War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1972 Guo Guanggun and Gao Liangqian
In the low but warm mud-brick house, Zhao Shouxian lay in Wei Ran's arms, wailing as he mourned his parents, and the sound of his cries also helped him mature, and even woke up the unconscious Wen Laoga.

"What's the situation outside?" Wen Laoga asked weakly.

"yesterday"

Zhao Shouxian wiped away his tears forcefully, sniffed, and tried to suppress his sobs as he said, "The day before yesterday, Commander Liu led everyone to drive the Japanese away. I heard that they even killed a high-ranking Japanese officer."

Sniffing again, Zhao Shouxian continued, "Yesterday, before dawn, the Japanese attacked again. Commander Liu led everyone in fighting the Japanese all day long, and finally drove them away last night."

"It's good that they're gone, it's good that they're gone."

Wen Laoga first breathed a sigh of relief, then laboriously moved his arm and placed it on the wine gourd on the kang mat. "When...when can we get it...ah! How many people will die from that?"

My parents said this before they passed away.

Zhao Shouxian wiped his red eyes with his sleeve. "They want me to go with you to fight the Japanese. You, you take me with you to fight the Japanese!"

As he spoke, Zhao Shouxian knelt down on the kang with a thud. "Take me to fight the Japanese devils. My parents are gone, and I'll only die if I stay here. If I can fight the Japanese devils, even if I can take one or two Japanese devils down with me, it will be worth it."

"That's it."

Wen Laoga sighed, "Then..."

"Let me take a picture of this child first."

At this moment, Wei Ran spoke up, "Let me take a picture of you two too."

"Let's take one, okay?"

As if an inexhaustible force had surged within him, Wen Laoga actually sat up on his own. "Shouxian, come and take a picture with your uncle. After we drive the Japanese away, we'll come back and take another one, this time on the Great Wall."

Zhao Shouxian was stunned when he heard this, and struggled to move to Wen Laoga's side.

With a silent sigh, Wei Ran picked up his camera, blew the dust off the lens, adjusted it, aimed at the father and son sitting side by side on the kang (a heated brick bed), and pressed the shutter.

Almost at the same moment the shutter clicked, a long-lost white light surged from all around, engulfing everything in Wei Ran's sight in the blink of an eye.

When the white light disappeared, everything around her had transformed into the farm in Clara's dream.

This time, even the biting black horse stood beside Wei Ran, pouting its thick lips and tugging at his sleeve.

Wei Ran habitually turned his head to glance at Clara, who was busy with something in the room, then sighed and focused his attention back on the pages of the metal notebook on the table.

Under his gaze, the metal quill pen wrote lines of blood-red text for the second time on the pale yellow paper:
Second act

Character Identity: Wei Ran, member of the suicide squad
Return mission: Kill at least 10 people with melee weapons, take at least one photo of melee combat, assist your comrades in transferring the wounded, and then return to the battlefield.

Just as the man-eating horse next to him was slapping his finger with its thick lips as if having a fit of madness, a white light suddenly appeared, and he saw everything he could use in the white light.

Overall, the only difference between this time and last time was the loss of the Mauser bayonet, but the addition of a biting black horse and the Type 44 rifle that came with it.

Even the Snow Maple Blade, which shouldn't have appeared in this era, was generously given to him this time.

As he felt grateful to his biological father, the white light gradually faded, and he once again felt the cold wind rushing towards him.

As his vision gradually cleared, Wei Ran was stunned for a moment when he saw everything around him, and then a look of joy appeared on his face.

At this very moment, I am standing on the Great Wall, hiding by the edge of the crenellations.

Even now, there was a thick layer of corn stalks and wheat straw underfoot, seemingly for warmth.

Compared to all of that, what truly made him happy was that to his left lay Guo Xiuqi, with whom he had fought before, and to his right lay the big guy nicknamed "Sorghum Stalk."

At this moment, the two men were curled up on the thick straw, their sleeves tucked in, taking a nap.

Besides the handkerchiefs that served as pillows, each of them was covered with a Japanese sleeveless wool coat and a Japanese marching blanket.

Even on their heads, each of them wore a Japanese winter military cap.

Looking at myself, I realized that my attire was similar to theirs. Whether it was the glove, the winter leg warmers with fur lining, the sleeveless wool coat, or the leather hat with ear flaps, everything was captured from the Japanese.

Perhaps to distinguish themselves from the Japanese soldiers and avoid being mistaken for them and killed, the three of them wore all the captured winter clothing inside out, except for their glove covers.

Looking around, most of the soldiers in the distance were in the same situation.

He turned his gaze back to his equipment: on his back was the anti-Japanese broadsword from the metal notebook; on his waist was a Japanese belt with three grenades and two ammunition pouches; and on his chest was a nine-dragon belt filled with pistol bullets.

Not only that, besides the Mauser C96 pistol that was tucked behind the Kowloon belt, which was the same model as the one in the metal notebook, he also had a Type 44 cavalry rifle and a whole wooden box full of hand grenades with the wooden handles facing up.

Wei Ran glanced sideways at the outside of the crenellations and then stepped into the nearby, drafty watchtower.

Perhaps because this place was about to collapse and was not safe, apart from a few frozen urine stains, there were no machine gun positions set up inside, and naturally, there was no one here.

He tried taking out the items one by one from the metal notebook, and he got a general idea of ​​what to do with them.

This time, the saddlebag containing the grenade launcher could not be removed, nor could the biting black horse, the lance on its back, the Xuefeng sword, or even the large Schneider telescope.

Not exactly disappointed, he tucked the lit hand warmer into his pocket, then took out the Leica camera and two spare rolls of film that he had recently seized from his camera case and stuffed them into his pocket as well.

Finally, Wei Ran lit a cigarette and walked back, pondering what time it was, which battlefield this was, and how Wen Laoga and Zhao Shouxian were doing.

As he walked back with these thoughts in mind, he also raised his camera and took a few pictures of the soldiers on the city wall.

After sitting down in his original spot, Wei Ran finally had time to open the Nine Dragons Belt at his waist and check the Japanese ammunition box.

This time, he had an unusually large supply of ammunition. Apart from one magazine pouch containing silver dollars, the rest of his bags were filled with Mauser pistol cartridges fixed to magazines.

However, compared to the ample pistol ammunition in Kowloon, the two ammunition boxes that were captured from the Japanese soldiers at his lower back were either empty or contained only two paltry packs of ten bullets.

"beep--!"

Just then, someone blew a whistle in the distance, and Guo Xiuqi and Gaolianggan, who had been dozing off, immediately jumped up and grabbed the Type 38 rifles they were each holding.

"be prepared!"

Just then, an officer ran along the city wall with a tin megaphone, shouting, "The Japanese are coming soon! Everyone, get out of the way!"
After the first artillery barrage, let those still alive get close and fire! After the melee, remember to pick up some ammunition!

Amidst these repeated reminders that seemed to fade into the distance, Gao Lianggan and Guo Xiuqi each fitted their Type 38 rifles with the same captured bayonets.

I just dreamt about my mother.

As Guo Xiuqi spoke, he picked up the handkerchief he had just used as a pillow, patted it clean, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"What did your mother say in her dream?"

Gao Lianggan turned the Japanese soldier's winter coat, which was originally covering him, inside out and put it on.

"She told me to kill more Japanese soldiers to avenge her and my father."

As Guo Xiuqi spoke, he clicked a bullet into the Type 38 rifle in his hand, then pulled out the Mauser pistol that Wei Ran had given him from his waist and cocked it, also firing a bullet into the barrel.

"Where are you from?" Gao Lianggan asked.

"From Tongliao"

Guo Xiuqi tucked the Mauser pistol into his lower back and casually asked, "And you?"

"From Chahar"

As he spoke, Gao Lianggan also loaded a bullet into the weapon in his hand.

"In your home"

"Things should be fine over there."

Gao Lianggan sighed, "I joined the army last summer after our 29th Army was transferred to Chahar, and I haven't been back for more than half a year."

"And you, Wei Ran, where are you from?" Guo Xiuqi asked.

"From Hebei Province"

Wei Ran, who had also loaded his weapon with a bullet, replied, "Southern Hebei."

"Your situation is no longer a problem."

Guo Xiuqi said with great confidence, "As long as we don't let the Japanese cross the Great Wall, you don't need to worry about that side."

"Really."

Wei Ran sighed helplessly. How could he not be worried? During the War of Resistance against Japan, countless families across four provinces had their ancestral halls and genealogies destroyed, leaving no living descendants. Countless villagers were wiped out by the Japanese army's "Three Alls" policy, not to mention the inhumane Japanese soldiers' use of bacteriological and chemical warfare. "We can definitely hold them off," Gao Lianggan said confidently.

"Sorghum Stalk, what's your real name?" Guo Xiuqi asked, his conversation flowing smoothly.

"Taka-ra-sen, the ra-sen of a thousand acres of fertile land."

Gao Lianggan said with a hint of indignation, "That idiot who recruited the soldiers can't read much. He can't even tell the difference between the character for 'thousand' and the character for 'dry' with two horizontal strokes and one vertical stroke. He probably thinks my name is Gao Lianggan."

"And then it became known as sorghum stalks?" Guo Xiuqi asked, overjoyed.

"Our company commander back then was also an ignorant and incompetent man. He only knew two characters, and he called me 'sorghum stalk' instead of 'my father.'"

Gao Liangqian shook his head resignedly, "Later, that's what it became. Sorghum Stalk is sorghum stalk, what does it matter what it's called?"

"Who is that company commander?" Guo Xiuqi asked with great interest.

"Company Commander Zeng"

Sorghum Stalk sighed, "He died during a night raid a while ago."

"Ugh"

Guo Xiuqi sighed and changed the subject, saying, "Sorghum Stalk is fine. It's not bad, at least it's more catchy than my old nickname."

"What nicknames did you have before?" Gao Lianggan asked curiously, deliberately changing the subject.

"Hey! Let's not talk about this, let's not talk about this."

Guo Xiuqi quickly waved his hand, trying to brush off the topic he had inadvertently let slip.

"Tell me about it, what's there to be embarrassed about?" Gao Lianggan said, kicking the stalks under his feet toward the corner of the wall.

"Guo the bachelor," Guo Xiuqi said awkwardly, stroking the back of his head.

"Guo the Bachelor? What's that name?"

Gao Lianggan asked, puzzled, "Can't you find a wife?"

"It's also because of my name."

Guo Xiuqi said helplessly, "My name was given to me by my grandfather. It comes from the phrase 'cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world.'"

"Cultivate virtue, divorce wife?" Wei Ran, who was used to puns in later generations, guessed one possibility first.

As expected, after saying this, Guo Xiuqi's face stiffened, and he said helplessly, "That's right, Xiuqi is divorcing his wife, isn't divorcing his wife just making him a bachelor?"

"So, have you found a wife yet?"

Gao Lianggan took the cigarette Wei Ran offered, then pulled out a Japanese lighter from his pocket, lit it, and asked.

"originally."

Guo Xiuqi, no, Guo the bachelor, took the cigarette Wei Ran offered him and then lit it with the lighter Gao Lianggan offered him.

As a cloud of smoke was dispersed by the biting wind, Guo Guanggun's face, covered in frostbite, seemed to redden a little. "I used to have a classmate I liked, at a school in Beiping, but then I dropped my pen and ran away to fight the Japanese."

Hey! We're not on the same path anymore, there's no chance.

"I only ask that the Japanese devils be kept outside the Great Wall, so that she won't be ravaged by the flames of war, and I'll be content."

"Wei Ran, what about you? You..."

"boom!"

Before Guo Guanggun could even steer the conversation toward Wei Ran, a cannon shot suddenly rang out in the distance.

"The Japanese are starting to check their artillery! Take cover! Everyone take cover!"

As the officer roared in the distance, the few soldiers on the city wall huddled together on the straw in the corners of the wall.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Just as Wei Ran raised his camera again, several shells struck the dilapidated watchtower not far away.

"Wow!"

Just as Wei Ran subconsciously pressed the shutter, the watchtower collapsed.

That will be the Japanese's main target!
Wei Ran, Gao Lianggan'er, and Guo Guanggun'er exchanged glances, realizing the Japanese devils' plan.

Before the three could even exchange a word, more and more Japanese shells rained down on them. They could only bury their heads in their arms, open their mouths wide, and curl up to protect their weapons. They hid near the firing ports, observing the situation below the city wall while patiently waiting for the shelling to end.

Before the shelling ended, Japanese soldiers, like locusts, swarmed up from the distant mountains.

"Should we fight or not?" Guo Guanggun asked at the top of his lungs.

"What are you fighting for! Wait for news!"

Sorghum Stalk shouted a rebuke, but at the same time he had already pointed the gun at the firing port.

Gradually, the shelling subsided, but the Japanese soldiers rushing up from a distance had already set up grenade launchers and machine guns on the high ground two or three hundred meters away, while more Japanese soldiers were already charging towards the foot of the Great Wall with their guns at the ready.

"beep--!"

Just then, the sound of a whistle pierced through the cannon fire and reached everyone's ears.

"boom--!"

Wei Ran, Gao Lianggan, Guo Guanggun, and many other soldiers around him whose names he couldn't even recall pulled the trigger almost simultaneously.

After this round of almost volley-gun fire, the Japanese grenade launcher team and machine gun team all fell to the ground.

Even some of the Japanese soldiers in the leading ranks who were charging forward, some of whom were carrying command swords and others whose bayonets were adorned with flags for treating hemorrhoids, were hit by bullets.

Immediately afterward, the gunfire became chaotic. As the Japanese soldiers drew closer, Wei Ran and the other two simultaneously lowered their rifles, drew their Mauser pistols, and pulled the triggers at the Japanese soldiers who were within arm's reach.

When they had each emptied a magazine, the Japanese soldiers had already rushed to the foot of the collapsed city wall. The three men and more soldiers around them picked up grenades, lit them, and threw them over the city wall.

"Ready the broadswords!"

After only two volleys of grenades were thrown, the order rang out from afar: "Kill!"

"kill!"

Wei Ran grabbed the anti-Japanese broadsword at hand and charged towards the nearby breach together with Guo Guanggun and Gaolianggan.

"puff!"

As Wei Ran chopped off the hand of the Japanese soldier who had just climbed up and was not yet standing firmly, Guo Guanggun and Gaolianggan also took advantage of the other two Japanese soldiers' unsteady footing and stabbed their bayonets into the insteps of their respective feet.

"laugh!"

Wei Ran slashed the neck of the Japanese soldier with the severed claw with his sword, then dragged the sword forward and placed it on the neck of another Japanese soldier who was instinctively bending over because his foot had been poked.

After slicing open the enemy's throat with an upward slash, he swung his blade diagonally in a wide arc, severing the head of another Japanese soldier.

"Oh!"

Gao Lianggan and Guo Guanggun moved in unison, kicking the two blood-spurting corpses down. This not only knocked down several Japanese soldiers, but the splattering, foul-smelling blood also sprayed onto the faces, bodies, and even eyes of the Japanese soldiers who rushed up after them as the corpses rolled.

"kill!"

In a new round of desperate roars, the soldiers on and inside the city walls worked together to push back the charging Japanese soldiers.

The first probing charge ended there. Although Wei Ran and his two companions were unharmed and had each retrieved a considerable number of bullets, they were filled with anxiety about the battle to come.

"The Japanese are coming in with great force this time, it won't be easy to fight them," Gao Lianggan said first after returning to their battlefield.

"We have to fight, even if it's tough," Guo Guanggun said while wiping his bayonet with a cloth.

"We'll eventually drive them away."

As Wei Ran spoke, he leaned the captured Type 38 rifle against the edge of the stack, and then threw the captured bullets into the wooden box containing grenades.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

After this brief respite, the Japanese artillery resumed firing shell after shell at their positions—as if there were no end in sight.