War Photographer's Notebook

"Squad leader! Nenzi will do it! They are running over!"

Tan Shouzheng, who was lying on the side of the pond, asked in a panic, perhaps because of nervousness, even his accent was so heavy that Wei Ran almost couldn't react to what he said for a while.

"Wipe shake panic!"

Squad leader Liang also subconsciously spoke his hometown dialect, and at the same time raised the box gun in his hand.

"You can't shoot. The chasing group hasn't run far. It's easy to attract them by shooting now."

Wei Ran, who was lying next to the stone, calmly reminded, "When they get closer, we will catch them directly."

"Yes! Wei Ran is right!"

Squad leader Liang nodded hastily, and Tan Shouzheng, who had already aimed his rifle at the visitor, immediately put the gun in his hand aside.

As the distance between the two sides got closer, the three of Wei Ran gradually saw clearly that the two people who ran over were covered in mud all over their faces, and one of them seemed to have injured his arm, so that when running, he had to use The other hand firmly held the position of the biceps.

"stop!"

The moment these two people supported each other and ran over the boulder where they were hiding, Squad Leader Liang shouted at each other with a box gun, "Raise your hands, how dare you turn around and shoot you down!"

Obviously, these two people can understand Chinese. After Qi Qi stopped, they immediately raised their hands in no particular order, but at the same time, they also secretly turned their faces to see who stopped them .

However, before they could see anyone's appearance clearly, Tan Shouzheng, who rushed out indiscriminately with Wei Ran, had already poured a lump of mud onto the face of the man with the injured arm.At the same time, Wei Ran also compared another person's neck with a gravity knife.

"Be honest if you don't want to die"

At the same time as Wei Ran reminded him, he had already put away the Gravity Knife slightly, and at the same time kicked the opponent's knee lightly.As for Tan Shouzheng, he was even simpler. After using the muddy lake face trick, the young soldier tripped the man with the injured arm to the ground without even saying a word of nonsense, and held him with his hands. The back of his head directly pressed his face into the mud.

"Help! Ahem! I'm oh!"

The person who was pushed into the mud tried his best to prop up his face with his uninjured arm, and spoke with difficulty, but the severely inflected Chinese made Wei Ran and the other three immediately realize that this person seemed to be a foreigner. Variety!

"Squad leader, he seems to be a foreigner!"

While Tan Shou was speaking, he had already pulled the hair on the back of the man's head and lifted his face up, "Hold him a tortoise! ​​He's really a yellow-haired one!"

"It must be British!"

Squad leader Liang almost gritted his teeth and said, "Tie him up first, remember to see if he has any weapons on him."

"Who are you?"

It wasn't until this time that Wei Ran asked the person who was still holding the knife against his neck—even though he already had a rough guess in his heart.

"Business. Businessman"

The man covered in mud raised his hands and answered stiffly, but before Wei Ran could continue to ask, he took the initiative to ask, "Are you a team from China? You are our Huaxia sent to fight." An army of little devils?"  …

"Are you from Huaxia?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's your name?"

"Zhou Guochang, my name is Zhou Guochang." The man replied immediately, "I am a Chinese who grew up in Oxygen!"

"You are Zhou Guochang?"

Wei Ran muttered to himself, put away the gravity knife in his hand, pointed at the man who had been dragged to the side of the road by Tan Shouzheng and asked, "What about him? Who is he?"

"He's my employer, an Englishman."

"Boss? What does he do? What's his name, and what do you do?"

Wei Ran reached out and took off the cloth bag that was slung across the opponent's back, then flipped over the opponent's body, took off a hatchet from the opponent's waist, and then took off the wooden snatch box on the other side of his waist.

"He is Mr. Luke from England. He is a businessman. I am his Burmese translator." Zhou Guochang seemed to be particularly cooperative, but Wei Ran vaguely sensed that the other party was deliberately concealing something.

"what business?"

While Wei Ran was speaking, he had already thrown the other party's baggage and gun case on his shoulders, and at the same time pointed to the big rock on the side of the road, signaling the other party to go over.

"Ore Business"

Zhou Guochang walked over there with his hands raised and replied, "Sometimes I also do the spice business, and I do what I want to make money."

"Emerald?" Wei Ran asked indifferently.

"Occasionally, I will do some," Zhou Guochang replied honestly.

"Someone was chasing you just now?" Squad leader Liang asked after taking the conversation.

"Some." Zhou Guochang and the old British Luke looked at each other before continuing, "It seems to be some devils."

"What are they chasing you for?"

While Wei Ran was speaking, he had already opened the bag he had just seized.At the same time, Tan Shouzheng also opened the rucksack he took off from that Campbell.

"Roll!"

Tan Shouzheng cheered in surprise, and then pulled out a Browning Hi-Power pistol from the bag.

"They want to steal our stuff"

Zhou Guochang quickly replied, "We escaped all the way from Tonggu. Those devils also chased us all the way from Tonggu."

"what?"

Wei Ran asked while checking the luggage, besides a set of clothes and a British army water bottle, the only treasures in this luggage were just two boxes of 9mm par ammo and a tight devil wrapped in extra cloth Officer lunch box.

Carefully opening the cuboid lunch box with a handle, Wei Ran couldn't help but twitch his brows. What's inside is actually life-saving medicine related to malaria!

The most inside are small glass bottles, each of which contains at least twenty or thirty quinine pills with slightly melted sugar coating.

In addition, there are bottles of Liang Peiji's cold pills with pink wrappers, and small glass bottles filled with cinchona cream.

These life-saving medicines filled this weird-looking lunch box to the brim, and even the only gaps were filled with rice grains that could serve as a buffer and absorb moisture.

"These are the drugs"

Zhou Guochang pointed to the biscuit box that Wei Ran had closed again, and then pointed to Tan Shouzheng who was still fiddling with the Browning Hi-Power pistol, "It's also in that canvas bag." …

Hearing this, Squad Leader Liang immediately pulled Tan Shouzheng away, and personally took out the identical lunch boxes of devil officers from the canvas bag and opened them one by one.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, the contents here are all Adiping Tablets and Malaria Mother Star Tablets, which are more expensive in this era, but have far less toxic side effects than quinine pills!
"Where did you get so many medicines?" Squad leader Liang asked seriously, closing the lid of the lunch box tightly.

"Mr. Luke is in the trading business," Zhou Guochang explained proactively, "These medicines are all the goods he had hoarded before."

"Where are you going?" Wei Ran asked the second question.

"Mr. Luke wants to chase the fleeing British army," Zhou Guochang explained, "he wants to leave here with them."

"These medicines."

"It's what I pay"

Luke, who was like a mud monkey, didn't wait for Squad Leader Liang to finish asking, he took the initiative to explain, "Zhou's father is my business partner, these medicines were prepared by Zhou for you Huaxia soldiers."

Seeing the three of Wei Ran looking at him in unison, Zhou Guochang waved his hands a little at a loss, "Before the battle in Tonggu ended, I heard from the soldiers who fought there that our expeditionary army was very short of medicine for malaria. So I will."

"Let's not talk about this first." Tan Shouzheng, who had been fiddling with pistols just now, asked, "Since you have guns, why don't you kill those who chase you?"

Zhou Guochang pointed to the wooden gun case still in Wei Ran's hand, "Those devils chasing us have tricks in their hands. With our two small guns, there is no way to fight recklessly."

"It's useless." Tan Shouzheng cursed in a dialect that Wei Ran couldn't understand but could roughly guess.

"I am not afraid of death"

Zhou Guochang obviously guessed or understood what the other party was talking about, so he just said in a calm tone, "But after I die, these medicines will be taken away by devils, and everything will be meaningless after the medicine is taken away."

"Now is not the time to quarrel." Squad Leader Liang waved his hands, "Where are you going?"

"Mr. Luke is going to Muncie"

Zhou Guochang wiped the mud off his face and replied, "He said that there is a warehouse left by the British there. Only if I send him there can I get the remaining half of the more expensive medicines."

"But Manxi Town is behind you," Tan Shouzheng couldn't help reminding, "It's in the direction where those devils blow past."

"We plan to go to the town in the south first."

Zhou Guochang pointed to the direction where Wei Ran and others came, and said clearly, "The two horses we were riding are dying, we need to find two more horses there, and Mr. Luke was also shot in the shoulder. The gun needs quality. By the way, you can also take the opportunity to lure the devils away, and rush over when they realize that we are not in Muncie."

"We're going to Muncie too, why not."

"no!"

Zhou Guochang scolded in a stern voice, "Those medicines are for the lives of the soldiers! If the three of you want to take it for yourself, I will fight you hard!"

"Soldiers, I must get to Muncie as soon as possible."

Luke quickly stopped Zhou Guochang and said, "If you need those medicines, just take them! But we have to rush to Muncie, so if you can escort us there, I promise, after we get there, I will let the British** team The chief pays double. No, triple! I guarantee that he will pay three times as much medicine as a ransom in exchange for my life and Zhou's life!"…

"We want to say that we are also going to Muncie, and we can go there together."

While Squad Leader Liang was speaking, he had already stuffed the lunch box full of medicines into the backpack, and then handed the backpack to Luke, but the pistol still in Tan Shouzheng's hand was not returned to Luke.

"Wei Ran, return the burden and medicine to Brother Zhou Guochang." Squad leader Liang stepped back and reminded.

Hearing this, Wei Ran happily put the lunch box in his hand back into the bag and tied it up, and picked up a box of 9mm bullets in his hands without any trace.

Using the cover of the baggage to put the bullets into his pocket, Wei Ran got up and returned the baggage to the other party, then opened the snatch box hanging on his body, and pulled out a Browning high-power pistol of the same style from it. He took out the magazine and took a look.

Until this time, Squad Leader Liang continued, "The main force of the 96th Regiment of the 288th Division is stationed in the southern town. If they go south, they will be pursued by the devils. Whether you want to go south now to buy horses to heal your wounds, or come with us Muncie in the north, we will return the weapons to you after you have made your decision."

Speaking of this, squad leader Liang fumbled for the only silver dollar in his pocket, "Of course, if possible, I hope you can sell me some quinine. Many of the wounded in our company are located in the north of Manxi Town. A village is recuperating, and many of them have malaria."

Hearing this, Zhou Guochang subconsciously glanced at Luke, who was also covered in mud, and the two communicated in English that they thought no one understood.

"Uncle Luke, what should we do?" Zhou Guochang asked in a daze.

"Let's go with them"

Luke gritted his teeth and said, "We must get to Muncie as soon as possible, as long as we get there, we can leave alive."

"Uncle Luke, I've said it many times. I want to stay and fight the devils. After I beat the devils away, I will go to my younger brothers and sisters." Zhou Guochang said seriously in English.

"Zhou, I'm sorry, your sister and brother can't survive."

Luke covered the wound on his arm and reminded, "I saved you from the oxygen light."

"I rescued you"

Zhou Guochang interrupted the other party's sentence again, "If you hadn't robbed that devil reporter, we wouldn't have to be so embarrassed!"

"Well, you saved me."

Luke responded helplessly, "Anyway, I think we can go with the three of them. I want to get there earlier, and if it's what they said, I don't think the town in the south is safe. Let's go , is likely to be caught by those devils."

Seeing Zhou Guochang opened his mouth to say something, Luke sped up his speech and added, "And didn't you listen to that bearded man? In the north of Muncie, there are many people recuperating there, and they must need those medicines more."

"Then...then go to Muncie with them!" Zhou Guochang, who made the decision, took a deep breath and said in Chinese, "We decided to go to Muncie with you."

"This is your gun"

Wei Ran first handed over the wooden gun case in one hand and the Browning pistol in the other hand. …

Seeing this, Squad Leader Liang also winked at Tan Shouzheng, who immediately and reluctantly returned the Browning pistol pinned to his belt to Luke.

It was only at this time that Wei Ran returned the magazine to Zhou Guochang, and at the same time said frankly, "I took a box of bullets from your bag, how about I bought it? I still have some money."

"I'll give you those bullets"

Zhou Guochang put the magazine into the handle of the pistol directly through the magazine, and then put the pistol back into the wooden gun case and hung it on his waist casually.

It wasn't over yet, and then he took the initiative to take out the devil's lunch box from the bag again, and generously took out three bottles of cold pills from it and distributed them to Wei Ran and the other three.

"How much?" When Squad Leader Liang took the cold pill, he took out a polished silver dollar from his pocket.

"Need not"

Zhou Guochang waved his hand, "When we get to the village you mentioned, these medicines will also be provided to them."

"Thank you." Squad leader Liang and even Tan Shouzheng thanked each other in a low voice, and then they all raised their hands in salute.

However, whether it was Zhou Guochang or that Luke, they responded to the salute of the two with grunts coming from their stomachs.

"How long has it been since you guys had dinner?" Wei Ran deliberately changed the topic and asked with a smile.

"all day"

Zhou Guochang grinned stupidly and said, "The plainclothes devils have been chasing us all day since the morning before dawn."

"Be patient, let's go to another place to drink camellia!"

Squad leader Liang pointed to the fish pond on the opposite side of the road, "You two, go and wash off the mud, and we'll hide in the woods later."

"I'll go first!"

Luke said first, "Zhou, keep an eye on the direction we are coming, lest those bastards catch up again!"

Zhou Guochang was stunned when he heard the words, took the backpack and weapon handed over by the other party, nodded and said, "Okay, you go first, I'll keep an eye on it!"

"It's not me"

"To shut up!"

Squad leader Liang gave Tan Shouzheng a pat on the back of the head, making him swallow the last half of his sentence, "Who do you know who came to chase them? You should go wash up quickly, if you have time Just cast a few more nets."

"Scatter it"

Tan Shou was grinning, walked barefoot to the pond on the opposite side of the road again, picked up the fishing net and cast it skillfully, completely ignoring that Luke who was not far away had already jumped into the pond, relying on the uninjured That hand was scrubbing the mud all over his face and head.

Waiting patiently for these two people to wash off the mud and change the clothes and shoes they brought with them, or those that Tan Shouzheng lent them, Wei Ran also noticed that Luke was a man in his forties. A white man of [-] years old, with a shrewd look on his thin face that cannot be concealed.

On the contrary, Zhou Guochang was a young man who looked to be about the same age as Tan Shouzheng, which Wei Ran and others did not expect.

Without daring to waste too much time, a group of five people plus a donkey loaded with loads got into the dense jungle by the roadside.At the same time, Wei Ran, who was responsible for cleaning up the traces after the break, also put on anti-mosquito masks, and sprinkled 666 powder on their bodies to prevent leech.

After walking about a mile into the depths of the jungle, Squad Leader Liang stopped on the edge of a big rock covered with moss.

"Just here, let's rest here and have a meal before leaving."

While talking, Squad Leader Liang had already tied the donkey to a small tree near the rock.Seeing this, Wei Ran and Tan Shouzheng also stepped forward immediately, helping to unload the donkey's load again.

"Stay upright, dig the stove, and cook oil tea!" Squad Leader Liang ordered expectantly, "Wei Ran, take Guochang to the surrounding area to chop some firewood and come back."

"Yes!"

Wei Ran and Qin Shouzheng each responded, and then each took out a hatchet and an engineering shovel from the unloaded back baskets, and started to get busy with their respective jobs.

"Come with me"

Holding a hatchet, Wei Ran greeted Zhou Guochang, and led him towards the direction he came from, searching for any dry firewood that could be used as fuel in the damp jungle.

At the same time, at a bend in the mountain road some distance away from them, four men on horseback carrying guns also saw two groups of horses standing by the stream.

After cautiously observing the surroundings of the two horses, the leader immediately turned the horse's head, waved the horse's side, led the other three, and ran towards the fork that they had just passed half an hour ago.