War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1620 The Whistle of Revenge

On horseback, Wei Ran sent a "switch drive mode" signal to the biting horse through the bump of the stirrup.

Upon receiving the signal, the biting horse immediately switched to a more stable "walking horse mode" which did not slow down much.

When the horse's back was no longer so bumpy, Wei Ran immediately began to check Li Sui'an's body, looking for any wounds.

Soon, he noticed that there was a large area of ​​blood on Li Sui'an's chest.

  要坏

Wei Ran felt a chill in his heart and quickly tore open his clothes to take a look. It was not a gunshot wound, but more like a bayonet wound!

I put my head on the other person's chest and listened. Fortunately, the heartbeat was still there, strong and powerful, and there was not much noise in the breathing. It seemed that the knife only injured the respiratory tract and esophagus.

"Bear it!"

As Wei Ran spoke, he turned the man over and made him lie on the horse's back with his head facing downwards. This would prevent blood from flowing into the lungs through the wound and causing suffocation.

In addition to this near-fatal wound, Li Sui'an also had various bayonet and gunshot wounds on his arms and legs.

Fortunately, although each wound was more severe than the last, they would not take his life in a short period of time.

"How is he?" Just at this moment, Zhao Jinyu also caught up on horseback and asked loudly, with Bai Yuguang riding on his horse.

"It's quite serious. What about him?" Wei Ran asked back loudly.

"My hip was stabbed!" Zhao Jinyu yelled, "I can't stop the bleeding!"

"Press the wound!"

Wei Ran reminded loudly, "Press it hard!"

"Follow me closely!" Zhao Jinyu shouted and whipped the horse he was riding to increase speed.

"Are you hurt?" Wei Ran rode his horse and caught up and shouted.

"Small injury!"

As Zhao Jinyu spoke, she covered Bai Yuguang's wound with a towel, "What about you?!"

"Small injury!"

Wei Ran gave the same response. He didn't suffer much damage in those few rounds of attacks. In comparison, Zhao Jinyu was injured somewhere and the white towel on his face was stained red with blood.

  Flying all the way,

Under the urging of the billowing yellow smoke, war horses and cavalrymen fell to the ground from time to time. The scattered cavalrymen did not dare to gather together at all. They could only try their best to avoid the poison gas bombs fired from behind and ran towards their own positions for their lives.

A moment later, the cavalry, which had originally had the advantage, could only watch the remaining Japanese reinforcements enter Huaiyang City under the cover of poisonous smoke.

But Wei Ran and others received an order to retreat - they were cavalry, and attacking a city was never their mission.

Although he was unwilling, all Wei Ran could do at this moment was to follow Zhao Jinyu on horseback and send the unconscious Li Sui'an and Bai Yuguang to the military medical tent as quickly as possible.

After weighing the pros and cons, Wei Ran did not stay in the operating tent to help. Instead, he got on his horse again and followed Zhao Jinyu back to their company base.

In such a short while, this special forces company with 200 people has lost nearly half of its members. Looking at the third company not far away, the situation seems to be slightly better, but not much better.

"Wei Ran!"

Just at this moment, Company Commander Ma Jintao, with gauze wrapped around his arm, shouted.

"Yes!" Wei Ran responded immediately.

"From now on, the pistol team is under your charge!" Ma Jintao said without warning.

After a brief pause, Wei Ran, who was still on horseback, immediately straightened his back and responded loudly, "Yes!"

"Retreat!" Ma Jintao immediately issued a new order.

"Retreat now?!" Zhao Jinyu subconsciously raised his voice.

"Are you going to be poisoned to death if you don't retreat?!"

Ma Jintao shouted with red eyes, "Retreat! We will have a chance to avenge this!"

"Yes!" Wei Ran was the first to respond.

They really had no choice at this time. What was even more cruel was that if ordinary soldiers died in battle, it might be easy to replenish them, but if the cavalry died in the poisonous gas that the sabers could not resist at all, it would be very difficult to replenish either the soldiers or the horses.

"withdraw!"

Ma Jintao issued orders again, personally urging his horse to lead the cavalry company to retreat.

  Didn't he want revenge? Didn't he want to rescue his subordinates who were still trapped in the poisonous gas? Didn't he want to collect their bodies?

But this was war, not a game where you could stop at any time if you lost. Even this order was not issued by him, let alone by the commander who was even more helpless and angry than him.

Turning his head to look at the fiery red sunrise that had already jumped out of the horizon, and the yellow poison gas group that was extremely conspicuous under the sunrise in the distance, Wei Ran gritted his teeth and took out the camera, using the viewfinder to frame the sunrise and poison gas in the distance, the cavalry soldiers nearby who were holding sabers with unwillingness and anger on their faces, and especially the wounded soldiers whose faces had been corroded by the poison gas and had blisters on them.

"Crack!"

Amid the unusually crisp shutter sounds, everything in the viewfinder was shrouded in thick white light, and Wei Ran, who was holding the camera, also trembled.

When he slowly put down the camera, the white light had disappeared, and he was back in the small courtyard where Old Liu, who helped the kitchen staff, cooked knife-cut noodles.

The weather was still hot at this time, but the jujube tree in the yard was already full of red dates.

Standing on tiptoe and grabbing a branch full of fruits, Wei Ran avoided a jujube lying on it and reached out to pluck a few large red dates.

I wiped it roughly and put one in my mouth. The crisp taste and sweet greasy flavor were mixed with the bitter taste of insect feces.

"Pooh!"

After spitting out the worm-eaten red date in his mouth, Wei Ran took another one and took a careful bite. Seeing that there were no worms in it, he turned around with satisfaction and walked towards the kitchen.

Although there was no fire in the kitchen, the big pots were steaming with the unique aroma of corn cakes. However, there was no one in the kitchen at this time.

  Why did you send me here?

Wei Ran threw another almost completely red crispy date into his mouth. He did not leave in a hurry. He sat down next to the stove and checked the props provided by the metal book again. This time, he even checked the small boat he got from Baiyangdian.

Just like the previous scene, in addition to various lenses, there were still several unused rolls of film in the camera bag. However, in the food box, in addition to some silver dollars and gold bars, there were also several used rolls of film.

As expected, the three oil drums were still empty, each one cleaner than the other, and there was no wine in the kettle this time.

Fortunately, the magazine of the box gun tied to the long-distance pole was still full. The nine-dragon belt on his body also contained sixty to seventy rounds of pistol bullets and forty to fifty rounds of rifle bullets.

Looking at his body again, all the wounds had healed completely, and there was a pack of cigarettes in his pocket.

He slowly took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Wei Ran pulled out a corn stalk from the embers in the stove and lit the cigarette butt. Then he lifted the lid of the pot and took a look.

Sure enough, the pot was full of cornmeal steamed buns, and there was a big red date embedded in the tip of the bun.

Leaning his head out of the window, Wei Ran, who was frightened by hunger, found a large blue and white plate, put seven or eight steamed buns in it, and stuffed some shredded pickles into the gaps. Only then did he contentedly put the buns into the second layer of the food box.

This was a rare opportunity, so he picked up the copper kettle next to the stove and poured the boiling water in it into the kettle taken out of the metal book.

Wei Ran refilled the pot with water and put it into the pot. Just as he was about to look around to see if there was anything else he could steal, he heard a noise outside.

Seeing this, he immediately ran out of the kitchen, and then saw the cook Lao Liu walking in quickly carrying a carrying pole.

"Ah! Why are you here!" Old Liu, who had just entered the door, was startled by Wei Ran standing under the jujube tree.

"Pick some jujubes." Wei Ran pointed to the top of his head. "Uncle Liu, you..."

"I'm delivering food!"

Old Liu reminded Wei Ran before he could finish, "You should go back quickly. The messenger is here. I heard he brought news about Xiao Li and Xiao Bai."

Hearing this, Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, and said as he walked out quickly, "I'll be right there!"

"I'll pick some dates and send them to you later!" Old Liu shouted behind him.

"I'll come myself when I have time!" Before Wei Ran finished his words, he disappeared.

He walked all the way back to the yard where he lived before, and from a distance he heard the conversation coming from Captain Ma's room.

"Wei Ran, where have you been? Come in!" Captain Ma was the first to notice Wei Ran and immediately waved at him.

"I picked some dates"

When Wei Ran entered the room, he placed the large red dates he had just picked on the table, while also observing everything in the room.

In addition to Ma Jintao, there was also the groom Lao Bai and Han Huyuan who came to deliver the letter to everyone last time. Of course, there was also Zhao Jinyu who was holding the letter and looked excited.

"Brother Wei is here! Come and sit down!"

When Zhao Jinyu saw Wei Ran coming in, he immediately said, "Good news! Double happiness!" "What good news?" Wei Ran asked curiously as he sat down.

"Wangchuan and Xiaobai were sent back safely. They are both in good condition now. Xiaobai can even get out of bed, and Wangchuan's brother-in-law can also sit up."

The one who answered this question was Captain Ma Jintao, who had a cigarette between his lips. This man said with a smile, "I heard from Guard Han that after Wangchuan was sent back, he was very distressed for my sister Qinghe. Now that damn girl doesn't bother to go to Yan'an anymore."

"Sixth Miss is now guarding Master Li's bedside day and night to serve him."

Han Huyuan also said, "The master said that after Young Master Li recovers, he will let them get married in the ancestral home, and then send them to Sichuan. At that time, Xiaobai will be there to serve them."

“It’s fine to send it there.”

Ma Jintao said with a puff of smoke, "In the future, the two families will visit each other more often, and we can also keep each other warm in this chaotic world."

"The young madam also said that once Xiaobai has recovered, she will find him a pretty wife from the maids in the backyard so that you, Old Bai, can rest assured." Guardian Han said with a smile.

"Thank you very much, young madam. With your words, I feel at ease." The stable boy Lao Bai said with a smile, obviously very satisfied with the result.

"There's something good going on"

Zhao Jinyu didn't put down the letter in his hand until this time, and said happily, "Brother Wei, Sister Shiyi wrote to say that the people she arranged have contacted my second brother and squad leader Xiaohu!"

"How are they doing?" Wei Ran, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, asked immediately.

"My eldest brother and second brother are still alive. They are now in the Russian territory."

Zhao Jinyu handed two of the pieces of paper to Wei Ran and said, "The Japanese and the Russians have been fighting at Nomonhan since the beginning of summer this year. The battle lasted for several months, and the Japanese were beaten badly by the Russians. Now they are as obedient as if they were castrated."

Raising his hand and taking a puff of cigarette, Zhao Jinyu continued, "Sister Shiyi's uncle inquired for several months and finally contacted my elder and second brothers. When this letter was sent out."

At this point, Zhao Jinyu suddenly thought of something and changed the subject, saying, "In addition, squad leader Xiaohu and Hu Bazhi have also been contacted. They are fighting guerrilla warfare with Cui Da Huzi, and sister Hongxia is also with them! Brother Wei, please take a look at the letter. The details are all in the letter."

Hearing this, Wei Ran also focused his attention on the two pieces of letter paper.

In this half-cut letter, Wei Ran also found out what Zhao Jinyu had not said just now - although he had contacted his elder and second brothers, they did not trust Yang Shiyi's family.

In other words, this time Yang Shiyi wrote to ask Zhao Jinyu for a letter to prove her identity.

He had even guessed what Zhao Jinyu was thinking at the moment. He wanted to go and meet his elder and second brothers right away! In other words, he wanted to personally deliver the flag of the First Guerrilla Team to Zhao Jinge!

"Brother Wei, brother-in-law, I plan to..."

“Beep! Beep!”

Before Zhao Jinyu could finish his plan, a sharp whistle was heard in the yard - the whistle blown by Captain Ma's adjutant!

"You guys sit down, and Guardian Han should also take a rest. Wait until I come back and finish writing the letter before you leave."

Ma Jintao stood up as he spoke, picked up the military cap that was casually placed on the table, put it on his head, and walked out of the room, saying, "Jin Yu, come with me to the meeting first!"

"wait me back!"

Zhao Jinyu swallowed what he had just said and hurriedly left the room following his brother-in-law Ma Jintao.

“I guess the fight is about to start again.”

The groom Lao Bai stood up as he spoke, "Lao Han, I'll ask you to take the letter back. Please thank the master and the young mistress for me and say that I, Lao Bai, kowtowed to them."

"I'll bring it there," Huyuan Han nodded and promised.

"That's all, I have to help everyone prepare in advance." After the stable boy Lao Bai finished speaking, he clasped his fists towards Han Huyuan, turned around and left the room.

"How are Wangchuan and Xiaobai doing now?"

Wei Ran asked as he continued reading the letter in his hand. There was a lot of key information in the two letters that were cut off by Zhao Jinyu.

First, Yang Shiyi and her uncle's family arrived in Boli smoothly.

Secondly, after much effort, they found Tian Xiaohu and Hu Bazhi who had been missing for several months, as well as Cui Da Huzi who had lost contact at the beginning.

According to the letter, when Big Beard Cui drove a sled and separated from them and rushed to the secret camp where Commander Zhao and others had been hiding, not only was the camp empty, but he was also nearly discovered by the Japanese.

For this reason, he had to hide the ammunition and it took him three or four days to get rid of the enemy in the snowy forest.

After that, he immediately returned to the mine, but Wei Ran and others had already left.

In desperation, he could only take a brief rest and after searching for nearly half a month, he finally joined Wang Yachen's troops.

A long time later, when they were conducting guerrilla activities, they accidentally ran into Hu Bazhi and Tian Xiaohu, who had been hunted by the Japanese and traitors.

Needless to say, after the two were rescued, they searched for Zhao Jinge in vain, so they simply stayed in the Wang tribe. Later, they rescued Miss Hongxia.

Yang Shiyi's gains did not stop there. Shortly after she reestablished contact with Hu Bazhi, Tian Xiaohu and others, her uncle, after much effort, finally found out the whereabouts of the Zhao brothers and established contact with them.

It's a pity, as mentioned before, Zhao Jinge and Zhao Jinshan didn't seem to trust Yang Shiyi's family, so she wrote to ask Zhao Jinyu's opinion.

"The last time I brought them back, they were not safe along the way. There were several times when they were kept alive only by ginseng soup."

Han Huyuan's answer made Wei Ran think. The elegant middle-aged man shook his head helplessly, raised his hand and pointed at the shoebox-sized wooden box in the middle of the table and said, "The young lady asked me to bring a few things. I haven't had time to take them out yet, but they ran away first."

Hearing this, Wei Ran looked up and saw that the wooden box in the middle of the table was the same locked and sealed wooden box that Ma Jintao had given to him the last time they met.

Obviously, the letters were taken out from here. At this time, there were several exquisite tin boxes in the box, which were not too big.

Before Wei Ran could say anything, Guardian Han had already reached out and picked up a tin box and handed it to Wei Ran, "Master Wei, this is a gift from the Young Madam."

"Don't we have to wait for them to come back?" Wei Ran asked in surprise, but did not reach out to take it. "Also, I'm not some young master, just call me Wei Ran."

"No, both brothers have a share."

Han Huyuan said gently, "Young Madam asked me to thank you for taking care of Young Master and Jin Yu. This is a thank you gift, not a respect."

Hearing this, Wei Ran hesitated for a moment before taking the tin box and expressing his gratitude.

Out of politeness, he did not open the tin box immediately, but put it in his arms.

The size of this tin box was similar to the civilian aluminum lunch boxes of later generations, and it felt light and weightless when picked up, but he had a vague feeling that the contents inside must be extraordinary.

"in addition"

Guardian Han waited until Wei Ran accepted the small gift before continuing, "Young Madam also said that she hoped Brother Wei Ran could persuade Jin Yu."

"What should you persuade him about?" Wei Ran, who had already expected this, asked back.

"I hope Brother Wei Ran can persuade Jin Yu to stop looking for his elder and second brothers."

Han Huyuan said, "Young Madam hopes that Jin Yu can go back soon and personally escort Young Master Li back to Sichuan with Brother Wei Ran. She also hopes that he can stay in Sichuan and leave a descendant for the Zhao family."

Hearing this, Wei Ran opened his mouth, but Han Huyuan continued, "The young madam said that two men in the Zhao family have already gone to the battlefield to fight the Japanese, and she is worried that she will not even have a family in her mother's family in the future."

"I"

Wei Ran sighed, "I understand. I will try to persuade Jin Yu. Master Han, please wait a moment. I also have something I want you to bring back."

"No trouble," Han Huyuan said immediately.

"Then wait for me."

After saying that, Wei Ran quickly left the room, went back to the west wing, and took out the used rolls of film from the food box.

After carefully checking the sealed tube outside, he quickly took out the tin box in his arms and opened it to take a look.

The things in this tin box are precious enough. On the left, three small tin cans the size of a Rubik's Cube are tightly squeezed together, with words such as "Angong Niuhuang Pills", "Zixue Pills" and "Zhibao Pills" on them. On the right, there is a not-so-big space, but a ginseng with its roots intact, wrapped in red cloth.

There is no doubt that no matter which one, it is a treasure that can save lives in this era. Such a gift is enough to show the sincerity of Sister Zhao Jinyu.

With a helpless sigh, Wei Ran closed the tin box again, put it into the lunch box, took back the metal notebook, then left the west wing with the sealed film tubes.

Almost at the same time, Ma Jintao and Zhao Jinyu also hurriedly walked out of the main hall and shouted, "Jinyu! Blow the whistle and assemble! It's time to avenge our brothers!"

"Yes!"

  Zhao Jinyu responded with full energy, took out a whistle from his pocket and put it in his mouth. Before Wei Ran could say anything, he puffed up his cheeks and blew out a sharp and piercing whistle that was filled with a soaring fighting spirit!

"Hey"

Wei Ran opened his mouth but didn't say anything else. He just ran quickly into the west room and handed all the sealed film tubes to the bewildered Huyuan Han.

(End of this chapter)