War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1637 Blood on Horseback

In the dugout that was snatched back from the bandits, the two kang tables were re-arranged with the large bones and meat pancakes that the bandits had blocked. Zhao Jinyu even found a jar of sorghum wine from the dugout that was used as a warehouse, warmed it up, and poured a small bowl of it for everyone, including the four brothers of the Qiu family and Unakan.

"Boss Qiu, I'll ask you again, are you really..."

"Captain Hu, please stop asking."

As Boss Qiu spoke, he had already picked up his wine bowl and said, "Even if you ask me a hundred times, the four of us brothers are determined to join the Anti-Japanese United Army and fight the Japanese with you. We have been waiting for this day for three years."

"Not so good!"

Xiao Sier also shouted, "Brother Wei took pictures of us."

After exchanging a glance with Wei Ran, Zhao Jinyu, and even Una Kan, Hu Bazhi finally nodded and raised his wine bowl, "Then welcome to join the Anti-Japanese Alliance!"

Before he finished speaking, everyone raised their wine bowls and clinked them with the one held by Hu Bazhi.

After a bowl of wine, everyone, who had been busy for almost two days and two nights without a proper rest, picked up a big bone and started to chew on it.

"Captain Hu, where are we going next?"

While pouring wine for everyone, Boss Qiu asked, "Should we go back and continue fighting the Japanese or should we kill them?"

“We’re going to continue north.”

Zhao Jinyu answered the question for Hu Bazhi, "We have a mission and we need to go to the north. Boss Qiu, if you four brothers want to join the Anti-Japanese United Army, then come with us."

"Are you going to see Captain Zhao?"

The brothers Yongwen and Yongwu asked in unison, and Boss Qiu also shuddered subconsciously, accidentally spilling some of the wine that was supposed to be poured into the bowl onto the table.

"Yes"

Zhao Jinyu nodded, "Do you want to follow?"

"Follow! We'll follow! As long as we can fight the Japanese, we'll follow you wherever you go!" Xiao Si'er answered the question quickly.

"Xiao Si'er is not wrong this time!" Boss Qiu said seriously.

"Then eat quickly and have a good sleep."

Hu Bazhi took over the topic and said, "Let's set off early tomorrow morning!"

"Yes!" The four brothers of the Qiu family responded in unison.

The people at the two tables filled their stomachs in no time, and after clearing the tables, they lay down on the warm earth pit and fell asleep.

Perhaps it was because of the three bowls of wine they had just poured into their stomachs, the four young brothers of the Qiu family began to snore one after another soon after.

Soon, Hu Bazhi climbed up quietly. Almost at the same time, Unakan also climbed up, followed by Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu.

The four of them looked at each other, quietly crawled out of the warm dugout, and closed the door quietly.

"Planning to run away secretly?" Zhao Jinyu thought he had guessed the answer.

"Why are you running?"

Hu Bazhi shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He walked towards the shack that served as a warehouse and said, "We're still a long way to go, so we need to prepare in advance. I see there are a lot of leather materials in that shack. Go pick out a few and nail them to the sled. By the way, see if the sled you stole can be used."

"I see there are a few bags of concentrated feed in the shed. Let's pack them up in advance and feed them to the livestock on the road." Unakan followed.

"You guys get ready."

Wei Ran walked towards the shack where they were imprisoned before, "I'm going to kill those piglets to eat on the way."

"I thought you were going to run away?" Zhao Jinyu shook her head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Then I'll go."

"Let's go to that nest"

Without waiting for the other party to finish speaking, Wei Ran pointed to the dugout where many bandits had died before, "Boil some water to remove the pig hairs, and then boil all the piglets to save fuel on the way."

"also"

Zhao Jinyu nodded happily and stepped into the dugout that was still filled with the smell of blood.

While these four people were busy, two mule sleds and one reindeer sled were all covered with thick and warm animal skins. Hu Bazhi even cut an extra warm mink scarf for each of them.

Unakan also loaded several bags of concentrated feed onto three sleds, while Wei Ranran and Zhao Jinyu worked together to stew a large pot of boneless pork, which they put into a cloth bag. The accumulated moisture froze into a large lump of meat, which was enough for them to eat for several days. They also boiled a bag of cornmeal cakes.

After working for most of the night, the four of them finally returned to the warm shack and fell asleep.

When they woke up again, it was already bright outside the shack, but heavy snow was falling again.

After each drinking two large bowls of hot cornmeal porridge, they did not delay any further and either rode on their horses or sat on their sleds, leaving this bandit's nest with abundant supplies without any regrets.

"If we can come back alive, we have to find a way to bring back the things in those shacks."

Hu Bazhi said reluctantly, "There are so many foods and skins, which are enough for our soldiers to stay comfortably until the spring when it gets warmer."

"That place was originally prepared for the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces fighters," Zhao Jinyu, who was riding on a horse, couldn't help but sigh.

"Let's go quickly"

Unakan urged the two well-fed reindeer to run faster.

Braving the flying snowflakes and the cold wind, the group ran at different speeds for the entire day.

On this day, they had been hiding in the mountains all the time, and because Hu Bazhi was proficient in the jargon, and the "noise" made by everyone was enough to scare people.

Therefore, although they encountered many gangs who blocked the road along the way, they were all successfully fooled by Hu Bazhi who held up the banner of "Flying Leaves under the order of Sun Dazhang of Langcaozigou".

When it got dark again, Unakan, who was leading the way, finally stopped after shouting at the reindeer to climb up a ridge.

"Take a break first"

Unakan raised his hand and pointed straight ahead, saying, "Further ahead is the Tangwang River. The Japanese have sent thousands of strong men to cut trees nearby. There are also Japanese and puppet army sleds patrolling back and forth on the river. The five large wooden camps around have installed searchlights. We can only wait until late at night to quietly bypass it."

"This road is so difficult to travel," Zhao Jinyu cursed in a low voice.

“It’s not easy, but we have to go.”

After Hu Bazhi finished speaking, he couldn't help but look at Unakan, "Did you get here like this?"

"Can't"

Unakan responded nonchalantly, "Let's all take a break and don't light the fire."

After saying this, she had already taken out a small amount of goblin feed from the sled, sprinkled a handful of large salt grains on it and placed it in front of the two reindeer. Then she returned to the sled, surrounded the animal skin blanket she found from the bandit's den, hugged her horse's four rings and closed her eyes.

"You guys take a break"

Boss Qiu took the initiative to say, "The three of us brothers have slept all the way, we will keep watch."

"also"

Hu Bazhi did not refuse. He also took a bag of fine feed from the sled, sprinkled it with large salt grains, poured it on the ground and distributed it to the two mules pulling the carts and the war horses ridden by Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu.

At the same time, Qiu Lao Da, Yong Wen and Xiao Si'er, who had been guarding the brazier on the sled during the day, got off the sled one after another and gave their seats to Wei Ran, Zhao Jinyu, Hu Bazhi, and even Yong Wu, who was also responsible for driving the sled.

The three of them each spread a wolf skin on the snow next to the sled, wrapped themselves in a warm and thick deerskin blanket, and sat together with their guns, staring at the surrounding woods vigilantly.

After tying up the horses, Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu stretched their legs for a while before sitting on the sled. They also wrapped themselves tightly in animal skin blankets, sat down around the brazier, leaned against each other, closed their eyes and fell asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, a tap on the shoulder awakened the sleeping Wei Ran. He found a box gun in his hand, which was hidden under the animal skin blanket.

"Wake up, it's time to set off." Unakan reminded in a low voice in the night.

I looked around and saw that the snow had stopped, but the wind was still strong. There was a bright full moon hanging in the night sky above my head.

Looking at his shoulders and the blanket covering his body, he saw a thick layer of snow on them.

After putting away his gun and shaking off the snow on his body, Wei Ran put on his bearskin mittens again. Then he heard Una Kan whisper, "Follow Mars behind me. Be quick and don't make any noise. There are a lot of devils around here."

"Wrap the hoof," Zhao Jinyu reminded.

"Everyone, load up with bullets," Hu Bazhi also gave his reminder.

After some preparation, Wei Ran and his team covered the horses' and mules' hooves with the rabbit skins they had prepared in advance, and loaded their weapons with bullets. Qiu Lao Da and his team, who had been on duty, returned to the sled and also loaded their weapons with bullets.

Unakan filled a lunch box with a hole in it and hung it on the handle behind the sled. The charcoal fire in the holes was weak, but it was enough to point the way for the people behind.

"go!"

Unakan shook the reins vigorously and rushed towards the Tangwang River under the cold moonlight.

Following the faint sparks behind her sled as they ran down the ridge, everyone gradually increased their speed.

After running like this for about 20 minutes, a frozen river with marks of sleds suddenly appeared in front of us.

Seeing this, everyone sped up and rushed into the river, and then rushed to the other side as fast as possible.

They crossed the Tangwang River without any danger, but everyone did not dare to relax for a moment. Instead, they urged their animals to run faster.

They ran non-stop for more than half an hour. Not only did they cross two ridges, but they also passed through a wasteland where all the trees had been cut down, as well as a logging road.

Fortunately, until they ran into the woods again, they did not alarm the Japanese and puppet troops stationed in the wooden camp.

After getting through this difficult time without any major incident, Unakan did not stop. Instead, he led them to run, stopping and starting, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, until dawn. When all the animals were exhausted and gasping for breath, they finally stopped on the top of a ridge.

“Just rest here”

Unakan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It should be safe now. There are more and more devils behind us. We can only travel at night."

"where is this place?"

As Wei Ran dismounted, he whispered, "How far are we?"

"This place is called Lujiaogou. To the east is the Hegang Coal Mine occupied by the Japanese."

Unakan explained in a low voice, "This place is still two hundred miles away from Heilongjiang River. It will take at least three days to get there."

"If we travel at night, we won't be able to cover this distance in three days." Zhao Jinyu said worriedly.

"Even if the whip breaks, we have to hurry over there."

As Hu Bazhi was speaking, Yongwen and Yongwu had already given everyone a lunch box containing stewed pork and pancakes, which had been roasting by the brazier all the way.

They filled their stomachs in silence and continued to rest around the brazier. While Boss Qiu and others were on guard, they also took over the job of taking care of the livestock. However, they did not notice that Wei Ran, who was almost completely wrapped in a blanket, was enduring his fatigue and pressing the shutter towards them.

After taking the photos, Wei Ran put away the camera, rubbed his sore thighs, leaned against Zhao Jinyu beside him, closed his eyes, and soon began to snore.

When I woke up again, it was already bright in the sky and I could still see the sunset in the distance, which had not yet been completely blocked by the rolling mountains.

After eating a few bites of food, everyone rode their horses or sleds and started running again.

"We have to run along the road for more than ten miles ahead, so be alert." Unakan whispered, then shouted at the reindeer and started running.

With Unakan's reminder, everyone who set out again was on high alert. After running along the reindeer sled for less than ten minutes, a sufficiently flat and spacious valley appeared at the foot of the mountain, extending all the way to the northeast.

“There are several empty villages ahead.”

Unakan explained as he steered the sled forward, "We can run for twenty miles along this valley, which is much faster than crossing the mountain ridge."

"We won't encounter the Japanese, right?" Zhao Jinyu asked while lying on the horse's back.

"probably not"

Unakan thought for a moment and added, "I didn't encounter it when I walked here last time. There are no sled marks on the snow, so I don't think I will encounter it."

"If we really meet them, we'll just hide in the woods," Hu Bazhi also said.

"There are a lot of Japanese soldiers around here, don't wait until they block us." Unakan warned worriedly.

"Brother Wei, let's run faster and explore the way?" Zhao Jinyu suggested.

"Let's go!" Wei Ran responded, urging the biting horse under him to run faster.

Taking advantage of the last bit of daylight, Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu put about four to five hundred meters distance between themselves and the three sleds behind them.

  They ran along the valley like this for more than an hour without any problems. However, as the sky was getting darker and the setting sun was completely blocked by the mountain ridge, a convoy of sleds suddenly appeared in front of them!

"Uu——!"

Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu reined in their horses almost at the same time and looked at the sled team vigilantly.

"Do you have a mirror?" Wei Ran had already pulled out the carbine from his gun bag while speaking.

"no"

Zhao Jinyu shook his head and also pulled out a carbine found in the bandit's lair. He watched from afar the sled convoy with lanterns hanging on it that was slowly approaching.

"No, it seems to be the devil!" Wei Ran was the first to notice the abnormality, "Let's go!"

Before they finished speaking, the two men had already turned their horses around and ran back in the direction they came from. At this point, they could only hope that the other side didn't notice them.

Riding back to the sled, Wei Ran gave a brief description of the situation. Then Una Kan led them into another nearby valley. After running along the valley for less than ten minutes, they immediately went into the woods, climbed up a ridge, and looked nervously at the valley in the distance.

  Unfortunately, they soon noticed that the oncoming sled convoy stopped in the direction they turned, and following closely behind, one sled after another with kerosene lamps followed their tracks!

"Run away," Hu Bazhi sighed helplessly, "It's not windy or snowy tonight, so it looks like some of them have run away."

"Follow closely"

Before Unakan finished speaking, he had already shaken the reins and shouted at the reindeer to run in the dark again.

Following closely behind, Hu Bazhi also shouted at the mule, pulling him, Yongwu and Xiao Si'er on the sled to catch up.

"Let's go ahead and explore the way," Zhao Jinyu said in a low voice with concern.

"Walk"

Wei Ran once again followed the other party's advice and urged his horse to run in the front, where it was most dangerous.

  However, when they climbed up a ridge again, they found in despair that more and more sleds appeared behind them, chasing after them. Those sleds with lanterns hanging on them were extremely conspicuous and arrogant in the night!

They didn't dare to fight back or stop, and they desperately urged the animals to keep running. But this time, there were even people on horseback among the pursuers. Although they might not be able to catch up with Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu who were also riding horses, they could easily catch up with the two mule sleds!

"Xiao Si'er! Kill him!"

On the sled running at the back, Boss Qiu, who was in charge of driving the vehicle, made his own arrangements without waiting for Hu Bazhi's order.

Without waiting for Wei Ran and the others to speak up or refuse, Xiao Si'er, who was sitting on the sled, had already picked up the Type 38 rifle he had been holding and started shooting without any hesitation!

"boom!"

Along with a clear gunshot that broke the silence, the lantern that was getting closer and closer behind him shattered, and the Japanese horse with the lantern hanging on it fell straight to the ground because the bullet penetrated its body, and in the process, the person who was originally riding on the horse was crushed to death.

But at this moment, no one had time to marvel at Xiao Si'er's amazing accuracy, and no one blamed him for firing impulsively.

Everyone knew that without the shot just now, it was only a matter of time before the devils caught up with them. But at the same time, they also knew that because of the shot just now, the devils who were originally just suspicious would definitely stick to them like a dog-skin plaster!

What was even more terrible was that the beam ahead was too close, so just as they climbed up, the remaining Japanese pursuers on horseback had already started climbing the slope!

  Obviously, by the time they rush down from this ridge, they will be caught up by the Japanese behind them!

Although no one pointed this out, all the people driving and riding horses subconsciously began to whip the animals hard.

"Captain Hu!"

At this moment, Boss Qiu suddenly shouted, "Can you please do me a favor?!"

"If you have anything to say, run away first!" Hu Bazhi responded loudly while cracking the whip.

"When you see Captain Zhao, tell him that we are sorry for not taking good care of the wounded!" Boss Qiu shouted to himself.

"What are you going to do, you bastard!" Hu Bazhi asked in fear. He had already realized that something was wrong.

Not only him, but Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu, who also realized that something was wrong, subconsciously pulled the reins, preparing to stop the horses.

  But at this moment, the four brothers of the Qiu family jumped off the sled they were riding, each holding a weapon!

"Rescue!"

Wei Ran, who was originally preparing to charge down on horseback, had already controlled his biting horse and rushed back at the same time as Zhao Jinyu before he finished speaking.

"Run!" Old Qiu shouted at the top of his lungs, "Run!"

"Run away!"

Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu cursed in unison and rode their horses back to the top of the ridge.

"Brother Wei! We didn't kill enough people by the Shaying River that year, let's make up for it today!" Zhao Jinyu said as he pulled out a Type 38 cavalry rifle from his horse's gun bag.

"Two for each!"

Wei Ran responded loudly, answering a question irrelevant to the topic.

"to make!"

  Zhao Jinyu seemed to understand Wei Ran's hint. He quickly ran behind a pine tree, raised his gun and pulled the trigger!

"boom!"

After the clear sound of gunfire, a Japanese soldier who had climbed halfway up the hill on horseback was shot in the chest and fell down.

"boom!"

Wei Ran and Xiao Si'er opened fire almost at the same time, and two more Japanese soldiers on horseback tilted their bodies and fell off their horses.

"Good aim! Where did you learn that?" Wei Ran asked loudly while loading a bullet into the gun in his hand.

"My father!"

Xiao Si'er, who also had a bullet on his head, responded loudly, "My father is the best hunter in this area!"

"boom!"

Before he could finish his words, a gunshot rang out and another Japanese soldier on horseback was shot in the nose. He tilted his head back suddenly and fell off his horse.

"You're talking nonsense! My father is the best hunter in this area!" It was only at this time that Boss Qiu, who was busy pushing bullets into the gun barrel, said with a curse.

"Bullshit! My dad is the one!"

  Before Xiao Si'er finished speaking, he raised his hand and fired another shot. A mule-drawn sled that had just reached the foot of the mountain had not yet had time to stop, and the lantern hanging on the mule's neck and the neck behind the lantern were pierced by the same bullet one after another!

"Do they quarrel like this often?"

Zhao Jinyu, who was also shooting at the Japanese soldiers' lanterns, shouted to the brothers Yongwen and Yongwu who were also hiding behind a tree not far away.

"Noisy every day!"

Yongwen and Yongwu responded in unison but did not rush to shoot. Their marksmanship was far inferior to that of Qiu Lao Da and Xiao Si'er, but they were not idle. Each of them was holding two box guns seized from the bandit's lair and hiding well, waiting to open fire when the Japanese soldiers climbed up.

  Hearing this, Zhao Jinyu couldn't help but grin, then put down his gun, put his hands to his mouth, and made a lifelike horse neigh!

This shout was so powerful that not only the biting horse tied at the back in the blind spot and the chestnut horse began to jump up, but the several ownerless Japanese and Japanese horses at the foot of the ridge also subconsciously began to stroll to the top of the ridge!

"Let those horses come over!" Zhao Jinyu reminded in a low voice.

But at this moment, how could Wei Ran and his companions, who were the main force at a long distance, have the energy to fire at the horses? No matter how powerful they were, there were only six of them in total, but at this moment, there were far more than six sleds that had arrived at the foot of the mountain!

What made him even more frightened was that the sleds had received the order to turn off the lanterns, but before the lanterns were turned off, he could vaguely see the Japanese machine guns and grenade launchers being taken down from the sleds!

"Run!"

Wei Ran shouted at the top of his voice, "The Japs are going to fire grenade launchers!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already grabbed one with each hand, and forced Boss Qiu and Little Si'er to run back!

Zhao Jinyu, who was still doing his job and learning how to neigh a horse, also pulled the two brothers Yongwen and Yongwu together and ran for their lives to where the horses were tied!

"Tom!"

With a heart-wrenching sound, a patch of snow exploded on the hillside less than five meters away from where they had just opened fire.

"Run, run, run! Run!"

  Before Wei Ran finished speaking, he had already pushed Qiu Lao Da and Xiao Si Er to run to the other side of the hillside. Then, he and Zhao Jinyu pulled the reins and started running wildly!

After a while, the Japanese machine guns began to fire, and more and more grenades hit the highest point of the ridge!

"It would be great if there was a poison gas bomb!"

  After Zhao Jinyu shouted loudly, an even louder horse neigh came out!

What Wei Ran never expected was that this shout actually received a response from behind him. Before they could run to the edge of the hillside on the other side, three or four Japanese horses actually ran up behind them!

"Can you guys ride horses?" Zhao Jinyu asked loudly.

"Yes!" Yongwen and Yongwu responded loudly almost at the same time.

"I don't know!" Boss Qiu and Xiao Si'er gave different answers in no particular order!

"Yongwen and Yongwu, get on the horses! Ride ours!" Wei Ran shouted and pulled Yongwu over.

The brothers Yongwen and Yongwu did not hesitate and, under the threat of increasingly frequent grenade explosions behind them, they mounted their horses with the help of Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu.

"come here!"

Wei Ran and Zhao Jinyu greeted each other in unison, and after each of them turned over and rode on a Japanese warhorse that they had tricked over, the former reached out and grabbed Xiao Si'er, while the latter grabbed Boss Qiu.

  With the help of their bodies turning sideways, the two men easily pulled the young men they had grabbed onto the horses' backs! Not only that, the two men also tacitly grabbed the reins of another Japanese horse!

"Don't move!"

Wei Ran greeted Xiao Si'er who was lying on the horse's back, and then patted the horse's butt lightly.

Before the grenade hit their heads, everyone rushed down the hillside on horseback, running for their lives following the guidance of the oil lamp lit by Hu Bazhi in front of them.

Although it seemed that they had a slight advantage by snatching two horses, they had actually not escaped danger yet, because behind them, more and more Japs had rushed up the ridge and were rushing down the hillside at an even faster speed!

What's more terrible is that they fired from the back to the front, which is easier to aim than firing from the front to the back! As for Wei Ran and others running in the front, the only thing they can rely on at this time is the shelter of the surrounding trees and the cover of this cold moonlit night!

Amid the sound of gunfire, Wei Ran and others gradually caught up with Hu Bazhi and Unakan.

"Ride on! Get on the horse!"

While Wei Ran was shouting, he and Zhao Jinyu handed the reins of the ownerless Japanese horses in their hands to Hu Bazhi and Unakan who were sitting on the sled.

After Hu Bazhi took over the reins, he pulled out a chariot knife with a deer antler handle from his arms and cut the noose of the big white mule. Then he turned over nimbly and rode on the Japanese warhorse.

  In contrast, Unakan did not feel sorry for her reindeer sled. She even deliberately knocked over the brazier on the sled before jumping onto the horse's back!

Abandoning the slow sled, everyone rode their horses faster and faster, but no one noticed that Yongwen, who was riding on Zhao Jinyu's horse, did not seem to be in good condition.

  Warm blood was flowing out of his abdomen which he was holding tightly with his hands, soaking the fur coat he had robbed from the bandits' den, and the gloves Wei Ran had sewn for him.

(End of this chapter)