War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1761 The Trolley Problem

“We came at the perfect time.”

Before Joseph finished his words, the three of them had already run out of the warehouse in no particular order.

However, the fog outside was too thick. Although they could hear the sound of gunfire in the distance, they could not see the direction of the battlefield at all.

"Be prepared. I'm afraid the wounded will be brought in soon."

Joseph said worriedly, then turned back to the warehouse and began to disinfect the medical equipment he brought with the charcoal fire in the fireplace.

Although Wei Ran was deprived of his medical ability, his experience and experience would not be taken away, so he immediately took Yu Yanlin to clean the warehouse and prepared more beds in advance with those hay bags.

However, although they could hear the faint sound of gunfire in the thick fog, the war never spread to this side, and naturally no wounded were sent to their warehouse.

“This is great news”

Joseph said, sitting in a chair by the fireplace, "This means that we may be advancing in the direction of the enemy."

“I hope it’s good news.”

Wei Ran sighed secretly, there would be no good news in the next few days.

Just at this moment, a soldier with muddy feet walked in, attracting the attention of the three people.

"Are you hurt?" Joseph asked immediately.

"No, there isn't."

"I want to write a letter home," the soldier said in off-tune French. "Can I write a letter here?"

"Of course you can." Wei Ran gave up his seat to the other party, "Where are you from?"

"Thank you"

The soldier sat where Wei Ran had just sat, and took the letter paper, envelope, and pen that Yu Yanlin handed over. At the same time, he answered in not very fluent French, "Britain, I'm from Britain."

"We can communicate in English," Wei Ran smiled and switched to English.

“Finally I met a postman who could speak English”

The soldier immediately switched to English and stood up to shake hands with Wei Ran. "There are almost as many people who speak French and German as there are who speak Spanish here."

At this point, he took the initiative and proudly introduced himself, "My name is White, I'm from London, and I'm a member of the Communist Party."

"I am Victor"

Wei Ran shook hands with the other party, and then briefly introduced Yu Yanlin and Joseph beside him.

After getting to know each other, White sat down again and wrote a letter home. He said, "I have wanted to write a letter home for a long time, but after the heavy rain a few days ago, the trenches have been very muddy. My letter paper has become damp, and there is no dry place to write the letter."

"Is there something important that you are in such a hurry to write back?"

Yu Yanlin stood at the side and took a photo of him while asking in English. His English had become much more proficient.

“My wife is about to give birth.”

White looked up at the camera and said happily, "She wrote to me and asked me what to name my son or daughter."

“This is great news”

Wei Ran took over the topic, "Have you thought of a name?"

"Of course!"

White said, "Colin or Grace! To be honest, I want a daughter. I already have two sons, so I hope the name Grace will work."

“You will definitely have a daughter.”

Wei Ran sent his blessings with a smile, and also raised his camera and pressed the shutter towards him, and by the way, he also took a picture of Yu Yanlin who was adjusting the camera next to him.

“Thank you for your blessings!”

As White spoke, he wrote quickly on the letter paper.

He hadn't finished writing a letter when two more soldiers came in one after the other. No need to ask, they must have come here to write letters and warm up.

In the rush of the approaching war, the not-so-large table and even the fireplace in the warehouse were filled with soldiers busy writing letters. Wei Ran and Yu Yanlin had to ask Joseph for help to distribute paper, pens and envelopes to everyone.

Amid the rubbing sounds of pen tips and letter paper, envelopes filled with thoughts were handed to Wei Ranhe and Yu Yanlin. The soldiers who had finished writing the letters, like White who arrived first, simply turned around and walked towards the muddy trenches outside.

"Aren't either of you going to post your letters?"

Wei Ran asked Yu Yanlin and Joseph who were sitting side by side on a hay bale.

"I'm not in a hurry yet," Yu Yanlin said first, this time in Chinese.

"Let's wait until the battle is not so dangerous." Joseph also used Russian which only Wei Ran could understand.

Hearing this, Wei Ran opened his mouth and stopped trying to persuade them. He just threw a few more pieces of firewood into the fireplace, trying to make the warehouse warmer. Then he walked a few steps away, raised his camera and pressed the shutter towards the two people.

During this somewhat boring wait, the sounds of gunfire grew closer, the sky grew darker, and fewer and fewer people wrote letters.

Finally, when the kerosene lamp was placed on the table, a whistle for issuing orders was heard from outside, and the first wounded person was sent into the warehouse.

"What's the situation ahead?" Wei Ran asked the stretcher bearer who was carrying the wounded.

'Our front collapsed'

The stretcher bearer said in despair, "We don't have enough ammunition and supplies. If it weren't for the thick fog outside, I'm afraid more people would have died."

After saying this, the stretcher bearer ran out quickly.

"Is there anything we can do?" Yu Yanlin asked.

"Arrange the wounded and make this place run as efficiently as possible."

Wei Ran sighed and walked a few steps away. He had already started checking the props that could be taken out of the metal book.

That night, from time to time, wounded soldiers were assigned to the operating room where only Joseph was busy. After the operating room was occupied, Wei Ran and Yu Yanlin carried the wounded soldiers along the muddy communication trench to another building in the distance.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

In the second half of the night, just before dawn, everyone tensed up with the sound of a series of machine gun fire - the enemy was attacking!

"stretcher!"

As Wei Ran spoke, he had already picked up the kerosene lamp and lit it, and ran out at the same time as Joseph.

"Joseph, you stay and wait for the wounded!"

Wei Ran greeted him in Russian first, then switched to Chinese, "Yanlin! Hurry up!"

"Coming!" Yu Yanlin, putting on his boots, ran over immediately.

"Follow me!" Wei Ran said, and he risked his life by jumping over the trench and running straight to the front line.

Although this would involve huge risks, the speed would be much faster. Most importantly, Wei Ran knew that the enemy's counterattack might be quick at this time, but it would basically be directed at machine gun fire.

In addition, the fog was so thick at this time, which was enough for him to take a chance.

The two men rushed all the way to the front line and immediately noticed the wounded wailing around a bomb crater.

"Which one should we lift first?" Yu Yanlin asked.

"this!"

Wei Ran ran straight to the side of a wounded man. Half of his hand was blown off, but he still had the strength to shout.

“This hurts more.”

"This one will definitely survive! Hurry!"

Wei Ran used gauze to tie up the wound of the wounded man and shouted out a cruel fact. Yu Yanlin had to give up the seriously injured and unconscious wounded man and ran over.

"Carry it away!"

As Wei Ran spoke, he helped lift the wounded man onto Yu Yanlin's shoulders.

Then, he held up an oil lamp and made a quick observation around here, then picked up another person whose injuries were not as serious, grasped the wound with his hand, carried him on his shoulder and ran back.

When he carried the wounded in, Joseph and a doctor he had never seen before were already busy treating the wounded.

But at this time, more and more wounded people were sent to this not-so-big barn.

"Victor"

Joseph, who was doing the suturing, asked without looking up, "Can you help me?"

"What can I do for you?" Wei Ran asked.

“Triage,” Joseph asked. “You know what I mean?”

"I, I know." Wei Ran sighed, adjusted the small oil lamp in his hand that once belonged to Clermont to the brightest level, and looked at the wounded one by one.

He was indeed deprived of medical skills, but this did not prevent him from making accurate assessments of the injuries.

"Let's carry this one away," Wei Ran said, pointing at the first wounded man.

"Comrade, what are you talking about?!"

The stretcher bearer standing nearby asked in disbelief, "He's still alive!"

"My chest collapsed and I lost control of my bowels and bladder."

Wei Ran replied calmly, "He can't survive. Even if we can save him, it will keep the two doctors busy for several hours, but we don't have that many doctors here."

"So. So. give up on him?" Yu Yanlin, who happened not to leave, asked in disbelief.

"This will allow others to get treatment and survive." Wei Ran said with a hard heart, "Carry it away."

After a brief silence, the young stretcher bearer picked up the body, turned and walked out of the barn and into the thick fog before dawn.

"this."

Wei Ran was stunned for a moment before making his decision. He knew this person. His name was White, and he was from London, England. His wife was about to give birth, and he named the unborn child Colin or Grace.

But at this time, a large wound had been opened in his abdominal cavity, and a considerable part of his intestines had flowed out, especially his stomach, which had been torn apart.

"Grace"

White forced a difficult smile and weakly murmured a name that might not have been born yet.

"Grace!"

Wei Ran nodded vigorously, "You will have a daughter, her name is Grace."

White nodded slightly, then closed his eyes with relief.

"Carry him away," Wei Ran said, and walked towards the next wounded person.

After one difficult decision after another, the wounded were either carried to the operating table or carried out of the barn.

Yu Yanlin and more stretcher bearers also carried more wounded soldiers over. After being "judged" by Wei Ran, who was at the door with an expressionless face, they sent the wounded soldiers to where they should go.

Amidst everyone's busyness, the sound of gunfire continued from before dawn to dawn, and then started again after a brief silence.

During this foggy day, Wei Ran stood guard at the door of the barn from beginning to end, doing the work of triage. Yu Yanlin also found a fixed partner, and time and time again they sent the wounded who deserved to be rescued into the barn, and rushed into the thick fog again and again.

Whenever a wounded person was judged to be beyond saving, he would take a few seconds to quickly take a photo of the person and then carry them away.

On this battlefield where bullets and blood are flying everywhere, no one can tell whether it is more cruel to fight on the front line or to watch the wounded who are carried back as having no value for treatment and have to be abandoned.

Or maybe the decision to give up on treatment is even more cruel - there is only crueler things here.

In this seemingly endless day, Wei Ran stood guard in the mud at the door of the barn from beginning to end.

Towards evening, the sound of gunfire finally stopped, and a little later, the last wounded was carried into the barn.

"Postman, is there any living postman here?"

Just at this moment, a soldier ran in and shouted.

"Have!"

Yu Yanlin responded very quickly, "I am Louis, the battlefield postman."

"Go to the command post!"

Before the soldier finished speaking, he urged Yu Yanlin to run out with him.

“You did a great job”

Almost at the same time, Joseph, who had finished the last operation, also walked out with a staggering gait while speaking to Wei Ran.

"You're not bad either," Wei Ran praised truthfully. When it comes to veterinary medicine, they are both on the same track.

"You are the first one to praise my medical skills."

Before Joseph finished his words, he had already unzipped his pants, closed his eyes in pleasure, and began to urinate.

"The battlefield needs this kind of technology." Wei Ran also took out his bird and planned to take a pee. He didn't even have time to pee.

"You used to do triage?" Joseph asked. "Are you a doctor, too?"

“I did triage.”

Wei Ran sighed, "This is as cruel a job as surgery without anesthesia."

"yes"

Joseph still closed his eyes, "We are saving people, but we are also killing people."

"Ask you a question?" Wei Ran said to himself.

"what is the problem?"

"A madman has tied five innocent people to the tracks at Minsk railway station. The train is about to arrive."

Wei Ran raised a trolley problem that had not appeared in this era, "As long as you turn the wrench, the train can drive to another track and save the five people. Will you turn the track wrench?"

"Of course," Joseph replied as a matter of course.

"What if there is an innocent person tied to the other track?" Wei Ran continued to ask.

"What the hell is that question?"

Joseph shook his bird and answered as a matter of course while tying his belt, "As long as there are less than five people tied up over there, I will save them."

"But for the one who was killed"

“I never mind going to hell”

Joseph said indifferently, "But I saved five other people, which is much better than doing nothing. Isn't that our job?"

"Yes, isn't that our job?" Wei Ran sighed.

"We came to Spain to turn that damn wrench"

Joseph took out a pack of cigarettes, took out one, lit it, took a deep puff and said, "Who can guarantee that there are no innocent people among those French smokers?

But someone has to go to hell to turn the track wrench, and I'm willing to be that person.

I want to see what God will decide when the time comes. Will he let me go to hell because I killed an innocent person, or will he let me go to heaven because I saved five innocent people?"

“Maybe God will say”

Wei Ran spread his hands, "Tie that bastard who asked the question to the track, and I will drive the train myself to run him over!"

“This is also a solution.”

Joseph laughed and agreed, but then fell silent again.

After a moment, he said gratefully, "Thank you, I feel much better now."

“I’m glad you can say that.”

Before Wei Ran finished speaking, Yu Yanlin came over on a motorcycle from nowhere and said hurriedly, "Victor, give me the letters quickly. I'm going to deliver the letters to the 12th Brigade. I'll also deliver everyone's letters to the post office."

"Hold on!"

Wei Ran said this, turned around and ran into the barn, handing a messenger bag containing letters and a submachine gun to Yu Yanlin.

"Be careful on the road," Wei Ran said as he raised his camera.

"You too!"

Before Yu Yanlin finished speaking, he had already ridden away on the motorcycle.

"Do you think he'll come back?"

Joseph said worriedly, "Why do I suddenly have a feeling that I will never see him again?"

"Maybe"

Wei Ran sighed. Perhaps they really would never meet again - they were about to be surrounded, almost completely wiped out, the kind of encirclement with only about 40 people left surviving.

Then

Wei Ran looked at Joseph beside him. Will he survive?

In other words, Joseph is one of the few who survived, while Yu Yanlin is one of the few who survived.

There are already 24 stars on that flag, who will be the next one?