War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1595 Prisoner

In the abandoned mine, Wei Ran temporarily stopped communicating with the Second Young Master Cao and turned to ask, "Squad Leader, does Manager Cao know the location of the camp?"

"Shouldn't know"

Tian Xiaohu replied, but his tone was inevitably a little unconfident. "But the camp is indeed in Cao Dazhang's territory."

"When was that dugout built?" Wei Ran asked immediately.

"summer"

Tian Xiaohu quickly continued to answer, "We dug a lot of holes in the summer to save for use in the winter."

“I’m in a hurry”

As Wei Ran spoke, he spread the canvas on the chest of the Second Young Master Cao, "Just three questions. Tell me the answers and you can survive, or I will hand you over to the First Young Master for disposal."

As he spoke, he asked without waiting for the other party to agree or not, "First question, where are we on this map?"

After a moment's hesitation, Second Young Master Cao uttered a Russian phrase, "rabbit hole".

"It seems that you know this place too?" Wei Ran asked strangely in Russian.

“Is this the second question?”

"Are you sure you don't want to answer?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

“I knew it a long time ago”

The second young master Cao was particularly happy to answer in Russian, "In the mine you just went to, there is a lot of opium hidden in one of them, as well as some weapons and an escape route."

"What is it for?"

“This was originally where my brother secretly smoked opium.”

The second young master Cao sneered, "Our father doesn't allow us to touch opium, so he can only hide here.

But I discovered it a long time ago. That brainless idiot even secretly engaged in the opium business under my instigation and made a lot of money. The opium he sold and his family assets were also hidden here. "

"Since you already knew why not"

Halfway through his words, Wei Ran also realized, "Are you raising pigs?"

Looking at Wei Ran in surprise, the Second Young Master Cao nodded and said, "You are very smart."

"Isn't your hand-drawn map oriented with due north at the top?" Wei Ran suddenly changed the question.

After a brief silence, the second Young Master Cao nodded unwillingly and said, "The northwest direction is the best."

"Second question"

Wei Ran switched back to his native language, "Does Manager Cao know the location of our camp?"

"I know. I've known it for a long time."

The second young master Cao also switched to Chinese. "These three forests, two ditches and eighteen water holes are all my father's territory. There are many hunters like Hu Bazhi around who have made a living there. In the summer, Zhao Jinshan led people to dig holes in the ground. My father got the news before the grass was cleared."

"The third question"

Wei Ran smiled and switched back to Russian again, "What are your backgrounds? Or, what is your purpose in drawing this map?"

Before the Second Young Master Cao could speak, Wei Ran had already stood up and said, "Think about it before answering."

After saying that, he had already picked up the canvas map on the other person's chest and said, "We must send someone back immediately to inform Captain Zhao and his men to move immediately."

"You wait here, I'll be there right away!" Tian Xiaohu said without thinking.

"You are the squad leader, and you are the only one who knows the way, you can't get into trouble." Wei Ran said, "So I will..."

"I'll go!"

Hu Bazhi said before Wei Ran finished speaking, "I know the way back. Give me the big white mule, and I will make sure that I can get the message to Captain Zhao before the Japanese do!"

"Why don't I go?" Zhao Jinyu also said, "I went to find my brother just to fight the Japanese!"

"I'll go!"

Miss Hongxia spoke without any order, "Xiaohu, tell me where Captain Zhao is, I..."

"Stop fighting"

Tian Xiaohu gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Hu, thank you for making this trip. Please bring the message! Then... then come back here. Even if we leave by then, we will leave a letter for you."

"Sir, rest assured, squad leader!"

Hu Bazhi patted his chest and made a promise. Then, without any delay, he sorted out the things in the sack, put down all the unneeded things, untied Young Master Cao from the harness of the big white mule and tied him to another mule. Then, he immediately grabbed the skis, led the big white mule, and left the cold cave lightly, and went back into the heavy snow.

Wei Ran closed the iron gate only when he could no longer see the other person's back. He then lit the oil lamp in the cave.

"Tell me where the young master's things are hidden."

Wei Ran squatted beside the second young master and asked. This bastard young master had just been guarded by the Type 38 rifle with a bayonet held by Miss Hongxia.

"Go inside the mine tunnel and take the sixth fork on the left. After you go in, look to the right. There is a mine cave blocked by a broken basket head. All his treasures are inside." The second young master Cao said, ignoring his eldest brother's muffled curses.

"I'll try and find it!"

As Zhao Jinyu spoke, she had already picked up the flashlight left by Hu Bazhi.

"I'll go with you!" Tian Xiaohu said as he pulled out the Nagant revolver that had belonged to the second young master.

"Don't worry"

Wei Ran glanced at the young master who had a face full of cruelty and murderous intent, and continued to ask with a smile, "Where is the other exit of this mine?"

Glancing at his brother who was already gritting his teeth in hatred not far away, the second young master continued to answer, "The second fork on the right side of the mine tunnel, go in and walk to the end, there is a mine cave to the left, go in and walk to the end, there is a ladder going down, go down the ladder, walk to the end, climb over a crack and you can see outside."

At this point, the second young master looked at the eldest young master again and said, "From the fork in the road, there are explosives hidden behind every corner. Don't go in with an oil lamp."

After a slight hesitation, Wei Ran nodded to Tian Xiaohu, who then called Zhao Jinyu to go into the low mine tunnel together.

"Miss Hongxia, please keep an eye on the cave entrance and greet anyone who comes over." Wei Ran looked up and said.

"I'll go right away!"

Miss Hongxia did not suspect anything. She walked to the entrance of the mine carrying the Type 38 rifle that she probably did not know how to use, and looked out through the gap between the wooden boards that had not yet been cracked by the snow.

In the mine cave where there were only two prisoners, two wounded soldiers and a veterinarian, Wei Ran slowly lit a cigarette and put it into the mouth of the second young master Cao. Then he took out another cigarette, put it in the cigarette holder and lit it in his mouth. Then he switched to Russian and spoke again, "Now you can answer the questions."

"I"

"You don't have to tell me," Wei Ran reminded him nonchalantly, "It's not important."

Subconsciously glancing at the eldest young master not far away, the second young master, knowing that he might not be able to escape, sighed and answered in Russian, "My mother is a fugitive noble from White Russia. She was caught by a wart merchant and sold to my father as a dancer at a high price."

Upon hearing this, Wei Ran raised his eyebrows. This so-called "White Russian" was not the Belarus that was absolutely controlled by Old Man Lu in later generations, but the remnants of the Tsarist Russia who were dubbed "White Bandits".

"so what?"

Wei Ran was silent for a moment before asking, "Is this the reason why you, your father, and your brother are not on the same page?"

"One mind?"

The second young master smiled and said, "In their eyes, I am just a dancer's bastard. My good brother is always looking for an opportunity to kill me legitimately, so as to avoid competing with him for the family property."

"So you made this map yourself?"

After a brief silence, the Second Young Master Cao nodded and gave a straight answer to the root of the problem. "I don't want to be killed by my brother. I want to save my mother. She's old and might be killed by my father one day. So my only way is to become the leader of the bandits, or... destroy my father's trump card."

"You know what I want to ask." Wei Ran shook the canvas map in his hand.

"Kill my brother and I'll tell you the answer." The second young master Cao made a promise evasively, "I promise that you can all survive, including that woman."

"Let me guess."

After trying to spin the canvas map around his fingertips to no avail, Wei Ran asked slowly, "Do you want the Anti-Japanese United Army to join your group, and then push the blame onto Manager Cao and the eldest young master?"

“I like working with smart people”

The second young master Cao said confidently, "Hu Bazhi didn't have time to go back to inform you. You have no choice. There was no exchange of fire except for one cannon shot. My father might have already reached an agreement with the Japanese. He must be leading them to surround Captain Zhao and his men."

"Are you sure you can make the Japanese trust you? Are you sure you can make other gangs stand on your side?" Wei Ran asked as if he was pretending to be excited.

"The water is low this year, so the guys on the mountain can't get much red cabinet."

The second young master Cao glanced at the mine, then glanced at the eldest young master not far away, and said directly in Chinese, "But we have money, and no one in the mountain can resist money.

If we add you guys from the Anti-Japanese United Army, we will have money, people, and a gang. Winter is coming, and no matter if you are a gang or a gangster, you all need to find a place to hibernate. As long as your Captain Zhao is willing to rely on my kiln and help break down my father's four pillars, I can guarantee that the Japanese will never trouble you."

“It sounds tempting.”

As Wei Ran spoke, he pinched his chin and lifted and pulled it, and with a crisp click, he temporarily manually muted him.

What the second young master said might be true, but it is by no means all.

He had learned from casual conversations with people around him these days that banditry was also a seasonal profession.

Every winter, most of the bandits in the mountains would distribute dividends at the end of the year, take their harvests back to their respective homes, and then reunite in the mountains to continue their no-cost business when everything revives in the spring of the following year.

Even the term "maodong" in the Northeastern dialect of later generations was still a slang used by bandits at that time.

This involves a problem. Even if they really help the second young master to usurp the throne, the bandits will have to temporarily disband immediately.

By then, the second young master would probably sell out the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces immediately, get rid of them with the help of the Japanese, gain some benefits and trust from the Japanese, and then wait patiently for the next spring to inherit his father's business.

As for the thing about fighting for the freedom of his noble mother, this kind of ghost story is just for listening. Anyone who takes it seriously is a big fool.

Patting the second young master's dangling chin, Wei Ran walked to the side of the eldest young master Cao, holding the canvas that he couldn't turn, helped him untie the belt on his mouth, pulled out the box gun and said, "You heard it just now, eldest young master, it's your turn, what do you have to say? If you don't have anything to show, then I will..."

"Wait! Wait a minute!"

Young Master Cao suppressed his panic and said loudly, "I! I will join the Anti-Japanese United Army! I will take you to raid my father's house! Yes! Then let Captain Zhao be the boss! Let that bastard and my father take the blame! From now on, I will follow you to fight the Japanese! I am determined to fight the Japanese with you! I will turn over a new leaf!"

"So generous?"

Wei Ran smiled, untied the belt on the young master's wrist, and pulled his dislocated hand to the entrance of the cave.

Nodding to the sentry Miss Hongxia, Wei Ran handed her the map and asked her to stretch it out and hold it. He helped the young master to restore his dislocated arm. Then he pointed to the location marked "Rabbit Hole" in Russian on the map and said, "This is our current position. The northwest direction is directly above.

You tell me where the other points are. Remember to keep your voice down so your idiot brother doesn't hear you."

Hearing this, Young Master Cao subconsciously looked at the map. After pondering for a while, he raised his left hand with difficulty, pointed to the location marked "brown bear" in Russian on the map and said, "This should be the location of our Juyi Hall. It is also the place where my father usually drinks, eats meat and discusses things with the four pillars."

Hearing this, Wei Ran smiled and said, "Keep talking. If you can recognize him, I will help you kill your bastard brother later."

Young Master Cao was not at all happy about this sentence. He just looked at the box gun in Wei Ran's other hand with fear, and honestly "translated" the rest of the places one by one.

It was also through his translation that Wei Ran was able to determine that this map was actually "Cao Dazhanggui's Hill Defense Map."

The various markings inside included not only the bandits' dens and lairs, but also the patrol routes and resting places of the various mountain patrols, their granaries, dungeons, and even the location of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces' camp.

It can be said that as long as this thing is thrown out, it will instantly destroy Manager Cao and his gang, and there will no longer be any secrets in this forest.

"I have another question. Why do you want your brother to die so much?" Wei Ran asked curiously as he put away the canvas map that he had marked on it.

"My father has a legitimate business."

  The eldest young master was quite happy, but he also said with deep resentment, "If those businesses are run well, won't it be faster to make money than hiding in the poor mountain valleys and kidnapping people?

My foolish father is partial to the second son, always thinking of giving the business to him and leaving the hard work of robbing to me."

"So you're going to kill him?"

"if not?"

Young Master Cao replied as a matter of course, "Kill this little bastard, and it would be best if I could kill my stupid father too, so that I can take over his business. Then, no matter whether I go to Fengtian or Bingcheng, wouldn't life there be more carefree than in Langcaozigou?"

  fuck.

Wei Ran twitched his lips. It was obvious that Old Man Cao had divided the family business in a wrong way. If he gave the business to the eldest brother and the robbing business to the second brother, there was no guarantee that they would really make some big moves.

Unfortunately, the two brothers were both jealous of what the other might get, but at the same time, they were unwilling to give up the part that they didn't want at all.

While he was muttering to himself, Tian Xiaohu and Zhao Jinyu came back with flashlights in hand.

Seeing this, Wei Ran, without any sense of contract, pinched the young master's elbow again, blocked his mouth again, and returned to the "living room" of the mine, and tied him to a mule's harness again.

“We found a lot of good stuff”

Zhao Jinyu said excitedly, "We found about 60 to 70 kilograms of opium, one kilogram in a tin can. We also found a whole box of silver dollars.

In addition, we found several machine guns and Japanese carbines, all hidden at the fork in the road, each loaded with bullets, and we also found quite a few ground bullets."

"What is a ground gun?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"In the past, the traps that ginseng pickers set to prevent their ginseng from being stolen were gunpowder guns with tripwires hidden in tree holes, treetops, or even buried. When stepped on, they would fire a piece of iron sand at a designated location. When these gangs were destroying kilns, they were most afraid of stepping on these things. At the very least, they would break their legs, and at worst, they would lose their lives."

Tian Xiaohu helped explain and continued, "In addition to these things, we have found another exit. It is on the other side of the ridge. Outside is a frozen river ditch. It is well hidden."

“I have asked almost the same questions here.”

As Wei Ran spoke, he "turned on the microphone" for the Second Young Master with a crisp sound that made one's teeth ache, and even helped him massage his sore joints.

"last question"

As Wei Ran spoke, he had already put the muzzle of his gun against the Second Young Master's forehead, "What are the things marked on this map?"

Looking at the eldest young master who had a look of "you're dead" on his face, the second young master sighed helplessly and honestly described the meaning of each position - which was almost the same as what the eldest young master said.

If Wei Ran had killed any of them early, or if the eldest young master had not impatiently offered such a stupid condition as "kill my brother", then both of them would still have bargaining chips.

Unfortunately, one wrong step leads to another. The two brothers, who were full of resentment towards each other, forced Wei Ran to lead them in a nearly standard "prisoner's dilemma".

After squeezing out the last bit of information from the scumbag brothers, Wei Ran immediately briefly reiterated the key questions from the interrogation, "Everything else is easy to deal with. This map can destroy Cao Dazhanggui, but it is not so important at the moment. The important thing is, if Cao Dazhangguigui has already led the devils towards our camp, can Hu Bazhi make it in time to report the news?"

"We have to make some noise to buy time for the captain."

Tian Xiaohu made a decision almost subconsciously, "Yes, we have to make some big noise!"

As he spoke, he turned his head to look at the weapons and equipment that had just been brought in, and then asked, "Brother Wei, I remember you can use the Japanese grenade launcher?"

"Yes." Wei Ran nodded and asked with a smile, "Where are you going to fight?"

"Let's go and shoot a few at the Juyi Hall of Cao Da, the shopkeeper!"

Tian Xiaohu said murderously, "I don't believe that Manager Cao won't come back to rescue us when the time comes! I don't believe that the Japanese won't be able to tell that it's their grenade launcher!"

"What happens after the fight?" Wei Ran asked.

"Run!"

Tian Xiaohu said as a matter of course, "As long as the Japanese chase us back, we will run. This back and forth time is enough to delay us for a long time. It looks like the snow outside will fall for a long time. We will definitely be able to escape."

"Done!"

Without waiting for Wei Ran to agree or refuse, Zhao Jinyu slapped her thigh and agreed to Tian Xiaohu's arrangement.

Seeing that both of them were looking at him, Wei Ran hesitated for a moment and asked, "What about the injured? What about these two young masters?"

"Sister Hongxia, come here!" Tian Xiaohu shouted immediately, "Brother Jinyu, go to the cave and get some submachine guns and some ground bullets."

"Hey! What's up, bro?"

Miss Hongxia, who was on guard at the cave entrance, ran back quickly. At the same time, Zhao Jinyu also entered the mine tunnel again.

"Sister Hongxia, take this."

As Tian Xiaohu spoke, he took out the flower-mouthed pistol that he had just seized from the young master and handed it to the other party, "We are going to fight to the death, so I'll ask you to take care of these two wounded. In addition, I'll ask you to look after the two young masters of the Cao family."

"Ah? I... I'm looking at them?" Miss Hongxia subconsciously took the pistol and pointed at herself and asked.

"We don't have enough manpower, so we can only trouble Hong"

"Hey! What are you talking about? This is something I can do!"

Hongxia reacted and immediately agreed, then asked, "How do you use this small pistol?"

"I'll teach you later."

Tian Xiaohu said, "Sister Hongxia, you just stay here. There is enough food and drink among the things we left behind. Just now we went to the mine and saw a lot of wood that can be burned. You must be careful not to let the devils and bandits find you."

"No! I'm not stupid!" Miss Hongxia replied while suppressing her excitement.

"Also, when Hu Bazhi comes back, ask him to run again immediately and ask the captain to arrange for someone to deliver the letter, supplies and wounded again." Tian Xiaohu continued, "Tell him that I will destroy the letter he asked me to deliver when I reach a dead end."

Hearing this, Miss Hongxia panicked, "What are you guys going to do?!"

"We have to hold back the Japanese and the bandits," Tian Xiaohu said, "otherwise the captain and his men will be surrounded."

Sighing silently, Wei Ran did not delay any longer. After thinking for a while, he stripped off the clothes of the two young masters of the Cao family, and then took out the two grenade launchers and the two Japanese backpacks full of grenades from the pile of weapons!

Almost at the same time when Tian Xiaohu taught Hongxia how to turn on and off the safety, and how to load and fire bullets, Zhao Jinyu also came out of the mine tunnel, crouching down.

At this time, he was holding three Dagu factory submachine guns in his hands, and two ammunition bags with six long magazines were hanging around his neck. In his other hand, in addition to a flashlight, he also held five or six so-called ground bullets.