War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1589: The First Guerrilla Team

After a short wait, another team of more than ten people came running over from the other side of the ditch.

Without any introduction or communication, Zhao Jinge motioned for them to change clothes. The leader, Lao Zhang, glanced at Wei Ran, and simply led the soldiers to take off their tattered clothes and put on the thick cotton clothes provided by the puppet army.

Taking advantage of this time, Wei Ran also looked at their weapons and equipment.

In general, the two squads of about 25 or 26 people were well equipped. They had three Czech-made machine guns and two Chinese-made machine guns, and each of the remaining soldiers had a rifle in his hand.

Some of these guns are Type 38 or older Golden Hook rifles, as well as Mosin-Nagant and dragoon rifles from the Russians, and even a few Mazda3 rifles.

But without exception, a palm-sized piece of iron or copper sheet is nailed to the butt of each of these guns, and one can see bumpy marks on the metal sheet.

Wei Ran knew that this was because most of the grenades used by these anti-Japanese fighters were captured from the Japanese.

But most of the Japanese grenades had to be knocked before use, but the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces soldiers did not have the Japanese steel helmets, nor did they have woven boots with hard heels.

In the winter, the ground is covered with snow and in the summer, it is full of mud. If you want to make a grenade explode, the most realistic way is to hit it on the butt of a gun. That piece of iron sheet is prepared for the grenade, and it is also one of the symbols of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces fighters.

In addition, each of them had one or two grenades on their waists. Some of them had various pistols on their waists and also carried a large blade.

After the group of people who came later also changed their clothes, Wei Ran gave way and said, "Thank you all for your hard work. Please load all the weapons and equipment in the Temple of the God of Wealth into the truck."

"Brother Wei, what are you doing?"

"We worked together to defeat the Japanese. The three of us didn't put in much effort, and we didn't need so many things."

Wei Ran pointed to the weapons in the ditch and said, "There are more there. Let's load them into the truck."

After a slight hesitation, Zhao Jinge waved his hand. The soldiers behind him, who had just changed into new clothes, immediately entered the yard happily and picked up all the remaining weapons and equipment.

At the same time, another squad of soldiers who had just arrived also rushed into the ditch and carried back the weapons of the puppet soldiers one by one.

"A few of you"

Wei Ran took out a box gun under the cover of his clothes and gestured to the puppet soldiers, "Those who are wearing clothes, don't just stand there, tear open the roof of the God of Wealth Temple. There are still many dead bodies inside, dig them all out."

Upon hearing this, the puppet soldiers did not dare to delay and rushed in to start moving bricks and removing tiles.

There was no need to remind them at all. The three anti-Japanese fighters who stayed behind, holding Czech-made machine guns, also set up machine guns on the earth wall and took on the supervisory task.

"You guys just make do and change into these tattered clothes."

Wei Ran waved to the remaining dozen or so puppet soldiers who had no clothes to wear, and pointed at the clothes taken off by the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces fighters and said.

  At this time, these puppet soldiers without clothes were already shivering from the cold, so how could they care about anything else? They immediately rushed over, put on their tattered clothes, and took the initiative to help dig the temple of the God of Wealth - they had just taken off the thick cotton shoes they had just received a few days ago, and now they just wanted to get a pair of Japanese leather shoes to wear. Although those things were far less light than cotton shoes, at least they would not freeze to death in this icy and snowy weather, right?

As these forty or fifty puppet soldiers were busy, the collapsed roof of the Temple of the God of Wealth was dug up and the corpses that were almost stewed were roughly pulled out.

Taking this opportunity, Zhao Jinyu whispered to his eldest brother what Wei Ran had done with him and Hu Bazhi.

Wei Ran didn't care about that. He had been counting just now. He carried back 18 Japanese soldiers from the fake minefield, and just now carried out 25 Japanese soldiers from the yard.

In this temple of the God of Wealth, six Japanese soldiers were injured by two grenades, burned by gasoline, and hit by the roof, and four puppet soldiers were killed.

In addition, there was a lieutenant whose butt was burned black after being blown open, and the unlucky guy who was used as a target while riding a white horse.

After such calculation, the number of Japanese devils, 50, was exactly the number of heads slaughtered for a squad. In other words, they not only captured a team of puppet soldiers, but also wiped out an entire squad of Japanese devils.

This may sound like a classic example of defeating the larger force with a smaller one, but in reality Wei Ran knew that it was just a fluke. If it weren't for the two hot water bottles that successfully exploded and burned the area, or even if it weren't for the "God of Wealth" who killed the captain of the Japanese squad with a roof, many people would have been injured in this battle.

"Brother Wei! This is for you!"

Just as he was looking at the body of the Japanese captain, Zhao Jinyu handed him a Kowloon belt and a Ma brand pistol. "I just found these in the ditch. They belonged to a small captain of the puppet army. Look! There are so many bullets."

"Just give me some bullets"

Wei Ran waved his hands. He knew how difficult the life of these anti-Japanese fighters was, especially how precious bullets were.

"My brother asked you to hold it!" Zhao Jinyu insisted.

"Brother Wei, just take it."

Zhao Jinge also walked over at this time and said, "We just picked up three Spanish waist drums (Astra 902) and three gongs, and three Kowloon belts. You and Brother Hu should each take a Kowloon belt, otherwise we won't be able to take so many gongs."

After a slight hesitation, Wei Ran took the heavy bullet belt. It was different from the one that Hu Bazhi had just taken off from the unlucky guy on horseback. Half of the 12 bullet bags in this Kowloon Belt were stuffed with two 10-round magazines each, which meant 120 rounds of bullets.

Among the remaining six bullet belts, three were filled with spare bullets for the Continental revolvers, and the last three were filled with silver dollars and Japanese banknotes, as well as cigarettes and lighters.

In this era, most people who have guns, especially box guns, prefer the combination of "the bullet protecting the box".

In other words, wearing this Kowloon Belt with a box gun in a wooden gun case is handsome and domineering, but it cannot cope with emergencies. At this time, you need a pistol tucked into the Kowloon Belt that can be pulled out and fired at any time to deal with emergencies.

However, his situation is special and he doesn't need another gun.

With this in mind, he thought for a moment and said, "I'll take the Jiulong belt, the bullets and cigarettes, but I don't want the gun, the lighter and the money.

I'm not used to using a gun, I have my own lighter, and as for the money, I don't think I can spend it."

As he spoke, he had already turned the gun handle over, grasped the barrel and handed the pistol to Zhao Jinge.

After a slight hesitation, Zhao Jinge nodded and took the gun happily.

Seeing this, Wei Ran took out the spare bullets that came with the rifle, and handed them to the other party along with the Japanese-made lighter and the money and other belongings.

"We can't let Brother Wei suffer any loss"

As Zhao Jinge spoke, he took out six full magazines of Mauser pistol bullets from his own nine-dragon belt and handed them back with a sincere expression.

After a slight hesitation, Wei Ran finally accepted the other party's kindness.

This was a necessary process to deepen the friendship and trust between the two parties before he took out the letter to reveal his identity.

As for why he was not in a hurry to take out the letter, it was naturally because there were still those puppet troops that had not been dealt with.

After Wei Ran took off his dog-skin coat and put on the Kowloon Belt, Zhao Jinge also put away the pistol and asked, "Just now I heard from Jin Yu that you can use the Japanese grenade launcher?"

“I will use it,” Wei Ran nodded.

"Teach us when you have the chance."

Zhao Jinge said with envy as he looked at the grenade launcher that Wei Ran had just placed against the wall and the two Japanese backpacks full of grenades.

"no problem"

Wei Ran took off the grenade launcher he had just taken off his shoulder and handed it to the other party, "These two grenade launchers and all the ammunition were originally intended for you."

"Give them all to us?"

Zhao Jinge didn't expect Wei Ran to be so generous. He reacted for a moment before quickly saying, "Master Wei, what shall we do?"

"I am not a gang that occupies the mountain"

Wei Ran smiled and waved his hands, then put on his dog-skin coat again and said with a smile, "I don't even know how to speak this jargon."

"I don't know Brother Wei"

"I'll tell you about my origins later."

Wei Ran waved his hand, pointed at the puppet soldiers who were kneeling in a row not far away, and the Japanese soldiers lying in a row next to them, and asked, "Brother Zhao, how are you going to deal with these puppet soldiers?"

When this question was asked, the puppet soldiers immediately looked at Zhao Jinge, smiling in fear, fearing that this man would send them to see the King of Hell if he kept his mouth shut.

"Just like what Brother Wei said, Chinese people don't fight Chinese people."

Zhao Jinge paused and said, "Why not let them go? Most of these people come from poor families."

"also"

Wei Ran nodded happily, and then said before the puppet soldiers showed joy on their faces, "Come to me one by one."

After saying that, Wei Ran took out a pen from the metal notebook under the cover of his clothes, and took out a stack of letter paper from a Japanese soldier's backpack, then walked towards the backyard of the Temple of the God of Wealth.

"Can I follow?" Zhao Jinge asked curiously.

"bring it on"

Wei Ran nodded happily and called a frightened puppet soldier to follow him inside.

"What's your name?" Wei Ran asked while sitting on the remaining threshold.

"Liu Tiezhu," the puppet soldier with clear snot on his face answered quickly.

"Where are you from, what are your parents' names, do you have a wife and children?"

Wei Ran shook the letter in his hand and said, "Think about it first. I will ask others later. If you dare to tell a lie, you will be left as a tribute to the God of Wealth."

Hearing this, Liu Tiezhu's face panicked for a moment, but he finally answered Wei Ran's question honestly.

"Do you know those puppet soldiers outside?" Wei Ran continued to ask.

"I know you," Li Tiezhu nodded quickly.

“Who are the two with the best relationship?”

"Zhang Damazi and"

"Big name"

"Zhang Dianwen and Li Dayong"

"Where are they from? What are the names of their parents, wife and children?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

As soon as he asked this question, Li Tiezhu broke out in sweat.

"Hurry up," Wei Ran asked without raising his head.

Swallowing hard, Li Tiezhu answered the question truthfully with a sad face.

"Is the one riding the white horse your captain?" Wei Ran asked an unimportant question while writing and drawing, but did not notice the strange expressions on Zhao Jinge and Li Tiezhu's faces.

"I'm asking you a question," Zhao Jinge reminded.

“It is not”

Li Tiezhu came back to his senses and replied with a little contempt and disgust, "It is a second devil from Chaozhen, a translator and substitute for the devils, and a pit jumper who traded his life for wealth."

"Brother Zhao, please take him back and make him kneel somewhere else, and then call Zhang Dianwen in." Wei Ran raised his head with a smile, but found that Zhao Jinge was giving him a thumbs up.

"I'll go right away"

As Zhao Jinge was speaking, he asked the flustered Li Tiezhu to go back. Wei Ran also took the opportunity to take out his camera bag, took out the letter proving his identity and stuffed it into his arms.

After he put away the camera bag, Zhao Jinge called Zhang Dianwen over and started interrogating him again.

Wei Ran questioned all the nearly 50 puppet soldiers with extreme patience. When he returned to the gate of the God of Wealth Temple, all the spoils had been sorted and loaded onto the car. Even the mule that was initially killed by his landmine had been gutted, skinned, and loaded onto a sled.

Not only that, Hu Bazhi even found all the traps they had bought before, and brought back four or five frozen pheasants.

Looking at the anti-Japanese fighters watching from a distance, Wei Ran took out his camera under the cover of his clothes and waved it at the puppet soldiers who looked hopeless, saying, "One more move, and you can go back." When these people smiled, Wei Ran said with a smile, "Brother Zhao, give each of them a bayonet."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jinge immediately waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him immediately took out the bayonets that had just been seized and counted from the sled and gave one to each of the puppet soldiers.

"I'll take a photo of you guys later."

Wei Ran waited for the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces fighters to return to their original positions, and then he said with a smile, "In order to ensure that you will not cause harm to the people in the future, we have to strike a good pose later."

After a short pause, Wei Ran pointed at the Japanese corpses lying on the ground and said, "Each of you hold a corpse and stab the bayonet into the heart. When I take pictures, all of you must smile, a happy smile. Anyone who doesn't smile or hides his face will be stabbed to death by the people around him! Let's start!"

After a brief hesitation of less than two seconds, these puppet soldiers picked up a nearly frozen corpse and stabbed their bayonets into the Japanese' chest with a ferocious look on their faces.

After these forty or fifty puppet soldiers huddled together in front of the entrance of the God of Wealth Temple, holding their "letters of surrender" and trying to show smiles that were uglier than crying, Wei Ran also retreated to the edge of the ditch and pretended to press the shutter.

"Line up and hand in your bayonets."

Wei Ran pointed to the sled next to him, and the puppet soldiers, who had become more and more obedient after being disciplined, also lined up obediently and put their bayonets back.

“One last thing”

Wei Ran shook the letter raft in his hand that was covered with words, "What are each of your names, where are your homes, what are the names of your parents, wife, and children? It's all here, and you all know how I asked it."

After deliberately pausing for a moment, Wei Ran continued, "If any of you work for the Japanese again in the future, I will ask someone to deliver the photos I just took and these address lists to the Japanese."

After this K-style intimidation that was ahead of its time, Wei Ran pointed to the ditch behind him and said, "Don't waste time. Before the ice I just blasted open with my artillery shells freezes over, throw all the Japanese you stabbed to death into it, and then get out of here."

As soon as these words were spoken, the puppet soldiers, who were already sweating profusely, looked at the stack of letters in Wei Ran's hand with fear, and hurriedly dragged the almost frozen bodies of the Japanese soldiers and crawled out into the ditch, pushing the bodies of the Japanese soldiers into the exploded ice layer, and then ran back along the ditch without looking back.

They just wanted to escape quickly, if possible, take their families with them! It would be best if they could escape to the interior of the country! The farther away from that smiling tiger-like living devil, the better!

"Brother Wei, you have some good tricks," Zhao Jinge said to Wei Ran.

"Let's talk alone?" Wei Ran asked the other party.

"Please." Zhao Jinge extended his hand and invited Wei Ran to walk into the backyard of the Temple of the God of Wealth.

"Brother Wei is not an ordinary person," Zhao Jinge said firmly, looking straight at Wei Ran.

Ignoring the slight vigilance and strong curiosity revealed by the other party, Wei Ran took out the chicken feather letter that he had taken out not long ago from his arms and handed it to the other party.

Zhao Jinge took the envelope and was stunned when he saw the colorful feather.

"I shouldn't have found the wrong person, right?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

Coming back to his senses, Zhao Jinge took out a small but very familiar pennant from his arms, unfolded it and showed it to Wei Ran, and said solemnly, "I am Zhao Jinge, the captain of the First Guerrilla Team. Comrade Wei Ran, can I open this letter?"

"please"

Wei Ran smiled and nodded, and at the same time took a big step back.

Zhao Jinge immediately opened the envelope, took out a piece of letter from it and looked at it.

But the more he looked, the deeper his brows furrowed, and from time to time, he looked up at Wei Ran.

After a moment, he took the initiative to shake hands with Wei Ran and said, "Comrade Wei Ran, welcome to join us. Why did you take out this letter just now?"

"Aren't you afraid that if I take it too early, you'll say I have a low level of awareness?"

Wei Ran muttered something incoherently, then asked with a grin, "I wonder how the letter introduced me?"

"My brother Jinshan said that you are a sworn brother he met when he was an auditor at Northeastern University. He also said that you can speak Russian and Japanese, and you also know some medical skills?"

Zhao Jinge said this and simply handed the letter to Wei Ran.

After taking the letter and taking a glance at it, Wei Ran couldn't help but grin. The letter seemed to be written in Mongolian, which he couldn't understand at all. Fortunately, there was a three-inch black-and-white photo pasted on the corner of the letter paper.

  In the photo, I am wearing a Zhongshan suit, standing side by side with a peer who looks quite similar to the Zhao brothers, at a very high place. Behind them seems to be the Forbidden City in the capital?

Was this taken in Jingshan Park?

Wei Ran muttered to himself, returned the letter to the other party and asked, "I do know a few words. What about Jinshan? He only told me to take this letter and report to join the Anti-Japanese United Army to fight the Japanese together, but he didn't say anything else."

"He went to the Russians and won't be back for a while."

Zhao Jinge gave half an explanation but did not mention what his second brother Zhao Jinshan was doing in Russia.

Knowing that now was not the time to ask about Zhao Jinshan's situation, Wei Ran followed him and changed the subject, "How about keeping my relationship with Jinshan a secret?"

Hearing this, Zhao Jinge stopped and turned to look at Wei Ran in surprise. There was a hint of doubt on his face that was covered with frostbite.

"Brother Hu Bazhi also wants to join the Anti-Japanese United Army"

Wei Ran also stopped and explained, "And I have never told Jin Yu about my relationship with his second brother. Now that it is public, I think it is better not to make it public."

"also"

Zhao Jinge nodded, agreeing to Wei Ran's request.

"I wonder if it would be convenient for me to ask, how many people do we have now?" Wei Ran changed the subject again.

"Including me, our First Guerrilla Team still has 25 fighters."

Zhao Jinge continued walking forward while explaining, "I am the captain, Lao Zhang is the deputy captain, and we each lead a squad.

To be honest, you joined at the wrong time, as the Japanese are now intent on encircling and suppressing us."

“It wasn’t an easy trip for me.”

Wei Ran said half jokingly and half seriously, "Since I'm here, I don't plan to leave."

Zhao Jinge just smiled and didn't continue the topic.

The two returned to the gate of the God of Wealth Temple one after another. Zhao Jinge first introduced Wei Ran, Hu Bazhi and Zhao Jinyu to everyone, and then introduced Old Zhang, who looked to be in his 40s or 50s, and those Anti-Japanese Allied Forces soldiers.

As expected, he did not see Li Sui'an here.

Even so, it did not stop him from taking out Robert's camera from his arms and suggested, "We met for the first time and won a great victory. Why don't we take a photo together?"

This proposal was immediately welcomed by all the anti-Japanese fighters. Without any greeting, a total of 13 mule sleds were driven to the gate of the God of Wealth Temple. Various kinds of trophies were placed on the front few sleds.

Under Wei Ran's command, all the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces soldiers, as well as Hu Bazhi and Zhao Jinyu who had just decided to join the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, all sat in mule carts in groups of two or three, allowing Wei Ran to press the shutter at them.

"Captain Zhao, if there's enough time, why don't I take a single photo of everyone?" Wei Ran suggested.

"Alright!"

Zhao Jinge nodded, "That's good. No matter who dies with the devils, at least the family will have something to think about."

"Does anyone have a razor? Lend it to me so I can shave?" asked an Anti-Japanese Allied Forces soldier with a Jinzhou accent who questioned the entire universe as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Hey! I just saw it!" said a soldier with a Henan accent, who had already run to the sled carrying the Japanese backpack and began to search for it.

"That's incredible! Today is Chinese New Year!"

A soldier with a Sichuan accent spoke cheerfully as he scooped up a handful of cold snow and scrubbed his frostbitten and bearded face vigorously, trying hard to make himself look cleaner and tidier.

"Sir, how about I make some food for us guys?" Hu Bazhi asked with a nod and a bow.

"I'm not an officer, just call me Captain."

Zhao Jinge smiled and patted Hu Bazhi's shoulder. "Let's wait for dinner. After we take pictures, let's find a safe place."

Hearing this, Hu Bazhi stepped back a little awkwardly, scratching the back of his head and stroking the red-eyed white horse that was harnessed to the sled.

This horse looks pretty. Not only does it have very few stray hairs on its body, but its physique is also much sturdier than the mules pulling sleds around it. And looking at its appearance, it seems to be particularly docile.

"Can this horse also pull a sledge?"

Wei Ran approached and asked curiously. He could see that the young hunter seemed a little reserved.

However, when this question was asked, not only Hu Bazhi, but also the other Anti-Japanese Allied Forces fighters around and even Zhao Jinyu were all stunned, and then burst into laughter.

"Did I say something wrong?" Wei Ran asked confused.

"It's not a horse, it's also a mule, a horse mule."

Hu Bazhi slapped the sled and laughed, "Could it be that Brother Wei is really the son of a wealthy landlord? How come he can't tell the difference between a mule and a horse?"

"Is it a mule too?"

Wei Ran couldn't help but look at the other mules pulling the sleds. It was not his fault that he couldn't tell them apart. Even though he had learned to ride a horse through a metal notebook a long time ago, the only few times he had dealt with horses were at Maya's house.

According to his way of distinguishing, the one pulling the cart is naturally a mule, and the one carrying the people must be a horse.

What's more, this "white horse" is much stronger than the others. What's more, the teachers at the forest farm, such as Kalp, never taught him how to distinguish between horses and mules.

"The body is a bit bigger"

Hu Bazhi patted the neck of the white mule and said, "This is the first time I've seen a big mule with pure white skin. It's not popular in normal times."

As he spoke, he opened the mule's lips and looked at them, saying with admiration, "It has just grown its side teeth, and is only about four or five years old. It is the age when it can exert great strength."

  An albino mule?

Wei Ran glanced at the animal's red eyes. Although he couldn't tell the difference between horses and mules, animals that did not often appear in his life, he knew that in rural areas, albino animals were generally not very popular.

White cats are bullied by other cats and become deaf, white dogs are a bad omen in most rural areas of the north, and this white mule may be rare, but it is probably doomed to be unwelcome.

"Is this Wei Ran really a rich young man? He brought a camera with him when he joined the Anti-Japanese United Army. Isn't that like bringing a monkey with him when begging for food?"

Not far away, Lao Zhang lit his pipe and took two puffs. He whispered to Zhao Jinge, "You can't even tell a mule from a horse. Aren't you here to cause trouble?"

"This Wei Ran may not be able to tell the difference between a horse and a mule, but he knows Maozi and Guizi language, and he also knows some medical skills."

Zhao Jinge, who had promised to keep Wei Ran's secret, took the pipe, took two puffs and whispered, "This is a serious cultured person, not Jinshan's half-boiled man."

"Higher than Jinshan Culture?"

Old Zhang looked at Wei Ran in surprise, "Jinshan is..."

"But what the hell!"

  Zhao Jinge returned the pipe to the other party and said, "If my brother-in-law in Shanxi hadn't asked his father to help him, Jinshan, who had studied in a church school for two years, would have been able to audit classes at Northeastern University even if he had accumulated blessings for eight lifetimes.

Let alone other things, just the two sentences of Russian language he learned, I guess even if Russian called his father over he wouldn't understand them, otherwise how could he have written a letter to trick his classmate into coming over?

You don't know that Jinshan secretly sent the letter to me to Wei Ran, in which he said that if he died on the side of the Russians, he would let this classmate be the leader of their guerrilla squad three."

"So what do we do?"

Lao Zhang took the pipe and took a puff. He asked worriedly, "Do you really want Wei Ran to follow us into the deep mountains and forests and suffer without food? The Japanese have been biting us hard lately."

"Can you still drive him away?"

Zhao Jinge waved his hand to refuse the pipe offered by the other party, and stood up from the mule cart, "Let's go! Let's let Comrade Wei Ran take a picture of us, so that we won't have any burden if we die together with the devils in the future."

"It would be a shame if such a young man died in our hands."

Old Zhang sighed and looked at Wei Ran holding the camera with an unbearable look, at Hu Bazhi who was stroking the fur of the big white mule, and at Zhao Jinyu who was holding the Japanese lunch box and distributing tobacco to the anti-Japanese fighters around them.

  And

And among those soldiers wearing new clothes, there are more and younger guys.