War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1491 The body of steel on the other side of the river

On this sleepless rainy night while resting by the pine forest, Wei Ran deliberately guided the conversation and talked a lot about the future with the insomniac Monitor Liu and Nurse Ji. At the same time, he also used the bonfire that burned all night and the temporarily freed copper ladle to burn a lot of charcoal that could be used to filter dirty water and be used as fuel.

It was approaching midnight, and the hail had stopped long ago, and what fell above the head had turned into cold snow grits. Not surprisingly, within a very short period of time, a layer of ice armor formed on the already soaked tent. .

Before hunger struck, Wei Ran and others each fell asleep.

When they woke up again, the sky had not yet completely lit up, and everything around them was completely white, and even the bonfire only had a few embers left.

After hurriedly pressing down a few pieces of firewood, everyone, who had almost woken up from the cold, lay down next to the bonfire puffing out their cheeks and blowing air, finally making the bonfire rekindle and start dancing with warm flames again.

Sitting cowering by the campfire, Squad Leader Liu grabbed a handful of snow grits from the tent and threw them into the copper ladle.

"Comrades, roll call."

As usual, Squad Leader Liu counted everyone's names one by one and received responses one by one.

“We’ll set off once we’ve finished eating and it’s warm.”

As Squad Leader Liu spoke, he had already placed the enamel jar with frozen ice cubes on the edge of the bonfire, "Take advantage of this little time before dinner to allocate tasks."

"Yes!" Everyone who was also shivering from the cold responded to Squad Leader Liu with uncontrollable trembling.

"The little lama and I are still responsible for exploring the road."

Squad leader Liu said, "In addition, everyone except Wei Ran is given a bundle of firewood. Comrade Wei Ran, you are responsible for carrying everyone's kettles and sundries, dry food, and the precious charcoal you made."

"Yes" Wei Ran responded simply.

"This morning, each person will have three pieces of beef, besides the bark."

Squad leader Liu said rather proudly, in fact, the so-called beef is just the skin that is still being cooked in the pot.

Even so, everyone around the bonfire was still extremely happy. They happily put on the simple cloth shoes made yesterday, and then each shared a large vat of scalding hot soup.

Before it was completely light, everyone packed up their tents, each carried bamboo baskets or homemade backpacks, put on bamboo hats and used wooden sticks to climb to the top of the short mountain, and then walked non-stop from the other side. Going down the hill on one side, I walked into the cold mud without hesitation, stepping on those equally cold, but soft and useless straw mats and walked forward step by step.

Wei Ran, who was walking in the middle of the team and at the back, could tell that although they had rested all day yesterday, everyone's physical strength was obviously a little weak due to lack of food, especially since they each carried a large bundle of firewood on their backs.

Although the firewood has been dried by the campfire, each bundle weighs at least ten kilograms. Especially Squad Leader Liu and Nurse Ji, who are carrying the firewood in bamboo baskets, may weigh more than 15 kilograms.

This weight doesn't sound like much, but don't forget that they have been hungry for a long time and walked for a long time on this endless high-altitude rotten grass.

Not to mention them, even Wei Ran, who thought his physical fitness had been well tempered, felt that the kettles, copper ladles in the bamboo basket behind him and the damp tent cloth covered with ice were extremely heavy.

"There is a river ahead"

Leaning on a wooden stick, squad leader Liu pulled his calf out of the knee-deep mud with great effort. He took a difficult step forward and said, "Everyone, keep your distance and tie your leggings around your waist. If you get stuck, don't struggle. Try to lie down and wait for the people behind you to rescue you!"

"Yes!"

Everyone following behind responded in unison, even though they heard this reminder almost every day on the road.

As he took one step after another with difficulty, Wei Ran, who was chewing the leather in his mouth, gradually felt that his legs had been soaked in cold mud and became more and more numb, to the point where he completely lost consciousness.

I don't know when, as I lifted my legs again and again, the straw sandals worn outside the "cloth shoes" had been sucked away by the mud, and the layers of wrapped leggings had long been covered with mud filled with stench.

Even so, everyone did not stop at all. Only the three kettles filled with hot water, either wrapped in towels or covered with canvas covers, passed the warmth back and forth in the hands of the six people.

But this thief God seemed determined to keep the group of them here forever. Not only was the sun that had just popped up on top of his head covered by clouds, but even the top of his head was smashed down again. Freezing rain.

This is nothing more than this damn hell, right?

Wei Ran muttered to himself, but without any delay, he gulped and swallowed the saliva accumulated from chewing the leather.

Under the wash of the heavy rain, the swamp under their feet became more and more turbid, and the sky became darker and darker, so that they even had to bend down and test again and again with the wooden sticks in their hands to find the dividing line between the meadow and the swamp. .

But even so, they still followed the route marked by their predecessors with wooden sticks, approaching the winding river little by little.

However, as the distance gets closer and closer, the mud under the feet becomes deeper and deeper. From the beginning, it only submerged half of the calf to almost submerging the knees. Now, with every difficult step, the foul-smelling mud almost touches everyone's skin. Crotch.

"Comrade!"

The little lama walking in front shouted suddenly, and at the same time he raised his hand and pointed straight ahead.

Getting a little closer, Wei Ran could barely see clearly in the icy rain. Not far ahead was the small river that was not too wide.

There were several ropes pulled above the river, and the two ends of the ropes were each tied to a wooden stake smashed into the depths of the mire.

"Let's go! Let's cross the river!"

After Squad Leader Liu finished speaking, he waved to the little lama again, "Jianpa Kelsang! Come back!"

Although the little lama didn't understand Chinese, he understood what Squad Leader Liu was saying. He simply turned around and walked back, holding his hands in his pockets while saying something in Zang language.

"Li Zhuang, you are holding on to the little lama's leggings."

As Squad Leader Liu spoke, he had already crossed over to the little lama, used the wooden stick in his hand to pick up the lama, and threw the leggings tied to his belt to Li Zhuang. At the same time, he kept saying, "I am the squad leader, and I am also the squad leader." Party member, so I will cross the river first. Zhang Erwa, you are a probationary party member. If I fall, you will be the second to cross the river. If I do not fall, you will be the last to cross the river."

"Yes!" Zhang Erwa raised her chest and raised her head in salute.

"If I were swept away by the river"

Squad Leader Liu, who was walking forward, looked back at everyone, thought for a moment and said, "If I am washed away, Zhang Erwa, you will be the acting squad leader, and you will be responsible for taking everyone out."

"Yes!" Zhang Erwa saluted again and responded loudly, and the others also saluted each other.

Raising his hand in return of a military salute, Squad Leader Liu did not hesitate at all, not to mention Wei Ran who had already raised his camera, and walked towards one of the rope bridges carrying firewood and a wooden stick.

"Click"

With the sound of the shutter masked by the rain, Wei Ran took a picture of the people still saluting, as well as the back of Squad Leader Liu and the simple rope bridge - this is the 19th photo.

Almost at the same time that he put away the camera, Zhang Erwa also followed Squad Leader Liu to the river, tied the leggings tied to his own belt with the leggings tied to the other party's belt, and wrapped them around the capable man. It was as thick as a thigh, and seemed to be on a wooden pile cut from the jungle behind him.

Trying to explore with the wooden stick in his hand, Squad Leader Liu carefully buried his feet in the river.

In just a moment, the seemingly gentle river water suddenly submerged up to his chest, and everyone who stayed on the shore subconsciously screamed in surprise.

Fortunately, because Zhang Erwa was behind him to help hold the safety rope, and because one of Squad Leader Liu's own hands could only hold the hemp rope as thick as a mineral water bottle cap stretched across the river, he But he was not rushed out.

Under the nervous gaze of everyone with clenched fists, Squad Leader Liu stood firm with difficulty, grabbed the rope with both hands, and moved to the other side little by little.

In the end, Captain Liu, who was almost exhausted, dragged the rope and almost crawled onto the muddy ground on the other side, and finally stood firm.

"Next!"

Captain Liu on the other side used himself as an anchor, grabbed the leggings tied to his belt and said, "Li Zhuang, come here first! Erba, tie the leggings around his waist!"

"Yes!"

Li Zhuang and Zhang Erwa responded to the order in unison. The former also allowed Zhang Erwa to take off the leggings from his waist and tie them to his belt. Then he grabbed the rope across the river bed with a wooden stick and waded chest deep. The cold water of the river was pulled up by the opponent's squad leader Liu.

After a while, the leggings originally tied to Li Zhuang's belt were thrown over by him. Squad Leader Liu, who had regained his composure, said, "Comrade Wei Ran, it's your turn!"

"it is good!"

Wei Ran responded, took the soaked leggings and tied them around his waist.

"Be careful with your camera!" Zhang Erwa reminded.

"Don't worry, it's at the top."

Wei Ran patted the bamboo basket he was carrying behind him, and then carefully walked into the river with a wooden stick. As soon as he stepped down, the cold and biting river water poured into all parts of his body in the blink of an eye. Moreover, although the river looked calm on the surface, it actually flowed very slowly. Especially when he was carrying a bamboo basket, he was inevitably affected by the current, and his body was also affected by it. He couldn't help but tilted a little.

At this moment, squad leader Liu and Li Zhuang on the opposite side pulled the leggings straps together.

"Move forward! Take a step!"

Squad Leader Liu reminded loudly, and Wei Ran also took steps almost subconsciously. With the help of the other party, he resisted the cramps of his body due to low temperature and the dizziness caused by hunger, and finally climbed into the mud on the other side with difficulty before losing strength. .

"Little Lama!" Squad Leader Liu regained his composure and called out to the other side. Wei Ran also helped to throw the leggings that served as a safety lock to the other side.

Hearing the sound, the little lama immediately walked to Zhang Erwa and let him tie the leggings around his waist.

Because there was another Wei Ran on this side of the river, it was extremely easy for the little lama to cross the river. He was almost dragged up by the three of them.

They also rested for a while. After everyone who had crossed the river had taken a breath, the leggings were thrown to the other side again, and Zhang Erwa tied them to Nurse Ji's belt.

With increasing ease, Nurse Ji was pulled over, and the leggings were finally tied back to the belt of reserve party member Zhang Erwa.

Without any hesitation at all, Zhang Erwa walked into the river with firewood on his back and a wooden stick in his hand. At the same time, Wei Ran and others also began to use force to pull the leggings straps together.

"laugh!"

Just when Zhang Erwa was dragged to the center of the river, which was only one and a half meters wide, the tight leggings made a tearing sound that chilled everyone's heart!

"grass!"

Wei Ran, who was at the front, subconsciously took a step forward and grabbed the rope on the river. At the same time, he also grabbed the broken leggings with his other hand.

"Stand up quickly!"

Wei Ran gritted his teeth and roared angrily. At the same time, he used all his strength to pull the rope that he had barely grasped, trying to help Zhang Erwa, who had accidentally fallen because the rope broke, to stand up.

"Hurry and grab the rope around Wei Ran's waist!"

Squad leader Liu, who also fell on his back because the rope broke, stood up from the mud with difficulty and shouted at the top of his lungs to remind the little lama and Li Zhuang who were lined up behind Wei Ran.

At his reminder, Li Zhuang grabbed the leggings tied to Wei Ran's belt. Less than a second later, the little lama also reacted and grabbed the leggings as well.

Earlier than the two of them, almost before Squad Leader Liu shouted that voice, Wei Ran also clamped the thick hemp rope across the river with his armpits, and grabbed the rope around Zhang Erwa's waist with both hands. The rope tumbled forward, and finally caught Zhang Erwa's belt.

Biting his cheek hard, Wei Ran, stimulated by the severe pain and the smell of blood that filled his mouth, pulled out Zhang Erwa who had fallen down and was choking on water, and put him on the hemp rope with difficulty.

"Cough cough cough! Cough--!"

Zhang Erwa coughed violently, and gurgling mud soup spewed out from his mouth and nose along with the cough.

But even so, he didn't care about his own safety and tried hard to say something.

Holding back the dizziness in his brain, Wei Ran slurped the bitten cheek, swallowed the mouthful of blood that could also provide emergency energy, and at the same time put one of his hands through Zhang Erwa's belt, and With difficulty, he brought his ear to the other person's mouth.

"Chai.cough! Chai.cough! Cough, cough, cough!"

"Leave the firewood alone"

Wei Ran glanced at the homemade back frame that was falling apart on the opponent's back, as well as the firewood and the Red Army bamboo hat that were pushed downstream by the river. He also subconsciously tightened Zhang Erwa's cloth rope belt, and then looked towards The other side of the river.

After receiving the signal from his eyes, everyone who had just fallen immediately worked hard together, grabbing the leggings around his waist, and dragged him and Zhang Erwa, whose belt was tightly grasped by his hands, to the muddy ground on the shore.

It wasn't until everyone was safe enough that everyone sitting in the mud that almost submerged their chests noticed that everyone had turned into mud monkeys at this moment.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

After a brief silence, I don't know who started it. Everyone burst out laughing uncontrollably, and even grabbed a ball of foul-smelling cold mud and threw it on their companions.

Encouraged by the joy of surviving the disaster, the people who looked like clay monkeys supported each other and stood up with difficulty with wooden sticks. They waited for Zhang Erwa, who was choked, to breathe again, and then, under the guidance of Squad Leader Liu and Under the leadership of the little lama, we continued walking forward.

However, this time, they only walked forward for less than half an hour, and Squad Leader Liu and the little lama who were walking at the front stopped again.

"Monitor, what's wrong?"

Li Zhuang, who was following Squad Leader Liu, took a few steps forward and asked, but then, he himself found the reason why Squad Leader Liu and the two stopped in the rain.

Right in front of their route, on a meadow, was a corpse of a Red Army soldier wearing a bamboo hat kneeling on his head.

The corpse was short in stature and curled up as much as possible, and the bamboo hat was obviously broken.

On his arm, or perhaps I should say, there is a red cross armband of the same style as Nurse Ji on her arm. In her arms, she is tightly holding a canvas satchel with the same red cross logo.

On both sides of her body were a bundle of soaked firewood, a bundle of weapons tied together with leggings, and a pole placed on top of the firewood and weapons, lying across her body to help support her body. of carrying poles.

What kind of weapons were they? Two rusty anti-Japanese broadswords, three old sleeves without gun belts, a stick-shaped gun, and four horsetail grenades that were definitely not very useful.

"Click"

Wei Ran, who came from behind, knelt in front of the body of the Red Army soldier and took a photo of her from the same height.

Just looking at the remaining wounds on her body and the damaged hat, he could guess that the other party most likely died here because of the hail.

This skinny little female warrior didn't even have a bamboo basket. The only thing she had to protect herself from the hail was the bamboo hat on her head.

But just looking at the broken pieces on the bamboo hat that were the size of table tennis balls, one knew that even a bamboo basket might not have been able to protect her from the hail at that time.

"Wang Zhen!"

Nurse Ji, who was following from behind, let out an exclamation, stumbled over, held the swollen and smelly body in her arms, and began to cry - they knew each other.

Ugh.

Squad leader Liu sighed softly, staggered over, and gently pulled Nurse Ji away, "Ji Hu, Comrade Ji Chunlan, please forgive me."

Wiping away the tears that couldn't stop, Nurse Ji stubbornly crawled to the female warrior named Wang Zhen, gently took the satchel embroidered with a red cross from her arms, and opened it carefully The lid of the satchel was already stained with the smell of corpses.

In the pouring rain, Nurse Ji took out four things from the satchel.

The first one was a coarse porcelain bottle with a cork stopper and a wick rope tied to the mouth. On the bottle, the words "Logistics Department of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" were written in red paint.

In the middle of this circle of words, there is a red five-pointed star. In the middle of the five-pointed star, there is also the symbol of sickle and hammer.

What he took out next was a brown glass medicine bottle. This medicine bottle is much larger than the two medicine bottles of Squad Leader Liu, probably with a capacity of 500 ml. On the bottle, three traditional Chinese characters were written in white paint, "horse manure bag".

The third item was a round-bellied kerosene lamp. The glass lampshade of this kerosene lamp was extremely well preserved. There was also a blue cloth bag about the size of a cigarette box hanging on the metal handle.

The fourth item was a meager three magazines filled with rifle bullets.

"These are the weather lanterns and kerosene cans of our health team."

With tears streaming down her face, Nurse Ji rubbed the kerosene lamp and the greasy porcelain oil pot and choked with sobs. Then she picked up the brown glass medicine bottle and continued to explain, "This is a bag of horse manure. It was originally If Jiang Yu’s wounds could be covered with horse dung bags, maybe”

Before she could finish her words, Nurse Ji held the medical bag of Red Army soldier Wang Zhen in her arms and cried uncontrollably.

He secretly sighed and looked at the broken bamboo hat on the head of the Red Army soldier Wang Zhen again. He couldn't imagine how strong a faith and tenacious nerves a weak woman must have to allow herself to be beaten by eggs the size of eggs. The hailstones hit me, just to protect the precious and fragile things in my arms.

What he couldn't imagine, the nurse named Wang Zhen did it. She used her thin, thin, tired and hungry body to block the huge hail falling from a thousand meters high and protect three fragile items. Not even a single scratch was received.

Looking at the camera he was still holding in his hand, Wei Ran silently used the viewfinder to cover Nurse Ji who was kneeling on the meadow and crying bitterly, Squad Leader Liu who was wiping away her tears, Li Zhuang and Zhang Erwa, and also used the viewfinder to cover Nurse Ji who was kneeling on the meadow and crying. Wang Zhen on the meadow was snaring the medical supplies and weapons she was desperately protecting.

"Click"

Amidst the sound of the shutter masked by the rain, Wei Ran took the 20th photo, but he didn't know how to comfort the heartbroken Nurse Ji and the comrades around him.