War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1986, the Beginning of the Eighth Year
On the battlefield, where the sun had just risen, no one noticed how many times the bayonet fighting had taken place or how long it had lasted.

But everyone knows that the current situation is getting worse and worse.

With their planes, artillery, machine guns, and grenade launchers, the Japanese had occupied the 29th Army's front-line positions, as well as the outer trenches. They had even torn open the outer walls of the barracks.

Even so, those inexperienced student soldiers, together with the soldiers who came to reinforce the area, launched attack after attack.

"kill!"

Wei Ran roared hoarsely, and at the same time, the student soldier next to him threw a handful of sand at the three-headed Japanese soldier opposite him.

"puff!"

Taking advantage of the sandstorm, Wei Ran plunged the bayonet of his Type 38 rifle into the chest of a Japanese soldier.

However, at the same moment he succeeded, one of the Japanese soldiers on the other side closed his eyes and fiercely thrust his bayonet into the chest of the young student soldier next to Wei Ran.

"Kill them all!"

As the student soldier spoke, he charged forward, letting the long bayonet pierce his chest. At the same time, he gripped the rifle sling tightly and wrapped it around his wrist. "Fuck your mother! Bah!"

With a heart-wrenching curse, the refined student soldier mustered his last strength and spat the blood that welled up in his mouth onto the face of the Japanese soldier opposite him. Then his body went limp, and he fell to the ground with the gun sling still wrapped around his hand.

"puff!"

With a blank expression, Wei Ran plunged the bayonet he had just pulled out into the neck of the second Japanese soldier.

But then, he released the Type 38 rifle, which was almost soaked in blood, and an anti-Japanese broadsword suddenly appeared in his left hand.

"laugh!"

With a swift stroke of the knife, and as the dog's head rolled to the ground, Wei Ran had finished killing enough for that student soldier.

"Oh!"

As Wei Ran sheathed his knife, he kicked the dog's head toward a Japanese soldier in the distance. Then he bent down, picked up a rifle, cocked it, loaded a bullet, and raised it.

This time, however, he noticed a Japanese soldier holding a camera.

It's you?

This is the advantage of historians: although they are far enough away from their subjects and have never had any contact with them.

But at a glance, he recognized the Japanese soldier holding a camera in the distance as Okabe Magoshiro, a frontline reporter for the Asahi Shimbun.

He even realized upon seeing the other person that it was already 10 a.m.—the death date of that Japanese reporter who was later enshrined in a latrine.

"boom!"

Wei Ran pulled the trigger and watched helplessly as the Japanese soldier fell to the ground, clutching his groin and writhing in pain.

"Click"

Wei Ran loaded another bullet, raised his gun, and charged at the reporter whose crotch he had deliberately shot.

"boom!"

As Wei Ran rushed up to the enemy, he pierced the enemy's shoulder with the bayonet of his rifle.

Releasing the Type 38 rifle, Wei Ran crouched down and snatched the Type 26 revolver from the reporter's hand, then pressed the hammer and repeatedly pulled the trigger at the three Japanese soldiers charging towards them from a distance.

After firing three shots in quick succession, Wei Ran wounded the three Japanese soldiers to the ground. He smiled at the terrified reporter, then snatched the camera from his hand, followed by his camera bag.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Wei Ran raised the other man's revolver again and fired repeatedly, killing and wounding three Japanese soldiers. Then, he took out his anti-Japanese broadsword and, under the horrified gaze of the reporter, swiftly beheaded him.

Glancing at the Japanese soldiers charging towards him, Wei Ran forcefully threw the dog's head behind him, then discarded the empty revolver and picked up the Type 38 rifle with its bayonet attached, loading it with a bullet.

"boom!"

Wei Ran fired a bullet before the Japanese soldiers charging towards him could surround him.

Almost simultaneously, Guo Guanggun and Dong Weixin, along with the surviving student soldiers, caught up from behind.

In an instant, the two sides resumed their fierce battle.

In the clash of bayonets, in the unique feeling of obstruction as a bayonet pierces a body, Wei Ran had long since lost count of how many Japanese soldiers he had killed.

But whether it was around him, or around Guo Guanggun, or even around Dong Weixin, all three of their talkative brothers had disappeared. And the student soldiers around them kept falling down, only to be replaced by others.

Just as Wei Ran was exhausted and could barely hold onto his rifle, the Japanese began their retreat, and the roar of airplanes filled the sky once again.

"hidden!"

Wei Ran and Guo Guanggun reluctantly gave the order. They didn't have enough anti-aircraft firepower, so all they could do was lie down and pray that the bombs and machine gun bullets wouldn't hit them.

In this round after round of fighting, Japanese planes came again and again, and Japanese artillery roared time and time again.

As the sun gradually set in the west, the 29th Army's positions gradually shrank, and the surrounding area gradually turned into scorched earth like a purgatory.

Finally, everyone received the order to retreat.

But at this moment, Wei Ran had already separated from Guo Guanggun and Dong Weixin. He had also been shot in the leg and suffered a penetrating wound. His left hand had even been pierced by the Japanese bayonet. He could only lie on a mule cart and retreat with the student soldiers.

They still lost.
Looking at the soldiers running forward around him, and at the student soldiers filled with resentment, all Wei Ran could do at this moment was to take out the Lu Lai Fang from his metal notebook and press the shutter again and again on the student soldiers and the wounded.

He was waiting, waiting for everything that was destined to happen and was utterly unavoidable.

Just as he could recognize the Japanese reporter as if he could foresee the future, and know the exact time when he killed him.

He knew perfectly well that they would retreat to the Dahongmen area and be ambushed there.

He knew even more that the fellow villager he had spoken with not long ago, and even Commander Zhao, who had led him in a night raid at Xifengkou, would die in the ambush that followed.

Being able to predict the future is not a good thing; at least for Wei Ran, it's definitely a torment.

Along the way, he tried to speak out about everything he knew more than once, but was silenced by the metal notebook time and time again.

"Young man, you're still alive?"

Just then, a voice came from the side.

Wei Ran looked up instinctively and was taken aback. It was Commander Tong, who was riding on horseback and looking at him.

After yet another unsuccessful attempt, Wei Ran finally gave up. "Fellow villager, I'm sorry, I... I couldn't."

"It's not your fault, it's not your fault, how could I blame you?"

Commander Tong sighed, "It's just that the families of these students are suffering, and the people of Beijing are suffering too. I'm afraid..."

Upon hearing this, Wei Ran, who had so much to say, was forced into silence. All he could do was raise his camera and take a picture of the fellow villager on horseback, a picture filled with worry and resentment.

"Survive"

Commander Tong gave Wei Ran one last look, "Survive, then go kill the Japanese devils."

Upon hearing this, Wei Ran, who was completely speechless, could only nod vigorously and watch the other person walk away. Just then, a black sedan drove by and stopped temporarily due to traffic congestion on the road ahead, while driving alongside the mule cart Wei Ran was riding in.

Almost subconsciously, Wei Ran pressed the shutter button on the car, snapping a picture of Commander Zhao looking out.

Before he could say a word to this anti-Japanese hero who was also about to die in battle, the black sedan sped away.

"Ugh"

Wei Ran sighed inwardly, finally ceasing to focus on the people on the horse and in the carriage, and instead turning the camera back to the surrounding soldiers, the wounded in the distance, and the battlefield that had been abandoned in the far distance.

Incidentally, he was also looking for Guo Guanggun and Dong Weixin.

"We fear our country is doomed."

Before he could find the two familiar faces, a one-armed student soldier, who was also sitting on a mule cart, lamented.

He had more than one broken arm; a Japanese bayonet was still stuck in his leg.

"Even if it means national subjugation and annihilation, we will fight to the death to take one Japanese soldier down with us!"

Beside the mule cart, a young student soldier carrying a Type 38 rifle gritted his teeth and said that he had many wounds on his body. Some of these wounds had been bandaged, while others were just haphazardly wrapped and were still bleeding.

If his wounds were left untreated, Wei Ran even doubted whether he could survive the next attack.

"I've already gotten my money's worth."

Another student soldier said, "I stabbed two people to death and shot three others. I've done my duty. Even if I die, I've done right by my ancestors."

"I've gotten my money's worth."

Another wounded soldier on the mule cart said, “I stabbed one to death and shot two others. That’s enough. I’ve done my duty to my ancestors.”

"I only killed one with a gun."

One of the student soldiers carrying a gun said guiltily, "I...I'm not even sure if I killed him."

"Then it isn't."

Another soldier said, "You'll have to kill another one to make it worthwhile."

"We can't possibly kill them all," another soldier lamented.

"Can be killed off completely"

The wounded soldier in the vehicle said firmly, "Even if we have to exchange them one by one, we have to wipe out the Japanese. If one to one isn't enough, we'll exchange five to one, and if five to one isn't enough, we'll exchange ten to one!"

We have hundreds of millions of people willing to go and trade with them; we'll surely crush them!

"well said!"

Behind the vehicle carrying wounded soldiers, someone raised his arm, clenched his fist, and shouted, "Even if it's ten against one, we'll still crush these damn Japanese devils!"

Taking this topic as an opportunity, the surviving student soldiers also began to discuss, and even Wei Ran struggled to sit up and continued to press the shutter button on these lucky seeds.

He had to take pictures of them as soon as possible, because he didn't know which of these seeds of hope would survive the ambush.

As he busied himself raising his camera and changing film time and time again, the roar of machine guns, the panting of mortars and grenade launchers suddenly rang out all around him, and even overhead, planes waving fire snakes flew by once again!
In an instant, the mule dragging the wounded was startled and lost control, and Wei Ran and the other wounded fell off one after another.

"Lie down! Lie down now!" some officers shouted hoarsely.

At this moment, Wei Ran, lying on the roadside, grimaced as he glanced at his leg, which had just been broken, and then pulled out his Mauser pistol, which was completely empty, and looked at it again.

It seems there's no escaping it this time.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he muttered those words to himself. Then, with some difficulty, he turned over, took out the gun-style camera from his metal notebook, and pressed the shutter button on the Japanese soldiers lying in ambush in the distance, as well as on the soldiers who were counterattacking.

"boom!"

When another grenade hit and exploded not far away, Wei Ran subconsciously moved the camera in that direction.

Then he saw Commander Zhao lying wounded on the ground, saw his legs that had been blown off, and saw the messenger holding him in his arms, crying and shouting.

But at that moment, there was nothing he could do. The only thing he could do was to take a few more photos of the other person while he still had the strength in his hand, and then he ruthlessly moved the lens away.

After searching for a while, he focused on the villager who had fallen off his horse and was now directing the counterattack while receiving first aid from the guards.

Taking a deep breath, Wei Ran ignored the flying shells and bullets, waiting almost numbly.

Finally, at a certain moment, he clearly saw the old man's chest being shot and a cloud of blood bursting out. At that instant, he pulled the trigger and pressed the shutter.

Without paying much more attention to the fellow villager, Wei Ran continued to move the camera, aiming it at the nameless soldiers, and pulled the trigger of the gun-style camera again and again.

"boom!"

Just as he used up the last roll of film in his rifle camera, a shell landed around Wei Ran.

Pushed by the shockwave, he fell to the ground in a disheveled state, instinctively putting away his gun-style camera. He then lost consciousness amidst excruciating pain throughout his body.

For Wei Ran, only a second had passed. He hadn't even fully experienced the pain throughout his body when he vaguely heard something and felt the jolt beneath him.

Where is this?
Wei Ran struggled to open his heavy eyelids, and after a moment of blurriness, he finally saw everything around him clearly.

At this moment, he was lying on a mule cart again, but this time his injuries were even more severe than before.

With difficulty, he turned his head and saw Guo Guanggun lying beside him, Dong Weixin leaning on the car for support, and the moon hanging overhead. He could even smell the unique dampness of the river and hear the croaking of frogs.

"Where are we going?" Just then, Guo Guanggun, who was next to him, also woke up.

"Ahead... ahead is the Yongding River."

"Once we cross the river, that's...that's Gu'an. We...we should be considered survivors."

After a somewhat long silence, Guo Guanggun asked in a hoarse voice, "Is it the commander?"

"Yes"

"It's Commander Zhao."

"Um"

"Ugh"

Guo Guanggun sighed, and it was during this sigh that Wei Ran, who had just awakened, was also swallowed by the white light.

What will happen next? Will it be Nankou? Wei Ran calmly guessed in the white light; he already had the answer.

He just didn't know if Zhao Shouxian and Feng Huotou, who rushed to Nankou, would also be able to survive like Guo Guanggun.

He didn't even know if Guo Guanggun and Dong Weixin would survive—it was only the summer of 1937, and the eight-year War of Resistance against Japan was just beginning.

Happy National Day everyone!

Wishing everyone smooth sailing on the highways

Wishing everyone a holiday with someone to accompany them.