not long after, Robert and Clint also came back one after another, and sat next to Zach familiarly.

"Zach, how long until Thanksgiving?"

As Robert spoke, he took out a pack of unopened cigarettes and a pack of matches from his pocket.

"It's only mid-August, and it's still a long time before Thanksgiving." Zach answered as he took the cigarette from the other party.

"So for another three months we get to eat that turkey?"

Clint said as he also took out a pack of unopened cigarettes, tore them open and gave one to Wei Ran.

"Three months here are as long as three hundred years."

After Robert lit the cigarette in his mouth, he put the unextinguished matchstick to Zach's mouth. While he was lighting the cigarette, he sighed, "It's just like my great-great-grandfather in the cotton fields of the slave owners in the South." It was as painful as waiting for President Lincoln to eliminate slavery.”

"Back then your great-great-grandfather at least had fried chicken and watermelon to eat."

Clint, the white helicopter pilot, quipped while helping Wei Ran light his cigarette, "But look at us, I can't even remember the last time I ate meat."

"A month ago we caught two snakes mating."

While Robert reminded the other party, he couldn't help but lick his thick, disgusting lips, "But today, in addition to vegetable soup, I should have tofu."

"It would be nice if there was Coke." Clint swallowed and said longingly.

"Forget Coke. At least you and Robert still have cigarettes to smoke, and you can take a shower occasionally."

Zach puffed up and said, "Look at me and Victor, except when it rained, the last time we had a proper shower, haircut, and shave was Valentine's Day."

"Why don't you learn from us?"

Robert said proudly, "As long as you write a confession, or even indicate your identity as journalists, you two will probably be treated as VIPs immediately."

"Robert, Clint."

Zach whispered seriously, "I remind you again, if you dare to reveal my and Victor's reporter identities, I will immediately reveal the good things you have done, and I can even guide those who are more difficult. Find pictures of you abusing prisoners of war."

"You've threatened us at least a hundred times."

Clint waved his hand nonchalantly, "Don't worry Zach, we will keep it a secret, but I really don't understand. Is it necessary for you to do this?"

"certainly"

Zach replied seriously, "This is related to the authenticity and objectivity of our reports after leaving the country alive. We are reporters, and we are self-confessed."

"It's free and fair, we've all heard you say that at least a thousand times."

Robert waved his hands nonchalantly, and then asked with interest, "Zach, why don't we talk about something more relaxed, like those poker cards you had back then?"

In the ensuing chat, Wei Ran also got an idea from a few words.

To put it simply, it is now August 1969, more than a year has passed since they were captured.

For more than a year, starting from the month after they were captured, Robert and Clint cooperated with "Charlie's performance" again and again, wrote confessions again and again, and even accepted interviews more than once.

If you think about it with hemorrhoids, you can guess that the obedient and cooperative attitude of these two people also bought them relatively comfortable treatment.

Of course, this so-called comfort is probably only relative. The two of them have also lost a lot of weight, and judging from the fact that they still need to catch snakes to eat, their confessions may not be of much value.

In contrast, Zach and himself did not write a confession even though they were tortured several times. Not only that, Zach also used the evidence that Robert and Robert had tortured and killed prisoners of war as a threat, asking these two scumbags to keep their identities as reporters secret.

When Wei Ran asked about their press credentials when they were captured, Zach's answer was that he secretly threw them into the water while on the boat.

Instead, Zach became a "camera salesman" and Wei Ran became a "Blue Ribbon beer salesman", and also asked Robert and Clint to help prove their false identities.

Just when the four of them were talking about Captain George, the wild boar of Team T, a clanging sound was heard not far away.

Before the knocking stopped, Zach and the other three had already stood up very quickly and ran into the wooden house in no particular order amidst the clanging of the cow bells.

When Wei Ran stood up, the three of them had already rushed out, holding a huge bamboo or porcelain bowl in their hands.

"Let's go!"

Zach said, stuffing one of the badly chipped enamel bowls to Wei Ran, and quickly ran towards the direction where the bell rang.

Seeing this, Wei Ran ran out with the three of them, carrying a rice bowl that was not clean and could even be said to be filled with rancid smell.

Soon, several long queues formed on the playground, and at the same time, Wei Ran also smelled the aroma of food.

During the slightly long wait, all the prisoners of war remained quiet, with their heads lowered and their eyes staring at the rice bowls in their hands.

While queuing up, Wei Ran was also looking around. There were not many prisoners of war gathered here, only about a hundred of them.

Looking at the surrounding thatched houses, there are only about twenty of them. However, outside Daoneng's two-meter-high wall, there are some sentry towers, some of which have searchlights set up.

How the hell can you escape?

Wei Ran kicked the ground beneath his feet and considered the possibility of digging a tunnel. But although the ground is made of dirt, it has been trampled extremely hard.

I glanced at the thatched houses again. They were not in the form of stilted buildings like I had seen before, but were built directly on the ground. And looking at the drainage ditches dug around them, I knew that these thatched houses were waiting for rain. , I'm afraid it will be very lively inside.

I don’t know how many things in the metal book can be taken out.

In his random thoughts, the queue also moved forward little by little. When it was his turn, an old guy who looked to be forty or fifty years old filled him half a bowl with a big spoon with an expressionless expression. Pumpkin cubes and cabbage soup, another old guy next to him used a knife to cut off a piece of tofu on the wooden board, which was at most the size of half a cigarette box, and threw it into his soup bowl.

Continuing to walk forward, Wei Ran followed Zach who was waiting for him. Amidst the clanging of the cow bells, he returned to the door of the wooden house where he had been chatting not long ago and sat down again and began to enjoy the food he had just received.

This bowl of soup is not much, and the taste is not only bland, but also mixed with a sour taste that comes from the rice bowl itself or the soup itself.

I tried to take a sip, but the soup itself was already cold. In addition to a few pieces of pumpkin, a few vegetable leaves, and a piece of tofu, the soup was mixed with a few pitiful grains of rice.

Generally speaking, this thing is just swill, and the only ones who can eat it are probably the stick-hammers. But based on what the stick-hammers did in this war, Wei Ran highly doubts the stick-hammers who were caught. Is there any chance of becoming a prisoner of war.

After finishing the bowl of swill with a frown, Wei Ran glanced at Zach who was licking his rice bowl, then stood up alone and walked into the wooden house behind him.

The area inside this wooden house is only eleven or twelve square meters at most. Although there are windows on all sides and wooden boards under the feet, you can still feel the moisture coming towards your face.

There were not many things in the room. Four tattered straw mats spread on the floor and a few pieces of logs used as pillows were all the furniture. What remained unchanged was the four iron chains fixed to the load-bearing pillar in the middle.

As for the lighting tools, aren’t they hanging in the sky? Or nuclear powered.

Just when he was staring at the sun outside the window in a daze, he noticed that there were black clouds in the distance approaching little by little.

Is it going to rain?

Wei Ran subconsciously smelled the prison uniform on his body, and was immediately choked by the smell of rancidity and sweat accumulated on it and almost vomited.

After trying to rub it on his chest, Wei Ran looked at the black mud that was easily rubbed off his fingers, and suddenly he was looking forward to the rain soon.

After walking behind the door, Wei Ran tried to take out the props from the metal book while no one was paying attention to him.

After this attempt, he found that except for the pen he originally gave to Li Youfu, everything else could be taken out. Even the British army kettle still contained unfinished Coke, and Li Youfu's reporter was stuffed in the pot cover. symptoms, and even malaria medicine, anti-inflammatories, and water purification tablets.

After taking a small sip of Coke, Wei Ran immediately put away the kettle and found a seat by the window to sit down, looking at the cowbell on his feet.

The bell seems to be made of 37mm artillery shells, but the steel bars passing through the shells are not only the thickness of cigarettes, but are also welded to half of the iron hoops.

I turned over the bell and looked at the pendant inside. It was the shell case of a 14.5 mm caliber bullet with the primer facing down, and it was also penetrated on the steel bar.

Was this designed by someone so smart?

Wei Ran shook his head helplessly. Although such a bell hanging on his foot did not restrict his movement, it would make noises whenever he moved. It was not much different from having a GPS installed.

"Crack!"

Just as he was studying the bell on his foot, the sky outside the window was also shrouded in clouds, and there was a thunder. At the same time, a rapid and sharp whistle came from outside the window.

Before the whistle stopped, the prisoners of war who were outside also trotted back to their thatched huts.

"Those bastards Charlie did it on purpose"

Zach, who had just walked into the thatched hut, cursed angrily in a low voice, "They deliberately let us come back before it rained, just because they didn't want us to take a shower and wanted to make our hygiene situation worse!"

"If it rains hard enough today, we might be able to take a shower in the house." Robert, who walked in a little later, joked with a wide grin.

"If we could take a shower in the house, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to sleep tonight." Clint stamped his feet. "The distance between these wooden boards, which are thinner than condoms, and the ground is less than one foot."

Before he finished speaking, two militiamen also walked in. One of them stood at the door holding a French submachine gun, and the other took out four padlocks from the small bamboo basket hanging on his waist and locked the four of them. The iron hoops on the feet and the four iron chains on the load-bearing pillars were locked together.

"Crack!"

At this moment, another muffled thunder almost passed from the top of the head into the ears, and immediately after, it started pouring rain outside the window.

Watching the two militiamen leave, the four locked people looked at each other and tacitly moved to a window, reaching out to catch the raindrops floating in from outside, or scrubbing their faces, hands or even their necks and armpits. Wait a minute.

From this simple bathing session, Wei Ran also learned some rules or rules.

For example, the window on the wall facing the door is specially used for peeing outside. Except for that, peeing is not allowed in the other windows.

For another example, when the whistle blows, they must return to the house immediately and are not allowed to leave until the whistle blows.

For another example, Robert, Clint, Zach, and of course Wei Ran, all of them can skillfully pry open the padlocks on their ankles that are fixed to the chains.

Especially on rainy days like this, if it gets completely dark, they can even quietly dig out the window used for peeing, hide under the eaves and take a bath in the rainwater, but the premise is that there must be three other people in the room to keep watch.

Soon, as the rain outside became heavier and the sky became darker, Zach also took off his tire slippers, and then used his teeth to pull out two thin sticks as wide as a matchstick and as long as a cigarette from the side of the slippers. Copper sheet.

Not only that, while Zach was using the two copper pieces to pick the lock, Robert also opened the straw mat, opened the wooden board, and then took out a small bamboo tube containing soap.

Looking at Clint again, this guy actually turned over the log that he used as a pillow, then took out a piece, and then also took out a piece of soap from the log pillow that was the size of a cigarette box.

Wei Ran subconsciously looked at his bunk. He first glanced at the log used as a pillow, then checked his slippers, and finally opened the wooden board under the straw mat.

There is a nail on the board, and two black hairpins are pinned to the nail.

"This rain should continue to rain for a long time."

Before Zach finished speaking, he had already pried open the padlock on his ankle with a "click". However, he did not rush to remove the padlock. Instead, he came to Robert who was washing his face by the window and helped him pry the padlock on his foot.

"It would be great if the wall could be broken down." Clint, who was standing guard at the other window, agreed. At the same time, Wei Ran easily opened the padlock on his foot, followed Zach's example, and got close to Clint's shoulder. At his feet, he helped him pry open the padlock.

"Even if the wall collapses, we can't escape."

Robert said almost desperately, "We don't even know this is gentlemen, hurry up and relock the lock, I saw someone coming with a flashlight!"

"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!"

As soon as Robert finished speaking, Wei Ran and Zach started to relock the locks on the ankles of the four of them. Then the four of them squatted down in unison and hurriedly hid their "keys" and soap.

Almost when the four of them came to the window again, pretending to wash their faces and bodies with rainwater, the flashlight light was also aimed at one of the thatched houses, and soon after entering, they walked out again, and from inside After taking out one or two prisoners of war, they walked into the next thatched hut.

"Is there another idiot who tried to dig a tunnel to escape, and was reported by other idiots?" Clint asked in horror.

"We didn't dig a tunnel"

Robert said equally worriedly, "I just hope I won't be dragged into torture."

"Maybe the war is over and they are ready to let us go home." When Zach said this, he glanced at Wei Ran without leaving any trace.

"Don't think about such good things"

Clint snorted, "If the war was going to be over, we would either have been killed long ago or we would have gotten the news."

After just a few words, the flashlight beam was aimed at their low wooden house, and everyone chatting immediately shut their mouths and lay down on the damp floor.

Soon, nothing could stop the wooden door from being pushed open from the outside. A man wearing a rubber raincoat and holding a flashlight also walked in. Behind him, there were two soldiers with guns guarding the door. .

"Why does it smell so bad here!"

The person who came in complained in a more difficult language, and by the way, he aimed the dazzling beam at Wei Ran who was lying on the ground, then at Zach, and then glanced at Robert and Robert who subconsciously covered their eyes. .

"They haven't had a shower in a while," one of them said as he followed in.

"the two of them"

The flashlight beam was aimed at Wei Ran and Zach one after another again, "Let the two of them go take a shower outside and provide them with a piece of soap."

"Yes!"

"Let's go to the next room and have a look," the man said, turned around and walked out of the thatched house.

Before he could leave completely, the soldier who had just answered untied the iron chains on Wei Ran and Zach's feet, and urged them out of the wooden house with the butts of their rifles.

"They are going to be tortured"

In the wooden house, Robert said with some gloating, "I have said before that they should have written a confession earlier."

"I hope they won't drag us two into the water," Clint said subconsciously, "Robert, do you think Zach has it in his hands?"

"It would be nice if they were beaten to death during the torture," Robert murmured to himself as he watched Zach and Wei Ran leave the cabin.