War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1581 Archer Hu Bazhi

In the studio in the basement of the library, Wei Ran carried out a careful inspection as usual, then opened the wooden box on the table and took out the saber.

The six traditional Chinese characters "Qi Ba Shi" and "Zhao Jinyu" are clearly engraved on the blade of this ring-handled wide-blade saber.

On both sides of the keel of the hilt, there are eight traditional Chinese characters "血債血償" and "買河山" printed respectively.

There were many notches on the blade, and it was obvious that this saber had probably been used to chop a lot of livestock.

After a moment's hesitation, he took out his anti-Japanese broadsword and stacked it together with the saber in his hand.

Compared with the two, the blade of this saber is narrower and longer, while the handle is shorter. Even so, it is much wider and thicker than the conventional "cavalry sword".

After putting away the anti-Japanese sword, Wei Ran put the saber in his hand aside and opened the Lock & Lock box he brought down with him.

In addition to a greasy leather rope and two pieces of rags, each half the size of a towel and full of holes and stains, the most important thing in the box is a small triangular flag the size of a red scarf, which is preserved exceptionally well.

On the edge of the white cloth used to cover the flagpole of this small flag, the words "Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army" were written in black.

In the middle of the flag, there is a five-pointed star made of white cloth sewn on, and on the other side are written "Guerrilla First Team" in two lines of five traditional Chinese characters.

The two white and one red pieces of cloth, as well as the greasy leather rope, were originally wrapped around the handle of the knife as a grip.

Thanks to the information that his scumbag brother Xia Shushi helped him find, he was almost certain that this flag came from the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army.

But that's all. What era was it? Who was Zhao Jinyu? Why was he holding a saber from the Eighth Cavalry Division? Why did he appear in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia with the big belly boxes of the Li brothers? There were no answers to all of these.

He even suspected that the herdsman who sold these two items to Mr. Alexander might be a middleman similar to the "old house thief".

Taking a deep breath, he loosely wrapped the three pieces of rags around the saber with the leather rope again and put them aside for the time being, then began to take things out of the metal notebook.

This time, he prepared very carefully, and wiped and replenished everything he thought might be useful.

But in the end, when he took out the shoulder pole and the two empty bamboo baskets he got after the Long March, he only wiped and maintained the box gun carefully, and did not put anything in it.

Everything was ready. After putting away everything, Wei Ran picked up the sticky note on the table, wrote down all the matters at hand and stuck them on the table. Then he opened the drawer and took out a pack of Zhonghua, took out a cigarette and lit it in his mouth. By the way, he also put his legs on the edge of the table, looked up at the ceiling, and smoked one puff after another seriously.

A moment later, as the cigarette in his hand burned out and was extinguished, he finally took out the metal notebook after taking a deep breath, secretly hoping that his current military rank could be used.

As he waited patiently, the metal notebook slowly turned to the latest page, and the feather pen quickly drew a picture.

In this sketch, there is a figure riding a horse with a saber on his shoulder. Faintly, he can also see a wooden gun case of a box gun slung across the waist of the figure.

Fortunately, during his anxious wait, the metal feather pen finally did not write the words "Military rank is too low" this time:

Act One

Role: Wei Ran, a member of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces

Return mission: Kill at least five enemies, seize at least 20 kilograms of weapons, assist team members in completing the letter and material delivery mission, and cover Zhao Jinyu's escape from the encirclement.

  Did it really start with the Anti-Japanese United Army?

As Wei Ran sighed, white light rose up, and he also saw the props that could be used this time.

  So many again.

Wei Ran couldn't help but frowned. The first thing that passed through his field of vision was the anti-Japanese broadsword, followed by the Pelikan fountain pen, bearskin mittens, Robert camera bag, British Army P44 kettle, Johnston sailor bag and the three-piece silver set of lighter, cigarette case and pocket warmer from Leningrad.

Then he saw the ski poles obtained from Murmansk and the Long March shoulder pole that appeared as expected!

Before the white light faded away, Wei Ran couldn't help but shiver because he was the first to feel the low temperature. At the same time, he also felt the biting chill of snowflakes hitting his face in the cold wind.

  Colder than Pinson Meadows

While Wei Ran was muttering to himself, he was also patiently waiting for his vision to return.

After a moment, he finally saw clearly that he was curled up against a pine tree that was so thick that two people could hug it.

Looking around, the weather was either just dawning or already dark. Small snowflakes were floating overhead, and most of the weeds and shrubs around had yellow leaves.

I took a look at my outfit out of habit. I was wearing a pair of high-waisted boots with beautiful pleats on the upper.

The soles of the shoes are decorated with seven anti-slip and anti-wear spikes arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper.

The head of each of these shoe nails was as big as a one-dollar coin in later generations, and each one was polished to a shine.

In addition to these distinctive boots, each of them also wears a pair of furry rabbit skin leggings on their calves.

In addition to this, there was a set of cotton-padded clothes and trousers with patches on top of straw-yellow patches, but with the cotton still showing in a few places, and a cloth belt tied around the waist. On the torn belt, there was a wooden-handled grenade.

He looked around again and found that there was no one around and he didn't have any weapons with him.

There was a not very wide dirt road not far away, and on the other side of the dirt road, there seemed to be graves and tombstones.

Without getting up in a hurry, Wei Ran took out the props one by one and looked at them.

  As expected, this time there were a lot of props, but the pen had no ink, the lighter had no oil, the kettle had no water, and the gun had no oil.

Fortunately, there were bullets in the box gun on the shoulder pole of the Long March. Unfortunately, the three magazines were empty, and there was only one bullet in the chamber.

Fortunately, in addition to the camera and various lenses, Robert's camera bag also contained a lot of film and his only silver dollar.

  Where is Zhao Jinyu?

While putting away his things, Wei Ran looked around again. Unfortunately, apart from the sky which seemed to be brighter, there was still no one in sight. However, he could see the scenery across the road clearly, and it was indeed a mass grave.

This mass grave not only contained graves, but also a number of naked corpses, as well as at least a hundred wild dogs surrounding the corpses and feasting on them.

Although they were some distance away, as the sky grew brighter, Wei Ran could see clearly that those wild dogs were fat and strong, with shiny fur.

  Hey!

Zhao Jinyu can’t be among those corpses!

Wei Ran reacted belatedly and quickly climbed up by holding onto the cold tree trunk.

Just at this moment, he clearly saw something flying out from the woods which was at least seventy or eighty meters away from him and forty or fifty meters away from the mass grave.

When his eyes subconsciously followed the extremely fast shadow and looked back at the cemetery, a dog had already begun wailing - as if something had flown into its fur!

Just at this moment, another shadow flew out. This time, Wei Ran finally saw clearly that it was an arrow!

The accuracy of this arrow was equally terrifying. It flew right into the mouth of a dog who heard the noise and looked up!

"Woo-woof! Woof woof woof!"

  After two consecutive arrows, the wild dogs realized that something was wrong and began to bark wildly, but they couldn't find the hidden hunter at all!

"Whoosh!"

Just at this moment, another arrow flew out from the crown of the tall pine tree that Wei Ran was paying attention to, and once again flew into the mouth of a wild dog!

"Ow!"

The wild dog only had time to let out a howl before it, like the other two dogs that were shot by arrows, lay straight in the pile of corpses.

"Whoosh!"

After a while, another arrow flew over - and flew accurately into the mouth of a wild dog!

Finally, the group of wild dogs that devoured human flesh found the murderer. Immediately, the surviving dogs rushed over in groups, barking wildly!

This short distance of forty or fifty meters only takes about ten seconds for a wild dog.

But in just ten seconds, Wei Ran saw with his own eyes that at least seven or eight arrows flew out from the crown of the pine tree!

Not only was the arrow's shooting speed fast, its accuracy was also terrifying, and each arrow accurately nailed a wild dog to death.

  That’s not all. When Wei Ran saw the pack of dogs rushing into the woods, he clearly heard the wild dogs’ continuous screams!

"Boom!" Almost at the same time, a dull explosion came from the direction of the tree.

  As a senior firecracker enthusiast during every Spring Festival, Wei Ran immediately recognized that the noise was not from a gun, but from a firecracker!

Amidst another round of screams and wails, the pack of wild dogs that had just rushed in in a gang rushed out with their tails between their legs, covered in dust and dirt.

"Fuck you guys!"

  Wei Ran cursed inwardly for his bad luck, nothing else, the pack of wild dogs ran out and rushed towards him!

"Wow wow wow wow!"

Apparently, the leading dog also noticed Wei Ran who was standing by the tree watching the fun.

Perhaps the tragic deaths of its companions just now aroused its ferocity. Not only did the wild dog have no intention of avoiding them, but it looked like it was ready to take revenge on Wei Ran who had "blocked" them!

Subconsciously glancing at the pine tree next to him that was so thick that two people could hug it together, as well as the surrounding trees that were not much thinner, Wei Ran immediately gave up the idea of ​​climbing up and hiding.

It’s such a thick tree, there’s no way he can climb it without help!

Seeing the dog pack getting closer and closer, Wei Ran reluctantly took out the box gun fixed on the carrying pole from the metal book, aimed at the one running in front and pulled the trigger!

"boom!"

The clear sound of gunfire not only opened the mind of the leading dog, but also successfully restored consciousness to the other dogs that followed.

Amid another round of howling, the rest of the wild dogs finally tucked their tails between their legs again, chose the right direction and ran away.

"puff!"

Just at this moment, an arrow flew over and hit Wei Ran less than 10 meters away.

Wei Ran, who still held the gun in his hand, knew that if he had not fired, the arrow might have hit the dog.

After a moment of hesitation, Wei Ran took a few steps forward, bent down, pulled out the arrow, and looked at it.

The wooden arrow shaft is straight and smooth, the iron arrowhead is sharp and tough, and there are still some traces of forging.

Gently touching the black-gray feathers at the tail, Wei Ran hesitated for a moment, then used his body to cover the box gun in his hand to retract the metal book. Then he walked forward a few steps, bent down, grabbed one of the hind legs of the wild dog he had killed, and walked towards the mass grave step by step.

Almost at the same time, a hairy figure walked out from the woods opposite.

As the distance got closer, Wei Ran could gradually see clearly that the man was wearing a fur coat, a dog-skin hat, and a leather belt around his waist.

On the belt hung a quiver and a pipe, and in his hand he held a bow covered with fur, and on his back he carried a gun.

As the distance got closer, when Wei Ran saw his full beard and the iron sand gun behind him, the man asked in a hoarse voice, "Did it bite you?" "No"

Wei Ran shook his head, threw the dead dog in his hand to the other person's feet, and praised sincerely, "Your aim is really scary."

"Where did you get your grenade?"

The bearded man seemed not to hear Wei Ran's praise. He asked directly while drawing his arrow and drawing his bow.

Seeing that the other party had no intention of drawing the bow, Wei Ran wisely spread out his hands and said, "Mine."

"Man, come and report it," the bearded man asked vigilantly.

"What are you reporting?" Wei Ran looked confused.

“It turned out to be a hammer.”

The bearded man muttered, but at the same time he relaxed his vigilance, "The road is wide and we are on different sides. We are not on the same road."

"Brother, can I exchange this for something warm?"

Wei Ran didn't care what the other party meant by his polite words. As he spoke, when the other party subconsciously raised his bow and arrow again, he pulled out the grenade and handed it to him with both hands with a sincere look on his face, "I'll also give you the dog I just killed."

"Where did you get this grenade?" asked the bearded man.

"It's mine," Wei Ran answered as a matter of course, pretending to be stupid.

After a little hesitation, the bearded man finally reached out to take the grenade and put it on his belt. "You just shot me."

"I can't give you the gun," Wei Ran said with pretended caution.

"I don't know how to use that either," the bearded man muttered, "Just keep an eye on the surroundings. When I'm done, I'll make sure you have enough to eat."

"Okay, big brother!" Wei Ran agreed immediately.

Seeing this, the bearded man pulled out a small knife from his sleeve that seemed to be made from the Japanese bayonet. He skillfully peeled off the dog skins of several dogs around him, and then opened their stomachs to first find the arrows, and by the way, he also removed a few dog legs.

"Help me hold it"

The bearded man handed all the peeled dog skins to Wei Ran, and then tied up the dog legs with ropes and hung them around Wei Ran's neck.

While he was busy, Wei Ran also noticed that the bearded man had only three fingers on his right hand: the thumb, index finger and middle finger. Judging from the scars on the two missing fingers, it seemed that they had been bitten off by something.

In addition, he also noticed that although the corpses in the mass grave that were bitten by wild dogs included men, women, old and young, none of them were wearing clothes.

"What's your name, brother?" Wei Ran asked as he followed the other person.

"What's your name?" the bearded man threw the question back.

"Weiran"

Wei Ran, who was holding several dog skins and had several dog legs hanging around his neck, replied, "Wei, who defends our country, is burning."

“I can’t read”

The bearded man paused and said, "My last name is Hu."

As he spoke, he shook his broken right hand and said, "Everyone calls me Hu Bazhi, you can call me whatever you want."

"Brother Hu, are you a hunter?"

Wei Ran deliberately asked the obvious question, "Your arrows were really accurate just now! They hit the target from a hundred steps away, a hundred..."

"Are you from the Anti-Japanese Alliance?"

Without waiting for Wei Ran to finish his flattery, Hu Bazhi threw a freshly peeled dog skin to him and asked with particular certainty.

"Ah, yes, yes," Wei Ran said, and then added, "Let's go."

"Oh"

Hu Bazhi took a few quick steps and said as he skinned the next dog, "If you don't mind the darkness, you can hide in my shack for a few days. The Japanese are looking for you guys very hard recently."

"Thank you, Brother Hu," Wei Ran said quickly.

"You are so polite, man."

Hu Bazhi muttered something rather uncomfortable, took out the pipe from his waist and emptied the tobacco pouch that looked like it was made of rat skin. Then he took out a pack of matches from his bosom, lit them, took a few puffs, and handed them to Wei Ran, "Want a puff?"

"I can't smoke this, it's too strong." Wei Ran said quickly.

Hearing this, Hu Bazhi did not force it, and was not even in a hurry to leave. Instead, he signaled Wei Ran to put down more and more dog skins, and personally helped him take off the dog legs hanging around his neck and put them aside.

"Let's have a cigarette break," Hu Bazhi said slowly as he sat on the wolfskin, "How many days have you not eaten?"

"One or two days," Wei Ran replied.

Hearing this, Hu Bazhi reached into his bosom, took out a small cloth bag and opened it.

There was also a layer of greasy yellow paper in the package, and inside the yellow paper were a few finger-sized pieces of dried meat and a cornmeal cake as big as the palm of your hand.

“Just enough for a bite”

Hu Bazhi said this as he handed over two pieces of dried meat and half a piece of bread.

After receiving the food, Wei Ran first took a bite of the biscuit which was warm from the other person's body temperature. It was dry and hard, but had a slight salty taste. Then he took another bite of the jerky, which was unexpectedly delicious.

Hu Bazhi who was standing next to him didn't eat anything. He just slowly packed up the remaining dry food and stuffed it back into his arms. Then he took out a small gourd from his arms which was not very big but shiny and patinaed.

"Would you like some wine?" Hu Bazhi had already uncorked the wine gourd and handed it over while speaking.

"drink!"

Wei Ran, who was choked by the biscuit, swallowed the food in his mouth hard, then took the small gourd and took a sip of the spicy white wine.

After taking a sip of wine, he immediately felt his body warmer.

Taking the wine gourd handed back by Wei Ran, Hu Bazhi also took a sip, then stuffed the wine gourd back into his arms and continued to puff on his choking pipe.

"Just now I saw many bodies in the mass grave who died violently?" Wei Ran asked carefully, "Where are their clothes?"

"Those who died of freezing, those who died of starvation, those who committed suicide after being abused by the devils, and those who were killed by the devils were all thrown there."

Hu Bazhi explained, "Their clothes were taken off along the way, so they either wore them themselves or sold them to make some money."

"It's away from here"

"Have you ever killed any Japanese?" Hu Bazhi asked his question, a strange question, before Wei Ran could finish speaking.

"Killed"

Wei Ran nodded after a brief silence, "Killing a few is no harder than killing wild dogs."

"Where are the traitors?" Hu Bazhi asked.

"I have killed some," Wei Ran nodded again, "but I guess not as many as the Japanese."

“Eat quickly.”

Hu Bazhi took the initiative to end the topic and said, "We still have a long way to go."

Upon hearing this, Wei Ran immediately ate the last piece of biscuit, the last half of the dried meat, and the last bit of biscuit crumbs in his palm. Then he quickly stood up, took the dog legs and was about to hang them around his neck.

"You don't need to take the dog leg, just take the dog skin." Hu Bazhi said as he carefully crushed the ash.

"Row"

Wei Ran happily dropped the smelly dog ​​legs, bent down and picked up the dog skins. He was just pretending to be stupid but he was not really stupid. He knew very well that the other party hung those dog legs on him on purpose. With those cumbersome dog legs, it would be inconvenient for him to draw his gun even if he wanted to - if he did not have the metal notebook.

After walking again, Hu Bazhi's speed became faster. Wei Ran also followed him and noticed while walking and stopping that there were more than a dozen animal traps set around one of the pine trees. All of these traps contained wild dogs that were still alive.

However, at this moment, these wild dogs that were used to eating human flesh were now drooping their ears and tucking their tails in fear.

"Oh!"

Hu Bazhi picked up a stick and swung it at one of the dogs, breaking its other legs easily.

While the dog was still wailing, he dropped the stick and grabbed the dog's scruff, then used the sharp knife to cut its neck hard, accurately cutting its carotid artery.

“It tastes better when the blood is drained clean”

Hu Bazhi explained in a hoarse voice, picked up the stick again, and broke the necks of the remaining dogs cleanly, then skinned them and threw them aside.

At the same time, Wei Ran was not idle either. He was very attentive and untied the two ropes on the tree, collected the animal traps and tied them together. Then he tied the peeled dog skins into a bundle, and used the stick that was also patinated and stained with blood at one end to pick up the two items and put them on his shoulder.

Seeing this, Hu Bazhi just smiled, picked up the bloody wild dog, and walked into the depths of the dense forest with Wei Ran, step by step.

After crossing a not-too-steep ridge, Hu Bazhi led him to a cave blocked by a wooden fence.

However, just when Wei Ran thought he lived here, the other party opened the fence and led a donkey out of the cave.

After putting the dog skin and animal traps that Wei Ran was carrying on the donkey, Hu Bazhi then led him deeper into the forest.

  Could it be that this Hu Bazhi knows Zhao Jinyu?

Wei Ran, who was walking behind the donkey, couldn't help but guess. He was curious about where Zhao Jinyu was, and also began to wonder who this Hu Bazhi was.