War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1747 Street Fighting

After another casual chat about food, the three of them rode to Carabanchel.

It was also during this casual chat that Wei Ran unexpectedly learned that whether Yu Yanlin went to study abroad in Germany or to work and study in Paris, France, he had never "eaten out".

According to him, he has always cooked with a fellow villager, which saves a lot of money. From time to time, they even act as guest chefs for classmates who miss home to earn some extra money.

Although his experience of studying abroad was far from what he thought the rich young masters of the Republic of China would experience, Wei Ran became more and more impressed by the simple-minded Yu Yanlin.

After hurrying all the way, when they finally returned to the door of the building that served as the command post, Wei Ran breathed a sigh of relief as the fighting had not yet broken out.

Still waiting outside with Yu Yanlin, Clemont hurried in with the telegram whose content was unknown and the messenger bag full of letters and parcels.

Not long after, he ran out again with the messenger bag, and said helplessly, "We have to find their postman to deliver these things."

"You really know how to order people around," Yu Yanlin said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"no way"

Clermont was used to this. "In international travel, postmen have always been a seriously understaffed position. After all, our comrades come from all over the world, and postmen must master at least three or four commonly used languages."

"Is this also the postman we are looking for?" Wei Ran asked as he rode his bicycle.

"That's right"

"Her name is Viola, and she speaks English, German, Italian, French, and Romansh," Clermont said.

"She? A woman?" Yu Yanlin asked in surprise.

"At least that's what the command center told me," Clemont replied, "I haven't met him either."

"So how do we find her?" Yu Yanlin asked a stupid question.

"Hey! Where's your mailman Viola?"

Clermont stopped a soldier dressed in International Brigade uniform and asked in French, while patting the mail package hanging on the bicycle frame, which was also a response to Yu Yanlin's question just now.

"there!"

The soldier raised his hand, pointed in a direction and responded in French.

"Thank you," the three of them thanked in unison and continued riding their bikes forward.

Under the guidance of the International Brigade or Republican soldiers they met along the way, the three men rode their bicycles to a low stone house.

On the walls of this house, the words "Fighting Post Office" were written in red, yellow and purple chalk in various languages.

"Is Comrade Viola here?" Clemont asked as he walked in with a messenger bag.

"I am"

A woman wrapped in a blanket stood up and spoke by the fireplace in the stone house.

The petite woman looked to be around 30 years old and wore a pair of glasses. On the table next to her was not only a Swiss horsehair bag of pepper and salt, but also an MP34 submachine gun and a telescope.

"I am Clermont, the postman of the 11th Brigade"

Clemont shook the man's hand, placed the messenger bag on the wooden table and said, "The post office asked me to deliver these letters and packages to you while I was delivering the message to the command post."

"Thank you!"

Viola said gratefully, "I was just about to deliver the mail here at noon."

"We'll be back soon and can help you deliver the letter," Clemont offered.

"Thanks again!"

As Viola spoke, she had already opened the brown-red horsehair bag and took out a small bundle of neatly tied letters with hemp rope and handed it over. "I make this trip every day, so there aren't many letters."

“We are pretty much the same.”

Clemont took the letter and said, "But there are many letters and packages arriving every day."

"Same"

Viola asked as she put the letters from the messenger bag that Clemont brought into her horsehair bag, "Did any fighting happen there last night? I saw flares going up in your direction from the rooftop."

"Indeed, we were fighting all night yesterday."

Clemont replied, "It cost us a great deal to drive out the Farsi over there."

“Congratulations!”

Viola said sincerely, "At the same time, we also mourn for the comrades who sacrificed their lives."

"Thank you"

As Clemont spoke, he took the backpack that Wei Ran had originally been carrying, stuffed the letter that the other party handed to him into it, and carried it on his back.

After saying goodbye to the Swiss female postman named Viola, the three of them got on their bicycles and headed back. It was only at this moment that Wei Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little tense.

"When we get back to the city, I'll take you to my uncle's house and we'll eat there first."

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Before Clemont could finish his words, a series of explosions suddenly came from behind the three of them!

"crunch-"

The three of them stopped at the same time, holding the handlebars and turning their heads to look behind them.

However, in just a short while, the stone house with the words "Battlefield Post Office" written in various languages ​​had collapsed by half!

"Go back and save people!"

Clemont turned the bike around without thinking, then pedaled hard and rushed out.

Almost at the same time, Yu Yanlin also turned the front of his bicycle.

“I knew I couldn’t escape.”

Wei Ran muttered something secretly, then changed direction and pedaled hard to rush back.

They had to hurry at this time. The previous wave of artillery shells was obviously just a calibration shot. They had to rescue the people before the other side fired the second wave of artillery shells!

Just as the three of them jumped out of the car one after another, the sound of a high-speed artillery shell flying through the sky was heard.

Fortunately and unfortunately, the shell hit them from behind. If they had not come back to rescue people, they would have been blown to pieces. Although they had managed to escape, it was clear that they were going to be trapped here.

Having said that, now is obviously not the time to think about these things. The stone house has been half collapsed by the explosion, and the collapsed roof has caught fire.

"Viola! Are you in there? Viola!" Clemont shouted while he and Wei Ran and Yu Yanlin dug open the collapsed stone wall as quickly as possible.

"Yes! Ahem! I'm still alive!"

In the collapsed stone house, Viola responded loudly while coughing and suppressing the pain.

"Stay away!"

As Wei Ran spoke, he raised his foot and kicked hard on the stuck wooden door.

"Crack!"

With just one kick, the wooden board on the wooden door broke, and Clement and Yu Yanlin's eyes widened.

"Crack! Crash!"

As Wei Ran kicked the second and third times, a small hole barely big enough for someone to get through was opened on the stuck wooden door.

Pushing away Yu Yanlin who was trying to get in, Wei Ran crawled over and got in. Following the billowing smoke, he found Viola who was trapped under the table.

"Here, take this out first."

When Viola saw Wei Ran come in, she immediately handed over the horsehair bag she was holding tightly in her arms.

"How are you doing?"

Wei Ran took the horsehair bag and put it aside, then used his back to lift the table that was crushed by the collapsed wall.

"Fortunately!"

As Viola spoke, she gritted her teeth and supported herself on the floor with her hands, pulling out her legs that were trapped little by little.

"I'll take your bag, just climb out now!"

Seeing that the other party still remembered her broken bag, Wei Ran hurriedly urged her, the smoke in the room was getting thicker and thicker, and stones and tiles were starting to fall from the top of their heads!

Hearing this, Viola glanced at Wei Ran, turned over with difficulty, and crawled towards the door.

At the same time, Wei Ran carefully put down the table that he had propped up with his back, reached out and took the other person's backpack, and picked up the submachine gun by the way.

With the help of Clement and Yu Yanlin outside the door, Viola was dragged out by them, and Wei Ran followed closely behind.

"Crash!" Almost at the same time, the roof of the stone house collapsed completely.

However, the enemy's artillery bombardment had not ended at this time. Instead, the sound of fierce gunfire was heard from the front line.

"Find a place to hide first!" Wei Ran shouted without waiting to get up.

Hearing this, Yu Yanlin immediately carried Viola on his back with the help of Clement, and the three of them trotted into another two-story building not far away.

Finding a corner far away from the window but close enough to the door to hide, Wei Ran put down the backpack and submachine gun in his hands, and quickly closed the thick curtains. Then, with the help of the light coming in from the door, he helped Viola check the injury on her leg.

"How is it?" Clement asked nervously. He had experienced Wei Ran's cooking skills.

"It's not a big problem, just a dislocated left knee."

Wei Ran spoke in Spanish amid the rumbling of artillery fire, and then, seeing Clement's weird look on his face, he switched to French and instructed him and Yu Yanlin to help Viola turn over and hold down her back.

"Viola, are you married?" Wei Ran asked in French.

"certainly"

Viola, who had no idea what was going to happen, shook the wedding ring on her finger and said, "My husband is serving on the front line. Ah——!"

With an unexpected scream, Wei Ran held her calf with both hands and repositioned her knee joint as quickly as possible.

"It's already healed, let her go."

Wei Ran said, having already stood up and taking a step back, "Let her get up by herself."

"What's your name?" Viola asked tremblingly with cold sweat on her forehead.

"Victor" Wei Ran replied, "My Chinese name is"

"boom!"

A nearby explosion interrupted Wei Ran's self-introduction, and all the windows in the room were shattered.

Fortunately, thanks to the curtains that Wei Ran had just drawn, the broken glass did not cause any harm to them. However, the dust that fell from the ceiling above their heads made it impossible for them to open their eyes for a while.

"Can you say your Chinese name again?" Viola said loudly.

"Wei Ran! My Chinese name is Wei Ran!"

"I remember your name!"

Viola responded in a hoarse voice, then tried to get up while looking at Yu Yanlin, "What about you! Sir or comrade! What should I call you?"

"Louis!"

Yu Yanlin responded loudly, "My Chinese name is Yu Yanlin!"

"I'd better call you Victor and Louis!" Viola said apologetically while holding on to the wall and trying to move carefully, "Your Chinese names are a little difficult for me to pronounce!"

"no problem!"

Wei Ran and Yu Yanlin answered in French in unison.

"Comrades, is this the time to talk about this?" Clemont asked loudly.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Viola asked back. This woman was much calmer than Clement and Yu Yanlin.

"All right"

Clemont spread his hands, "There's really nothing else we can do."

"You should leave quickly once the shelling is over," Viola said.

“It’s not as simple as you think”

Wei Ran squatted at a distance of a fist from the wall, lit a cigarette and said, "The people on the other side have blocked this area with artillery fire. I'm afraid they have begun to surround and attack this side."

"Looks like we have to prepare for battle," Clemont said as he pulled out the pistol from his waist and pulled the slide to load the bullet.

"Which direction should we attack next?"

As Yu Yanlin spoke, he also took out the submachine gun he had been carrying and loaded it with bullets.

"Victor, do you have any suggestions?" Viola asked, pulling a bayonet from her bag and attaching it to her submachine gun.

"I'd like to hear your advice first," Wei Ran asked with a smile. He had noticed that this woman in her 30s might not be a rookie.

“I don’t have any suggestions”

Viola said, "I'm going to the front. My husband is there. I want to fight with him, and I have to collect the soldiers' letters before the shells destroy the mailboxes."

"Then let's go together"

Clemont said as a matter of course, "We are here to fight with Farsi. Fighting is fighting no matter where we are. What about you?"

"I have no opinion"

Yu Yanlin said, "But Viola, does your foot really not affect your movement?"

“It hurts a bit, but it doesn’t affect anything.” Viola shook her head and continued to move her knee, which was still a little sore after the reduction.

"You don't seem to be a rookie," Wei Ran asked bluntly. This is a very important question.

"Before coming here, my husband was a professional soldier, and I often participated in militia training. He and I even met through militia training." Viola answered frankly.

"So are we going to act together later?" Wei Ran asked the second question.

"Are you going to help me?" Viola asked back just as bluntly.

"The enemy's artillery fire will only continue to extend towards the urban area"

Wei Ran calmly analyzed, "It would be more dangerous to go back at this time, so why don't we join the battle together? Frankly speaking, the training time they have received together may not even reach half a month."

"no problem"

Viola readily agreed. As for hiding here and waiting for the battle to be over, this was an option they all ignored. They came here to fight.

"Give me your backpack," Wei Ran offered, "it will lighten your burden."

"Thank you"

Viola did not refuse Wei Ran's kindness and handed over the backpack on her shoulder.

The backpack was definitely not light after being filled with letters, but it was obvious that he could not convince the other party to temporarily drop the backpack and risk the letters being destroyed. Not to mention Viola, I'm afraid Clement would not agree.

After a while, the shelling had not ended, but it had begun to extend towards the city, and the sound of the exchange of fire outside had become clearer and clearer. At this moment, a rhythmic whistle sounded from outside.

With the sound of whistles, the sound of gunfire gradually became sparse, and they even saw the enemy rushing into the community with pride!

"Why were they let in?" Clemont asked in disbelief while hiding behind the window.

"Close the door and beat the dog"

Yu Yanlin almost subconsciously whispered, "Where did this idiot come from?"

"Their artillery will stop soon," Viola said confidently, "Once their people come in, their artillery will not be able to fire."

“Be prepared”

As Wei Ran spoke, he took out the Nagant revolver under the cover of his coat.

The fact was just as they expected. When the enemy entered the community almost brazenly, the shelling stopped one after another. Immediately afterwards, fierce gunfire was heard in every corner of the community.

"Walk"

Before Wei Ran finished his words, he had already flashed out of the building and ran towards the front line along the corner of the wall.

Behind him, Yu Yanlin and Viola were holding submachine guns and looking left and right vigilantly, and finally there was Clement, who also held a pistol.

"Viola, which direction is your husband in?" Wei Ran asked as he stopped at a narrow intersection.

A barricade had been built with sandbags at the intersection, and the windows on both sides had been sealed with bricks. At this moment, a number of soldiers and civilians were hiding behind various shelters in one direction, using various weapons to engage in a messy but effective exchange of fire with the incoming enemies.

“Just in that direction”

Viola pointed worriedly in the direction where the enemy was attacking. "My husband and the mailboxes are all in that direction."

"Then we have to fight them off first before we can find your husband and the mailbox." Wei Ran said as he turned around and rushed into a two-story building on the side of the road.

This is a street fight, so of course we have to shoot outwards from inside the building. This is common sense.