War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1615: Focus on Fighting the Japs

In the west wing, Zhao Jinyu and Li Sui'an, who had gotten up early to kill the Japanese, ate and drank their fill, then fell asleep under the influence of alcohol. Soon they were snoring loudly, immersed in the world in their dreams where the Japanese had been driven away and no one was so hungry that they couldn't even eat tree bark.

Wei Ran, on the other hand, did not sleep. He was still sitting at the table by the window, carefully wiping the two box cannons, Ming and Dark, and the cavalry rifle that had only fired two shots.

Now, there were only three bullets left in this cavalry rifle, but the two box guns, not only were all the magazines filled with bullets, but there were also fifty or sixty remaining bullets in the nine-dragon belts they were wearing.

However, considering the upcoming "death battle", these bullets are inevitably a bit stretched. But it is obvious that the 400 rounds of bullets that Captain Ma and Company Commander Ma Jintao can give him are probably the limit.

  Still have to rely on the saber.

Wei Ran sighed helplessly, put away his weapon, lay down on the kang, and soon fell asleep.

When he woke up, the sun was already high in the sky outside the window. Faintly, he could still hear the uniform shouts of killing.

Wei Ran turned over subconsciously, and after waking up instantly, he relaxed his tense nerves a little after seeing Zhao Jinyu and Li Sui'an still sleeping soundly.

Even so, he still carefully put on the Kowloon Belt and attached his box gun, then pushed the door and left the room, following the orderly shouts and calls.

Following the sound, he came to the threshing ground again. He soon saw that on this large threshing ground, soldiers lined up in a square formation, wielding sabers and practicing hand-to-hand combat.

Further away, on the barren land, cavalrymen were galloping on horseback. Some hid by the side of the horse, or dismounted holding the saddle and ran a few steps before climbing back on the horse; some swung their swords or struck or stabbed at high speed, delivering fatal blows to the imaginary enemies represented by bundles of corn stalks.

Almost subconsciously, he took out his camera and pressed the shutter towards the two training grounds.

He didn't have much film left on him at this time, and he knew even more clearly that the position of this cavalry unit in the War of Liberation was different from that of the martyrs on the Songpan grassland, and could even be said to be opposite.

But even so, at least at this moment they are training hard, relying on their firepower weapons that are definitely not an advantage, and even their sincere hearts to fight bravely against the enemy.

If this is the case, and if there is an opportunity, they should also give themselves a chance to be remembered by future generations.

  I just hope that after the next white light, I won't have to stand on the opposite side of them and raise my saber.

"Brother Wei, I finally found you."

Just as he was daydreaming, the groom Bai Yuguang came running towards him from afar.

"What's the matter?" Wei Ran quickly put away the camera and asked.

"The person sent by the madam to deliver the letter has arrived, and brought a letter from Miss Yang. Brother Jin Yu asked you to go there quickly." Bai Yuguang said.

"I'll go back now," Wei Ran said quickly.

"Brother Wei, can you take a picture of me and my dad later?"

Bai Yuguang nodded and flattered, "Just one will do. I'll also give you bullets in exchange. I have a lot of bullets, but... they are all from the Japanese's rifles."

"your dad?"

Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, but then he was no longer in a hurry and nodded happily, "Okay, I'll go take pictures for you first, but I just loaded this roll of film, so I guess I can't take it back with the rest."

"it's okay no problem!"

Bai Yuguang immediately smiled, "Then I'll send the letter once a month, and I can send it back next month."

"Okay, where are we going to shoot?"

“No first.”

"No rush. How can we leave now since we just arrived?" Wei Ran said with a smile.

"Then you come with me!"

As Bai Yuguang was talking, he led Wei Ran to the side yard next to the threshing ground. At the same time, he took out a not-so-big blue cloth bundle from his arms and handed it to Wei Ran. "Brother Wei, I have saved up this much rifle bullets. I estimate that there are about 50 or 60 rounds. Do you think it is enough?"

"Where did you get these bullets?" Wei Ran waved his hand and did not take the bullets. He just followed the other party and asked curiously.

"Turned from the devils"

Bai Yuguang explained honestly, "When I followed the company commander to fight the Japanese, the company commander allowed me to keep a bullet for each Japanese corpse I turned over. These are all the bullets I have saved over the years, not a single one is missing."

"Give me 10 rounds," Wei Ran said after a brief silence, "10 rounds will be enough."

"I'll give them all to you. There's no use for me to keep them."

Bai Yuguang patted the Kowloon Belt and the box gun on his chest and said, "I don't even have a carbine."

After a slight hesitation, Wei Ran nodded and finally took the heavy pack of bullets. Bai Yuguang's overly young face finally heaved a sigh of relief and even smiled.

Without Wei Ran asking, he took the initiative to introduce himself, "My father is the master horse judge of the Ma family. The old man of the Ma family also allowed me to study in the Ma family's private school for a few years, but I'm really not cut out for it."

Later, I followed the company commander to fight the Japanese. My father was worried about me, so he followed us. I asked Brother Wei to take a picture of us so that I could show it to my mother. He hadn’t seen us for almost a year.

After chatting for a while, Bai Yuguang took Wei Ran into a side courtyard.

The yard was filled with a strong smell of horse manure and was also extremely lively. The stables against the walls on both sides were filled with the Japanese war horses standing next to each other. However, in the middle of the yard, an ugly horse with mottled fur and a thin body was strolling freely on the ground, occasionally touching this and that with its face.

The sight of this ugly horse strolling leisurely and effortlessly even reminded Wei Ran of the phrase "Passing through a field of flowers without getting a single leaf on you."

In addition to the horses, there was also an old man in his fifties in the yard, puffing on his pipe and directing a few shirtless guys to make horseshoes.

"Dad! Look who's coming!"

Bai Yuguang shouted, and the old man turned his head to take a look, then immediately said with a smile, "Isn't this Brother Wei!"

"Uncle Bai knows me too?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"Ah! How could I not recognize him?"

Uncle Bai slapped his thigh and said, "I was watching you when you rode that big black horse! You are an incredible young man! That horse was really special."

"Dad, now is not the time for small talk."

Bai Yuguang quickly reminded him, "Brother Wei has something important to do later. I begged him to take a photo of us and then ask the messenger to bring it to my mother."

"You boy, why do you always cause trouble for others!" Old Man Bai immediately glared at him and complained.

"No trouble"

Wei Ran quickly said, "Uncle Bai, do you want to change your clothes? Where do you want to take the photo?"

"I'll trouble you, Brother Wei."

Old Man Bai patted his sweaty clothes and said, "Let's take the photo here! All of you, come over here quickly and put on your coats so we can take a photo together!"

Before he finished speaking, the shirtless young men immediately put down their work, took shirts from various places and put them on. At the same time, Old Man Bai also called the strolling horse over.

Glancing at Bai Yuguang who seemed to have a regretful look on his face, Wei Ran said with a smile while adjusting the camera, "Let me take a group photo of you first, and then I'll take a separate photo of you two later."

Hearing this, Bai Yuguang immediately smiled and said excitedly, "That's fine."

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

Wei Ran smiled and said, "Wait until I send it back, and let my aunt help you find a matchmaker to find you a daughter-in-law!"

As soon as these words came out, the young Bai Yuguang's face immediately turned red, and the guys around him immediately started laughing and teasing him. However, Old Man Bai's eyes lit up, and he obviously thought Wei Ran's suggestion was a good idea.

Without much delay, Wei Ran first took a group photo of these people, then took a group photo of the Bai family father and son, and finally took a separate photo of Bai Yuguang.

Without exception, these people seemed to subconsciously choose the ugly horse as the background for their photos.

"Uncle Bai, let me take a photo of you alone as well!" Wei Ran said finally.

"Hey! I don't need to find a wife, so I won't take pictures!" Uncle Bai waved his hands repeatedly, "Go and do your own thing. When you have time, bring your biting animal here. I'll trim its hooves and put on a new pair of horseshoes."

"Then I won't be polite. Come over when you have time." Wei Ran readily accepted the other party's kindness.

"You're so polite!"

Uncle Bai laughed and said, "When Yu Guang finds a wife, you can be considered as a matchmaker. You must come over to have a drink at the wedding!" "I will definitely go!"

Wei Ran immediately said, "It would be better to find a few more wives so that I can drink more at weddings!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the guys around them burst into laughter. Bai Yuguang's face turned red again. He quickly interrupted them, saying that he couldn't let the messenger wait anxiously, and pulled Wei Ran back.

After passing through the door and crossing the courtyard, they returned to the courtyard where Captain Ma lived. Wei Ran followed Bai Yuguang into the west room of the main house where Captain Ma lived.

"Why is your face so red, kid? Which girl do you like?" Company Commander Ma Jintao noticed Bai Yuguang's abnormality before Wei Ran sat down.

"He"

"It's the sun! It's the sun!"

Bai Yuguang found a good excuse before Wei Ran finished speaking, then looked at Wei Ran pleadingly and stammered, "I, I, I, I'll get you a pot of hot water!"

"What's wrong with this kid?" Zhao Jinyu, who was reading a letter, asked curiously.

"His father wanted to talk to him about a wife, and he blushed." Wei Ran said with a smile, but he had no intention of keeping the secret for the other party.

"It's time for this kid to talk about his wife." Captain Ma nodded seriously, "It's a good opportunity for me to talk to Jinlan about this."

As he spoke, he had already opened an unsealed envelope on the table, pulled out a piece of letter paper, picked up a pen and began to add to it.

"Brother Wei, you should also take a look at the letter sent by Sister Shiyi." Zhao Jinyu said, handing over the two pages of ink-scented letter paper in her hand.

"It's nice to see you in person. How are you, brother?"

Just by looking at the beautiful penmanship at the beginning, Wei Ran couldn't help but sigh. Yang Shiyi was indeed the daughter of a landlord. Apart from anything else, her penmanship alone was impressive enough.

Continue reading, and after about one-third of the page of caring greetings, the letter finally begins to explain the current situation.

The more he read, the more Wei Ran frowned. The situation outside the Great Wall was not optimistic at the moment. This letter was sent to him and was about things that happened in early April.

However, in this letter, whether it is Zhao Jinge, Zhao Jinshan, Hu Bazhi, Tian Xiaohu, Hongxia sister, or even Cui Da Huzi who took away the weapons and equipment, none of them can be contacted.

What is even more worrying is that the Sun sisters who helped to gather information and pass on intelligence were also exposed. In order to keep the secret, the two girls chose to detonate grenades and die together with the traitors who were responsible for capturing them.

The bad news didn't end there. Yang Shiyi also mentioned in the letter that because the situation was getting worse and worse, and in order to avoid being implicated due to the exposure of the Sun sisters and thus completely severing the last line of external contact of the Anti-Japanese United Army, when this letter was sent, she and her uncle's family had already set off for the Russian territory to temporarily avoid the war and divert the devils' attention.

At the same time, she also assured in the letter that regardless of whether her family survived or not, she and her uncle would continue to arrange people to help find out everyone's whereabouts, and would leave people in Bingcheng to continue to maintain correspondence with Zhao Jinyu.

"Is it possible for the devils to track down the Ma family through letters?"

Wei Ran asked almost subconsciously after reading the letter, but his eyes couldn't help but notice the wrinkles on the last piece of letter, which might be left by dried tears. Those wrinkles were also filled with despair.

"Will not"

It was Captain Ma who answered this question, "The Ma and Yang caravans came into contact in Mongolia. The two sides had no contact at all, and there was not a single living person within dozens of miles of the place where they exchanged letters."

Seeing Wei Ran's surprised face, Captain Ma smiled but did not continue to explain. He just sealed the envelope, sealed it with a piece of paper himself, signed his name himself, and then took out a seal to put it on.

Zhao Jinyu also did something similar with the letter he had written. He then put it into a shoebox-sized wooden box along with the sealed film tube, the Anti-Japanese United Army letters and even photos that had been kept by Wei Ran, the letter from Company Commander Ma, and even the family letter that Bai Yuguang had just asked Li Suian to write, and locked it.

Once again, a circle of signature and stamped seals were affixed to each corner and each surface of the box, and a man who looked to be in his forties, wearing a mandarin jacket and a melon-shaped hat, immediately stuffed it into a sheepskin tube, tied it with a rope, and carried it on his shoulder.

"Young Master, I'll go back now." The old man stood up and clasped his fists towards Captain Ma.

"Thank you for your hard work, Guardian Han," Company Commander Ma also stood up and clasped his fists, "Have a safe trip."

"Please stay, everyone."

After saying this, the elegant Han Huyuan simply turned around and left with Bai Yuguang's farewell.

"Brother-in-law, I want to go back."

"Will it be useful for you to go back?"

Captain Ma lit a cigarette and threw the cigarette box on the table, signaling Wei Ran and the other two to help themselves. "With our cavalry, it won't be difficult for you to return to the Northeast, but what can you do when you go back? Can you find your big brother or your squad leader Xiaohu and brother Hu?"

"I"

"Or if you rush back and meet the Japanese on the way, you can go up to them and exchange their lives for theirs?" Company Captain Ma continued to ask.

Hearing this, Zhao Jinyu opened his mouth in confusion.

"The devils are everywhere"

Ma Jintao said with a puff of smoke, "My cavalry company is no worse than the Anti-Japanese United Army, and we have killed no fewer devils than them. What are you doing?"

"I"

"What are you?"

Ma Jintao snorted, "When your sister from the Yang family writes to you and says she has found your elder and second brothers, you can get out of here.

If you want, you can take away all the soldiers in my cavalry company that you like, and I have no objection."

Having said this, Zhao Jinyu closed his mouth helplessly. He could naturally hear that his brother-in-law was not joking, but the more he heard this, the more he didn't know how to choose.

"Okay, let's go back and get some rest."

Ma Jintao sighed and said, "Wangchuan, take the pistol team tonight, we have to cross the river to see what the Japs are doing."

"Yes!" Li Sui'an responded decisively. He grabbed one with each hand and took Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu out of Captain Ma's room.

"Brother Wei, Brother Li, what do you think I should do?"

"Shouldn't"

Before Zhao Jinyu finished speaking, Li Sui'an gave a firm answer, "What's the point of you going back? I'm not asking you this. Jinyu, just tell me, have you killed more Japanese here, or have you killed more Japanese in the Northeast?"

"Can"

"Are you here to join the Anti-Japanese United Army or to kill the Japanese?" Li Sui'an asked again.

"Of course it's to kill the devils," Zhao Jinyu replied immediately.

"Then why did you waste that time on the road?"

Li Sui'an was obviously much more mature than when he was in Teng County. He said very clearly, "If we kill one more devil here, the anti-Japanese patriots in the Northeast will kill one less devil. There are only so many devils anyway, so why are you running around?"

Seeing Zhao Jinyu looking at him, Wei Ran sighed. Instead of stopping, he quickened his pace and said, "Don't you already have the answer?"

After saying that, he left the yard, ran to the backyard to find the biting horse, and led it back to the yard where Old Man Bai was.

Fortunately, the biting horse still gave Wei Ran face. Although it kept snorting and swearing under his comfort, it finally did not do anything wrong. It allowed Old Man Bai to carefully trim its hooves and replace it with two pairs of newly made horseshoes. By the way, it also helped Wei Ran re-sharpen his saber and dip it in fire.

After saying goodbye to Old Man Bai and the ugly horse that had been circling around, Wei Ran returned to the backyard with the biting horse amid the crisp sound of clattering hooves.

When he returned to the west wing, Zhao Jinyu had already made a decision.

"Brother Wei, I have made up my mind. I am going to stay here until I find my elder brother or squad leader Xiaohu and the others."

When Wei Ran came in, Zhao Jinyu said as if eager to prove something, "I am still a soldier of the Anti-Japanese United Army. I..."

“No explanation needed”

Wei Ran patted the other person's shoulder and said, "We all understand. Let's just focus on fighting the devils."

Thank you Li Guang Sheniao for the reward once again. I can't repay you enough. I will update tonight, but it will probably be quite late, so guys go to bed early and read it tomorrow.