War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1463: Will you come back?

Amid the constant turbulence, Wei Ran, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation between Ruan Qingcha and Li Youfu, fell asleep at some point.

When he woke up again, the fully loaded three-wheeled motorcycle had stopped.

I glanced outside subconsciously. It was rare that it didn't rain this night, and there was a brilliant full moon hanging in the night sky.

"Come down quickly"

Li Youfu greeted in a low voice, then jumped out of the carriage first and was busy unloading the wooden boxes in the carriage one by one.

Upon seeing this, Wei Ran and Zach immediately got out of the carriage. Only then did they see Charlie was busy unloading the bicycles tied to both sides of the carriage.

"You two don't need help, hurry up and get on the boat and cover yourself up." Charlie's wife stopped Wei Ran and Zach in a low voice.

After hearing this, the two of them did not dare to delay, and immediately jumped into a small boat along a simple pier under the guidance of Ruan Qingcha.

What makes people laugh or cry is that even though it was dark, Wei Ran could still recognize it at a glance under the cold moonlight. This small boat was actually modified from the auxiliary fuel tank of an American fighter jet. Even the propeller at the tail seemed to be made of Removed from a motorcycle and powered by a two-stroke engine.

There was no time to marvel at who had such a good craftsmanship. Wei Ran and Zac lay almost side by side in the cabin, covered with a torn canvas that smelled of blood and potion.

Almost at the front and back, Ruan Qingcha also placed wooden boards directly above them, almost perfectly fitting on the sides of the boat on both sides.

Soon, the wooden boxes originally packed in the cargo compartment of the three-wheeled motorcycle were lifted to the wooden board above the two men's heads. Immediately afterwards, even the two bicycles were loaded onto the boat.

At this point, the two of Wei Ran were completely hidden under the cargo, especially Li Youfu and Charlie, who were almost sitting on the wooden board directly above their heads.

Lifting up the canvas covering their heads, they passed through the gap between Li Youfu's legs and could see Ruan Qingcha at the stern of the ship who was responsible for controlling the engine.

Without too much delay, this slender boat started running lightly with the sound of the engine.

"You two, can you have a cigarette?"

Zach, who was lying on his back, arched forward, letting his head stick out from between Li Youfu's legs.

“This angle is weird”

As Li Youfu spoke, he bent down and stuffed a cigarette into Zach's mouth, and at the same time said, "But hold on, you will be safe soon."

At the same time, Charlie also gave a cigarette to Wei Ran whose head emerged from between his feet, and kindly took off his slippers and put them under his head.

"Why do you say that?" Wei Ran let the other party help him light the cigarette and asked, "I mean, is this place very close to the front line?"

"Not close at all, but our boat is very fast."

Li Youfu replied while lighting a cigarette for Zach, "In just one night, we can run very far, enough to reach the territory controlled by the Americans."

"The premise is that we will not be discovered by the American aircraft patrolling at night," said Ruan Qingcha, who was operating the outboard motor, "and you will not be discovered by our patrol team."

"Miss Run, can I understand this?"

Zach, who was also pillowing on his slippers, looked at the night sky above his head and asked, "When we are safe, are you going to be in danger?"

"you can"

"We are war reporters on the front line" Li Youfu gave his answer first.

Hearing this, Zach just took a drag on the cigarette, but didn't say anything.

Amidst the low engine sound of the engine, this boat with a fully loaded auxiliary fuel tank ran very fast on the Migong River. The shadowy jungle night scenery and swarms of flying fireflies on both sides of the river were also retreating rapidly.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Youfu suddenly said, "You can come out now. You're lucky. You didn't encounter our patrol team, and you won't encounter them again."

Hearing this, Wei Ran and Zach immediately crawled out of the "bottom cabin" where they were hiding.

Before he had time to ask, Wei Ran noticed two things.

First of all, the jungle on the river bank has become so bare that it has no leaves at all. The surrounding air is also filled with the strange smell of aged defoliants. Even on the river in front of you, there are some large and small leaves floating in the air. Belly fish.

Secondly, Ruan Qingcha had turned off the engine, picked up the telescope, and looked around the banks and the night sky above with vigilance.

Looking at Li Youfu and Charlie, they have skillfully removed the paddles fixed on the outer edges of both sides of the boat, and they work together to provide quieter power for the boat as if they were rowing a dragon boat.

Obviously, as Zach just guessed, the Americans may be safe here, but the Viet Cong may start to face danger.

Even so, Li Youfu and Charlie still rowed extra hard without any fear, and even Ruan Qingcha looked like he was used to it.

In contrast, Wei Ran and Zach became a little at a loss. They couldn't help and didn't know what to do, but they wanted to find something to do.

"If you really have nothing to do, just help us clean the camera."

Charlie, perhaps sensing Zach's uneasiness, took off the camera hanging around his neck and handed it over along with a piece of suede.

Seeing this, Li Youfu also temporarily stopped what he was doing, and also handed over the camera hanging around his neck and a piece of suede.

After taking the camera, Wei Ran couldn't help but laugh. Charlie used Minolta and waterproof Nikonos cameras, while Li Youfu used the Nikon Big F and Leica M3 that originally belonged to Zach, and the one that belonged to him. Konica half grid.

For a moment, Wei Ran seemed to see the shadow of Zach and Li Youfu, who were both friends and teachers.

Zack, who was holding the camera with a smile on his face, might have thought of something as well. While carefully and expertly wiping the two cameras that belonged to him, he whispered, "These are two good cameras. This Nikon is mine." My father recommended it to me when I set out. This Leica was a birthday gift from my mother when I was 18 years old.

It was one of the first batch of Leica’s that my parents brought home when they went to West Germany to attend the Camera Expo as dealers in 1954 and used it as an exhibit. Its double film levers were used. very comfortable. "

After the introduction, Zach raised his head with a bright smile, "But since I brought it home, it has been placed in the display cabinet behind the bar. It has never been loaded with film, and has never been pressed. .

Until the day I turned 18, my mother took it out and gave it to me, saying it was time to let the camera play its true role. "

As everyone listened attentively, Zack put the cleaned Leica camera back into the leather case and hung it around Li Youfu's neck. Then he carefully folded the suede into a pocket square and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. "Troy, let it play its original role in your hands."

"It's not my birthday today," Li Youfu made a little joke, "Of course, I know, it's not a birthday gift either."

Zach smiled when he heard this, but did not continue to say anything. However, Wei Ran, who was closest to him, could clearly sense that he was now much calmer and more at ease.

Chatting softly about the camera, the brisk boat was also speeding along the edge of the shadows reflected on the river by the trees on the riverbank amidst the clattering sound of oars.

While Li Youfu and the others were working tirelessly, when fish belly white turned up on the horizon, Wei Ran and Zac also noticed that the vegetation on both sides of the river had lost all its leaves.

"We have to hurry, we're still some distance from the dock."

Ruan Qingcha said, handing the telescope in her hand to Wei Ran, "Help me keep an eye on the surroundings, especially the other side and the top of my head."

Before she finished speaking, the girl had already taken off a pair of oars from the gang of the boat and joined the rowing team.

Instead of taking the telescope to keep an eye on the surrounding gases, Zach raised the Nikon F that was left in his hand and looked at the three people rowing, the slightly turbid river and even the leafless vegetation on both sides. After entering the viewfinder, I pressed the shutter button.

"If I discover the enemy, will you join the battle?" Wei Ran asked the hypothetical question to the three people who were busy rowing.

“That’s a good question”

Mr. Zach, who had just pressed the shutter, seemed to have hit his G-spot and praised it with a satisfied expression.

“It’s different from before”

The first person to answer the question was Li Youfu, "Now I am a guerrilla first, and then a frontline war reporter. Mr. Zak, on this point, I agree with Mr. Victor's original point of view."

"What's your opinion?" Zach glanced curiously at Wei Ran, who was already sitting on the boxes behind him.

"Don't look at me, I forgot what I said."

Wei Ran, who was busy searching for potential enemies with a telescope, took it out when he noticed that the other party was looking at him.

"Mr. Victor once said that only by adhering to justice and objectivity can the photographer avoid getting blood on the lens. In order to prevent the lens from being stained with blood, he did not care about getting his hands covered with blood."

Li Youfu paused and said while rowing harder and harder, "I agree with this sentence."

"It seems that I have become someone who can say famous quotes."

Wei Ran, who was holding the telescope, didn't even finish his words, but his heart trembled. He sped up his speech and whispered in a low voice, "Something's wrong. The tree with the bird's nest on the top of the tree on the right has just reflected light from below!"

In fact, before he even finished speaking, Ruan Qingcha had already put away the oars and pulled the engine's starting wire hard.

At the same time, Li Youfu, who had just expressed his attitude, also reached out and lifted the canvas that had been placed at his feet, revealing a grenade launcher with a copper butt and a Type 56 bullet bag filled with grenades. .

As he watched, Charlie also pulled out a Type 56 submachine gun with a folding stock from under the opened canvas.

"Tu tu tu tu—!"

At this moment, Ruan Qingcha had started the engine, and almost at the same time, a gunshot of "Bang!" was heard from the other side of the river!

Fortunately, due to the thrust generated by the started engine, the shot narrowly avoided Ruan Qingcha and only passed through her hairline from the earlobe down, interrupting her exclamation. hair.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

Almost as soon as the gunfire rang out, Charlie raised the submachine gun in his hand and started to fight back. At the same time, Li Youfu also reacted very quickly and pulled the trigger of the grenade launcher in the direction indicated by Wei Ran!

"boom!"

The high-explosive bomb exploded instantly and the damage caused by it immediately stopped the counterattack that the other side was about to start. At the same time, Ruan Qingcha ignored the pain in his cheek that was hit by the airflow and controlled the engine to instantly increase the speed of the ship.

"Get down! Get down quickly!"

Wei Ran reminded loudly, "The other party did not have direct fire coverage. They probably planned to capture us alive! But now."

"Da da da da da!"

Before he could finish his words, the people on the other side controlled the machine guns and fired a dense barrage, almost chasing the speeding boat, creating a series of splashes on the water.

"Tom!"

Li Youfu fired a second grenade at the opponent, but this time, when the grenade landed, thick red smoke began to rise.

"The Americans will help us kill them"

As Li Youfu spoke, he quickly put on a high-explosive grenade and hit it.

"boom!"

With another explosion, the opponent's machine gun finally misfired. But Li Youfu did not stop. Instead, he fired high-explosive bombs or smoke bombs one after another until he left the range of the grenade launcher.

Ruan Qingcha, who didn't dare to get too entangled at all, and didn't care whether he would be exposed or not. Ruan Qingcha, whose cheeks were already red, also increased the power of the engine to the maximum while the former was busy launching grenades.

Amidst the churning sound of the engine, this long, narrow and light boat even gave an obvious "push-back" feeling to Wei Ran, who was lying on the bow box and holding a telescope to look for the enemy. Soon, as the ship ran farther and faster, the enemy who had planned to ambush them finally ceased fire, leaving only the smoke of various colors that still filled the coast.

"Troye!"

Zach returned the camera that had been emptied of film to the other party, "You are already a qualified soldier. Of course, you are already a qualified frontline war reporter!"

"Thank you for the compliment," Li Youfu responded with a smile, and at the same time took the camera handed to him.

"Do you often encounter such dangers?" When Zach asked this question, he pointed in the direction behind him with his thumb.

"They have been attacking our material transportation channels"

Charlie, who had already put away his weapons, answered this question on Li Youfu's behalf, "The most important thing is that they want to capture them alive and then ask for more information, otherwise we may not survive at all."

“It’s time to end the small talk.”

Ruan Qingcha at the stern of the boat reminded, "We are about to dock."

Before she finished speaking, the boat also turned into a not-so-wide river under her control, and after driving along the river at high speed for less than ten minutes, the engine suddenly turned off.

"Sit tight!"

Following Li Youfu's preemptive reminder, Ruan Qingcha also relied on her slender body to press down on the joystick and lift the propeller that was originally extended into the water out of the water.

Almost in front and back, the boat was driven by inertia and rushed up the muddy river bank in a way that could be called silky smooth.

Before the boat came to a complete stop, Li Youfu, Charlie and Ruan Qingcha jumped off quickly and loaded the wooden boxes on the boat onto the two bicycles.

This was not over yet. Ruan Qingcha quickly pulled out two wooden sticks from the cabin and placed them across the beams and back seats of the two bicycles. Then he worked with Li Youfu and Charlie to lift the boat up.

"Hurry up!" Ruan Qingcha urged, taking the weapons of the three of them on his back.

Li Youfu and Li Youfu also did not dare to delay. One hand on the left and the other on the right held the handlebars extended by wooden sticks, and the other hand placed the boats on the two bicycles and began to drill through the jungle.

"You two, don't be in a daze, hurry up and follow us!"

Ruan Qingcha urged, but she was busy cleaning up the traces left by the boat and the marks left by the bicycle on the mud.

After only running forward for less than a hundred meters, Li Youfu and his wife stopped the car. Amidst the roar of the helicopter that was getting closer and closer, they squatted on the edge of a bush and reached into the soil with their hands. , revealing a slender tunnel large enough to fit a small boat into.

"Come and help!"

In fact, Wei Ran and Zac ran over without him even needing to greet him, helped Charlie lift the boat down and push it into the hole paved with pillars.

Immediately afterwards, Li Youfu opened another well-hidden cover not far away, using his body as support, allowing Charlie and Wei Ran to push bicycles filled with cargo and hide in with Zach, and then After Ruan Qingcha cleaned up the last trace and hid in, he squatted down and let the bamboo cover above his head fall down to cover everyone tightly.

Only two minutes later, a reconnaissance helicopter also flew overhead at low altitude.

In the dark and humid tunnel, there was even a layer of water under his feet that was almost submerged to his knees. Zach squinted his eyes and looked up at the light-transmitting gap between the bamboo covers above his head and asked in a low voice, "Troye, what's next? how far?"

"Going straight along the river just now is Quang Tri Province."

"So this is not far from Xishan Base?" Zach asked immediately.

"Khe Sanh Base?"

Le Huu Phuc shook his head, "The Americans have abandoned the Khe Sanh base. In July 68, the Americans evacuated from there. Didn't you get the news in the prisoner of war camp?"

"General Westmoreland did not visit a prisoner of war camp."

"It seems that you really can't get any outside information in the prisoner of war camp."

Li Youfu said with a strange expression, "General Westmoreland was transferred back to the United States in June of 68, and now the one who calls the shots is General Creighton Abrams.

It was also under his order that the Americans withdrew from Khe Sanh. In fact, not only the Khe Sanh base, but also Route 9 is almost under our control now.

If it weren't for our companions to find you two easily by taking that highway, we wouldn't actually have to go around in such a big circle. "

"So we have to go through Quang Tri Province?" Zach asked with a frown.

“It’s not as troublesome as you think.”

Li Youfu carefully pushed up the cover above his head to create a gap, and while observing the outside, he said, "As long as we pass through the jungle here, we are not far from Hue. There is also a camp with stick people along the way. Of course, it is not the one we had before. The one we went to.”

“There were five or six villages along the way.”

Ruan Qingcha sighed and said, "But those villages were either burned down by the hateful Han Bang people, or they couldn't be moved because the defoliated rice couldn't survive."

"And the plane also planted a lot of landmines around it," Charlie added subconsciously, "There are also helicopters patrolling frequently during the day."

"Don't worry, I'll send you off."

“Just send it here”

Zach said abruptly, "Troye, that's enough. Whether it's for friends or other reasons, you've done enough. Next, help me draw a map, and then we can walk back by ourselves." , right, Victor?"

"it's up to you"

Wei Ran responded nonchalantly, but in fact all his attention was focused on the sky outside the gap. According to American behavior, the reconnaissance helicopter would definitely be followed by an armed helicopter.

"Let's wait for a while"

Li Youfu said, "At least let me take you through the minefield before you make a decision."

Without waiting for Zach to agree or refuse, the rumbling propellers roared from far to near again, and Li Youfu immediately lowered the slightly propped up cover again, blocking the narrow sky.

After a moment of waiting, accompanied by the strong smell of defoliant, the roar of the propeller above his head gradually disappeared. When Li Youfu carefully pushed open the bamboo cover covered with a layer of soil and weeds, there was still a layer of white floating in the sky. fog.

"Walk"

Li Youfu greeted in a low voice and completely opened the bamboo cover. After Ruan Qingcha and Charlie pushed the two bicycles out, he continued walking forward with Wei Ran and Zach without any explanation.

It took more than two hours to push the bicycle forward in the jungle. The heavy rain poured down without any warning. Li Youfu and Charlie immediately, with the help of Ruan Qingcha, moved the two bicycles full of supplies. The bicycle was pushed under a big tree next to the foot of the mountain, and then covered with a green tarpaulin.

"While it's raining, I'll take you through that minefield."

Li Youfu hurriedly took out two sets of fourth-class US military uniforms prepared in advance from his bag and handed them to Wei Ran and Zach. Then he took off the camera around his neck and handed it to Ruan Qingcha, "This is a rare opportunity, Zach and Vick "More, please put on your clothes quickly. When it rains, American planes rarely come out, and both the South Vietnamese and our patrols will stop to rest."

"Then let's go." Zach and Wei Ran looked at each other and quickly changed into the clothes provided by the other party.

"Victor"

Just when the three of them were about to set off, Ruan Qingcha, who had already put away the camera, came over. After some hesitation, he pulled out the 1911 pistol on his waist and handed it over, "This is your sidearm." , give it back to you, don’t shoot at my compatriots.”

"Okay," Wei Ran said, taking the pistol and putting it on his belt.

Not daring to waste any more time, the two of them, led by Li Youfu, disappeared into the leafless jungle with Ruan Qingcha and Charlie's frowning and worried expressions on their faces.

"Brother Menglu, will they come back?" Ruan Qingcha asked helplessly.

"Yes." Charlie was particularly confident, "He will definitely come back."

"You must come back." Ruan Qingcha prayed silently, her eyes always staring in the direction where the three disappeared.

In the jungle shrouded in heavy rain, a stone the size of a washbasin was just held by Zach with his hand, and then it was wrapped in the surrounding mud, passed through the gap between him and Wei Ran, and rolled towards the bottom of the slope. , and finally crashed into the turbid flash flood with a "crash".

"Be careful"

Li Youfu, who was walking in the front, caught Zach who almost fell down after him. Wei Ran, who was about to take a secret photo of the two of them, also watched helplessly as one of Zach's tire slippers flipped over to the top of his foot. One stepped into the mud.

While supporting each other and waiting for Zach to put on the inside-out slippers again, the three of them didn't dare to stop and start again.

"There is a minefield ahead. After climbing over this slope, the other side is full of mines, so you must follow me closely."

Li Youfu gave some instructions and led them carefully over the muddy slope and into an open space full of withered yellow elephant grass.

The terrain here is not high. Every time you step on it, the accumulated water and mud can cover your feet. Even the soles of your feet are as soft as if they were on a water bed in an amusement park.

But obviously, with the threat of landmines everywhere, this waterbed cannot bring any happiness to the three of them, especially every once in a while, they can see one or two guerrillas who have been soaked and swollen and smelly. Corpses of team members.

Guided by these stinking corpses that were close to road signs, Li Youfu took the two of them for almost two hours, and finally passed through this minefield without any danger, and saw a burned-out corpse with only its remains. The village, and the surrounding abandoned farmland.

It wasn't until they re-entered the leafless jungle and rinsed the mud off their feet in a puddle filled with stagnant water that Wei Ran and Li Youfu noticed that Zach's shoes had disappeared at some point.

"One of the laces just broke and the other one was a little too big and kept screwing on my ankle like a screw cap, so I threw them away."

Zach explained nonchalantly, and then said without waiting for Li Youfu to speak, "Okay Troye, just send him here. It's time for you to go back."

"I"

"Unless you want to come back to America with me"

Zach didn't give the other party a chance to speak at all, "So go back, Miss Run is still waiting for you."

"I"

"Don't worry, I will definitely make it back alive."

Zach said confidently, "I'm still waiting for you to send me those negatives we hid, especially my soldier card is also with those negatives, which has my safe code on it. "

"I will definitely send those things back to you."

Li Youfu made the promise again, dumbfounded, then took off the three-pocket backpack he was wearing, first took out a helmet from it, and then picked up some things that Wei Ran looked very familiar to, along with two A U.S. Army canteen filled with water was handed to Zach along with the tire slippers he originally wore on his own feet.

"Take these"

Li Youfu showed a simple smile, "You just need to keep walking forward, pass through this jungle and then pass through some farmland. When you see a road, go right along the road. You can see it early tomorrow morning at the latest. Once you reach the American camp, you will basically not encounter our people after you see the road, but you must still be careful of American helicopters.”

"Remember to write to your mother, and after she writes back, remember to send me those negatives."

As Zach spoke, he took the cold helmet, first put the M7 bayonet inside on his waist, then put lighters, ointments, compressed biscuits and other things into his pocket, and finally took the water bottle and put it on He took off his helmet and put on the slippers belonging to Li Youfu.

"You two, look here."

Wei Ran said suddenly, and when the two of them looked at him subconsciously, in the increasingly intense white light, he pressed the shutter of the Nikon camera in his hand.