War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1882: A Fight to the Death

"kill!"

With a roar, the soldiers in this position jumped out of the trenches one after another.

In terms of terrain, they have the advantage of being on high ground.

But just like every battlefield in China at this time, they were not at an advantage in terms of the quality of their troops or their weapons and equipment.

At this time on the battlefield, there were not only cooks like Wei Ran and his two companions fighting with broadswords. Some of them were not even holding broadswords, but axes, engineering shovels, and even carrying poles.

Among those who were holding rifles, some did not even have bayonets on the muzzles of their guns, and this was not a minority.

And those with bayonets on their guns.
Wei Ran subconsciously grabbed a handful of sand when he jumped out of the trench and sighed inwardly. Even with a bayonet, it was still shorter than the Japanese weapons, fatally shorter.

Before engaging the enemy, Wei Ran carefully observed the situation outside the trench.

Although we couldn't smell much of the stench of corpses because we were standing upwind, we could see many corpses among the charging Japanese soldiers and even under their feet.

The corpses included those of the Japanese and those of our own soldiers, and our own soldiers clearly made up the majority.

Just from these, Wei Ran could conclude that this battle had probably been going on for several days. He noticed that some of the corpses had turned black and even swollen.

But looking at the battlefield again, Wei Ran suddenly understood why hand-to-hand combat took place here.

In terms of terrain, this battlefield is a steep slope less than two hundred meters wide.

In terms of equipment, they could only throw the last round of grenades. There were no extra grenades in the ammunition depot, let alone extra ammunition. But look at the other side throwing grenades like they were free.
If only they could distribute a basket of grenades to each person, if only they had enough mortars to suppress the enemy's grenade launchers, even if they had enough anti-aircraft machine guns to shoot down all enemy planes.

Then there is really no need for hand-to-hand combat.

But there was none of these. Even though the terrain was too steep for the Japanese to attack from above,

Except for the small piece of flat ground in front of the position,
Wei Ran sighed inwardly. If he went any further, he would probably need to squat down in order to maintain a relatively stable fighting posture.

In short, this is just a matter of using hand-to-hand combat to offset the enemy's firepower advantage at the huge cost of 5 for 1.

If we ask the defenders at that time why they chose to fight hand-to-hand combat, it would be as stupid as "Why not eat meat porridge?"

From the commander to the cooks, those guarding here wanted to throw a stack of Dongfeng 41 and a few carloads of 107 rockets at the Japanese on the opposite side, but they had to have the special ones?

If we ask the Japanese why they had to fight hand-to-hand combat, the answer would inevitably be a bit crude - even if they fought hand-to-hand combat, they still had an absolute advantage, and it could save ammunition.

Amidst all this helplessness and the choice between the lesser of two evils, the hand-to-hand combat still began, and it began again.

While he was daydreaming, Cheng Bingquan and He Wenniu followed him and pounced on the enemy closest to them, who had just dodged a grenade explosion and got up.

Just as the opponent subconsciously raised his Type 38 rifle with a bayonet and was about to charge due to muscle memory, Wei Ran also raised his hand and threw a handful of sand from the trench over to him.

Pushed by the height and wind, the sand and gravel landed firmly on the opponent's face, causing it and the Japanese soldier behind it to squint their eyes.

He easily used the blade of his sword to push aside the thrusting bayonet. After Wei Ran advanced to within one meter of the opponent, the sword in his hand had already scratched the fingers of the opponent's left hand holding the gun, and then he placed it on the left side of his neck and lightly scratched it.

Just as the sharp blade was stained red with smelly blood, Cheng Bingquan had already rushed to the side of the dying Japanese soldier and slashed at another Japanese soldier who was also blinded behind him.

It was indeed a cut, not a big one, and not even with much force, but because of the weight of the blade and the sharp edge, it easily cut through the uniform on the opponent's right arm, cut through the skin, and even injured the bone.

Under the stimulation of severe pain, the Japanese soldier's thrusting action began to go wrong. At this time, He Wenniu, who deliberately lagged behind, rushed over, squatted forward, and stabbed the opponent in the neck.

Just when the blow was about to succeed, He Wenniu simply let go of the knife in his hand and directly snatched the Type 38 rifle with a bayonet from the Japanese soldier.

At the same time, Wei Ran, who was at the end, had already put the anti-Japanese broadsword back into the metal book, and also snatched the Type 38 rifle from the first Japanese soldier's hand. Together with He Wenniu, he caught up with Cheng Bingquan, and the situation became centered around Cheng Bingquan holding the broadsword.

This is a trap, a trap with Cheng Bingquan as bait.

"That's a good idea!" He Wenniu shouted and praised, but no one knew who he was praising.

"Don't die!" Cheng Bingquan rushed towards the next Japanese soldier while speaking.

If it weren't for the handful of sand that Wei Ran just threw, this Japanese soldier and the two Japanese soldiers who were blinded would have formed a V-shaped battle group.

Almost at the moment when the Japanese soldier subconsciously raised his gun to stab Cheng Bingquan's chest, Cheng Bingquan suddenly squatted down and narrowly avoided the opponent's stab.

There was no need for any reminder. Wei Ran and He Wenniu raised their guns and chopped down, using the tips of their bayonets to scratch the right elbow and left wrist of the devil respectively.

Under the stimulation of severe pain, the Japanese soldier let out a howl, and at this time Cheng Bingquan had already slashed the opponent's shoulder with a knife.

"puff!"

Wei Ran and He Wenniu thrust forward again, piercing the left and right ribs of the devil with their bayonets. The area was lethal enough and soft enough, making it easy to stab and pull out the bayonet, and the death process was painful and lasting enough.

At this point, Wei Ran was completely certain that although these two were cooks, they were definitely not rookies.

There was no need to draw the sword. Cheng Bingquan stood up, reached out and grasped the handguard of the Type 38 rifle and gently poked it. The Japanese soldier fell with his head raised, freed from the two bayonets, and rolled down the slope.

"boom!"

Wei Ran also did not waste the slight "damping feeling" provided by the other party's bayonet. He quickly pushed the empty shell out of the barrel and immediately loaded a bullet into it. When Cheng Bingquan turned the Type 38 rifle he had snatched, he pulled the trigger at a Japanese soldier who had already started to charge in front of him.

"boom!"

Only a second apart, He Wenniu also pulled the trigger. The two bullets, one killed the enemy that was close at hand, and the other killed another Japanese soldier who was teaming up with this Japanese soldier.

After two shots, only one was left in the three-headed Japanese group in the shape of a Chinese character "品".

Seeing this, Cheng Bingquan, who had just turned the gun around, immediately pulled the bolt. This action really hit the Japanese soldier. It immediately raised its rifle and started to stab Cheng Bingquan, who was half a body taller than it, with a crazy look on its face.

"Snapped!"

He Wenniu smashed the Type 38 rifle in his hand down hard, knocking the opponent's thrust off track, and used the curved hook on the bayonet to catch the opponent's bayonet.

"puff!"

Wei Ran, who had already circled to the side, took advantage of the opportunity when the opponent was forced to raise the muzzle of the gun and stabbed it, easily penetrating its liver.

When he withdrew his bayonet again, Cheng Bingquan had already loaded the bullets and even carried his big knife on his shoulder.

Without any communication or pause, the three continued to rush towards the next group of three Japanese devils.

"Bang!" This time, Cheng Bingquan pulled the trigger while thrusting.

At such a close distance, the shot hit the opponent's neck even without aiming. After cutting the opponent's neck, the bullet even hit the eye of another Japanese soldier behind it.

At the same time, Wei Ran had already blocked the enemy in front of him, and at the same time released the Type 38 rifle in his hand and lunged forward, leaving a stamp on the opponent's sternum.

Just as he took away the Japanese soldier's rifle, Cheng Bingquan, who had pretended to attack, withdrew his rifle with the help of the recoil, and immediately stabbed the Japanese soldier who was fighting with He Wenniu in the side.

At the same time, Wei Ran had already prepared to load the newly stolen rifle, and even took out his camera, moving around while hurriedly pressing the shutter.

"Plague cow! You are fine!"

Just as he put away his camera, Cheng Bingquan beside him shouted anxiously.

Subconsciously turning his head to look over, Wei Ran raised his gun and pulled the trigger!

"boom!"

Amid the sharp sound of gunfire, the Japanese soldier who had stabbed the bayonet into He Wenniu's chest was shot in the forehead and fell on his back, and in the process he pulled out the bayonet that had been stabbed into He Wenniu's chest.

But at this time, more devils had already rushed over. Neither he nor Cheng Bingquan had time to take another look at He Wenniu before they had to deal with the bayonets coming at them.

"Fuck you, you immortal!"

With a shout, He Wenniu, whose chest was pierced, jumped down the slope and threw himself on the Japanese soldier who was fighting with Cheng Bingquan. He opened his mouth that was stained with blood and bit the Japanese soldier's neck with his teeth stained with his own blood, drawing blood.

"Wenniu!" Amidst Cheng Bingquan's desperate shouts, He Wenniu rolled down with the Japanese soldiers he was hugging and biting tightly, and even knocked over a few Japanese soldiers who were unable to dodge in the process.

"Crush your mother!"

While cursing, Cheng Bingquan threw the Type 38 rifle in his hand directly at the enemy diagonally below, then jumped down risking his life, pulled out the big knife that was carried on a thin hemp rope, and chopped it hard on the enemy's neck.

At the same time, Wei Ran stabbed the bayonet into the arm of the remaining Japanese soldier, and directly pushed the stolen rifle through the flesh of the arm and stabbed it into the opponent's throat.

But he knew that trouble was coming. Without one person to cooperate with him, especially after Cheng Bingquan became furious and separated from him, their danger would greatly increase.

As Wei Ran took a few quick steps down the slope, before he could load the Type 38 rifle in his hand with bullets, another group of three Japanese soldiers set their sights on him.

"Oh!"

Before the three Japanese soldiers could charge, Wei Ran kicked out, and the dirt and weeds under his feet splashed out. The Type 38 rifle in his hand also hit one of the Japanese soldiers like a javelin.

With this little trick, the big knife that suddenly appeared in Wei Ran's hand flew out and spun and hit the face of another Japanese soldier.

At the same time, he jumped to the side of the third Japanese soldier, held the opponent's rifle with his right hand, and stabbed the Mauser bayonet into the opponent's ribs with his left hand, accurately piercing the liver.

When he was turning the handle of the knife and pulling out the bayonet, he found that Cheng Bingquan had been surrounded by three Japanese devils. If it were not for the steep terrain that gave him room to retreat, he would probably have been killed.

He kicked the corpse in front of him, and then put away his bayonet and anti-Japanese sword. After that, he neither advanced nor retreated, but picked up a Type 38 rifle, loaded it with bullets, aimed at the devil in front of Cheng Bingquan, and pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

After the gunshot, a Japanese soldier who was about to attack Cheng Bingquan suddenly raised his head, was shot in the nose and fell down.

At this time, Cheng Bingquan had already smashed the bayonet of one of the Japanese soldiers with a knife.

Although this knife failed to cut off the opponent's bayonet, Cheng Bingquan took the opportunity to get closer to the opponent, and almost pressed the big knife with a gap in his hand on the opponent's neck and pulled it hard.

"boom!"

At the same time that Cheng Bingquan killed the Japanese soldier, Wei Ran fired his second bullet and hit the Japanese soldier who had turned around and pointed his bayonet at Cheng Bingquan.

Just as Wei Ran was loading the bullet into the gun again, Cheng Bingquan, who had only glanced back hastily, has already stood firm, leaned his sword against his side, picked up a bloodstained Type 38 rifle, and prepared for a bayonet fight.

"Crack!"

At the same time, Wei Ran loaded the rifle in his hand and stood aside. Then he bent down and pulled two grenades from the Japanese corpse at his feet. He knocked the grenades on the Japanese helmets one after another and then threw them out with force.

Without waiting for the two grenades to fall to the ground and explode, he had already picked up the second rifle, loaded it with bullets, and aimed at the Japanese who were approaching Cheng Bingquan.

"Boom! Boom!"

The two grenades exploded one after another, and several Japanese soldiers within the affected area fell down immediately.

However, almost at the same time Wei Ran pulled the trigger at a Japanese soldier beside Cheng Bingquan, he felt a sudden burning sensation and pain as the recoil pushed his shoulder socket.

Looking down at his chest, Wei Ran's face showed a look of relief. He was shot. The bullet hit his chest. Judging from the position, it should not have injured the heart and lung cavity, but it must have hit the stomach.

As he was unable to suppress the urge to vomit, a mouthful of warm blood flowed out from the corner of his mouth.

Not bad. Finally dead.
Wei Ran struggled to pick up another rifle loaded with bullets beside him, lifted it up with all his strength, aimed at the other Japanese soldier next to Cheng Bingquan and pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

After this shot, Wei Ran successfully killed a Japanese soldier next to Cheng Bingquan, but at the same time, another bullet hit his stomach again.

"puff!"

Almost at the moment when the Type 38 rifle in Wei Ran's hand fell, Cheng Bingquan also killed the last Japanese soldier in the "品" group.

However, the moment he turned around to look at Wei Ran, he found that the other party had rolled down, and fell all the way from his feet, and finally hit a pile of stinking corpses.

"cough"

Wei Ran coughed up blood again, but after turning his head with difficulty, he saw He Wenniu lying not far away, still biting the devil's neck tightly.

Before he died, Wei Ran, who felt his vision was darkening, took out Robert's camera. After tightening the spring with difficulty, he placed the camera on the neck of a Japanese corpse, aimed it in the direction of Cheng Bingquan directly above, and pressed the shutter button from time to time.

Under his powerless attention, Cheng Bingquan, who had no help, did not hold out for long when facing the next round of Japanese bayonet teams in a V-shaped formation. He was stabbed in the thigh, and then in the chest. Together with the big knife on his back, he rolled down like Wei Ran just now and He Wenniu even longer ago.

"Feel sorry."

Wei Ran, whose consciousness was becoming increasingly blurred, glanced at Cheng Bingquan who had fallen not far in front of him. He bit his tongue and tried to stay awake while putting away the camera which he was no longer able to lift. At the same time, he couldn't help thinking, if he died here, would his real self leave all his equipment on the ground?

In the midst of this strange fantasy, Wei Ran slowly closed his eyes. In his vision which had just begun to darken, a dazzling white light slowly lit up.

"Ugh"

When the white light gradually became dim and thin, Wei Ran, who had thought he was dead, sighed in his heart with regret, and everything in front of him gradually became clear.

Before he could see everything around him clearly, he heard a man speaking in the Mandarin accent of that era say with guilt, "It is said that there are three great hardships in life: rowing a boat, forging iron, and grinding tofu. My family has all of them.

My grandfather rowed a boat on the Xiang River all his life, my father worked as a blacksmith all his life, and my younger brother went to work as a grinder in a tofu shop at the age of 12 to support my education.

As everything around him became clear, Wei Ran finally saw clearly that he was sitting in the trench again.

But this time, the trench was much more lively. There were many soldiers here, including many strong men who were not wearing military uniforms. Some of them held guns, some held swords, and some held bamboo poles and wooden poles that were obviously cut locally.

Among these people, the one who was talking just now was sitting opposite him. It was Cheng Guanyin!

Wei Ran recognized the other person and the big knife in his arms at a glance.

Just as Cheng Bingquan said before Bai Guang, his brother Cheng Guanyin was a "slanted belt".

After taking a closer look at the Nine Dragon Belt around his waist and the box gun in the wooden box, Wei Ran lowered his head to look at himself.

Unfortunately, the only difference between himself at this moment and Bai Guang before was that the apron on his chest was gone, and instead, there were four wooden-handled grenades on his belt.

"Brother Cheng, how did you carve your name on the edge of the knife?"

In the trench, a soldier with an Hubei accent asked. He had a submachine gun in his hand and a steel helmet on his head, but he had no extra magazines on him.

“This was carved by my father himself.”

Cheng Guanyin stroked the polished sword with a shiny edge and explained with a smile, "My father told me and my brother to kill more Japanese soldiers and let the killed Japanese soldiers see clearly who killed them.

He said that this is to accumulate good karma. As long as we kill more, our Cheng family will definitely have someone who will make our ancestors' graves smoke, and we won't have to row boats, forge iron, or grind mills anymore."

"Look this way"

Just then, a young soldier with a whistle on his chest and the same "slanted leather belt" greeted him.

When everyone subconsciously looked over, the young soldier also pressed the shutter of the Leica camera in his hand.

"It's our turn"

The young soldier had already pulled out the box gun from his waist while speaking, "Attention, everyone, five people in a group, three long poles and two knives, kill these bastards!"

"Kill these bastards!" The men in the trenches roared.

"When the Japanese come up, listen to my whistle. I'll throw two grenades in the first round. I'll blow the whistle once and you throw one."

The soldier gave a very detailed instruction, "If anyone in your team falls down, don't panic, pick up the long pole first."

Just at this moment, a whistle was heard in the distance, and the soldier with a camera around his neck also popped his head out to take a look and raised his arm.

Seeing this, everyone pulled out a grenade and prepared themselves - preparation before hand-to-hand combat.

(End of this chapter)