War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1994 Reunion, Dong Weixin's Mission

The moment Wei Ran saw Wang Bingchu, the other person also saw him.

After a brief hesitation, Wang Bingchu, who had stopped, started walking again, and Wei Ran, who had subconsciously wanted to stand up, also sat down again.

A moment later, Wang Bingchu went up to the second floor, and slowly reopened the oil-paper umbrella in his hand, placing it at the bottom of the stairs to block the view from below.

But Wei Ran, who was less than a meter away, could clearly see that the man, who was actually about the same age as him, was trembling with excitement, the trembling of a long-awaited reunion.

Finally, he sat down at a table facing Wei Ran, and moved the bench slightly to get a little closer to Wei Ran.

You are still alive.

Wei Ran and Wang Bingchu almost simultaneously uttered the same greeting in a low voice.

"Living, we survived."

Wang Bingchu sighed and shakily pulled a pack of cigarettes and a box of matches from his pocket.

"laugh--"

Wang Bingchu lit a match and first helped Wei Ran light the cigarette he was holding in his mouth.

Just as Wei Ran was lighting the cigarette in his mouth, Wang Bingchu spoke in a low voice, "When Juyong Pass fell, I went back with the mind that I was going to die."

"And then what?"

As the swirling smoke drifted out the window, Wei Ran asked in a low voice.

"I fought until the third day, and then withdrew from Juyong Pass with the remaining troops."

Wang Bingchu sighed, "I've survived again, again...sigh!"

How did you get here?

Faced with Wei Ran's question, Wang Bingchu replied after a moment of silence, "After Juyong Pass failed to be defended, I went south to Gu'an to find you."

But I couldn't find any news about you. Before I could even settle down, the Japanese occupied Gu'an.

I had no choice but to follow the refugees south, begging for food along the way.

But it was damn weird; wherever I ran, the Japanese devils ran too. I hadn't had a single peaceful day in the past six months.

Last autumn, the Japanese occupied Handan, and I fled from Handan to Liaocheng.

At this point, Wang Bingchu breathed a sigh of relief, "I finally had a peaceful New Year in Liaocheng, and I was thinking of going to see you in the spring. I even asked someone to send another letter to the address I left behind during the reform."

Before I even received your reply, I heard that General Zhang had come to Linyi, so I left a letter at my place and rushed here.

As he spoke, Wang Bingchu took a deep drag on his cigarette. “I heard that I had guarded Xifengkou and Juyongguan, so the 59th Army took me in and even put me in the Big Sword Team. Now I’m a platoon leader.”

At this point, Wang Bingchu changed the subject, "And you? How did you find this place? What about Chef Feng and the others...?"

Before Wang Bingchu could finish speaking, footsteps echoed from the bottom of the stairs, which were blocked by the unfolded oil-paper umbrella.

In an instant, Wei Ran's left hand, hidden in his sleeve, produced a PPK pistol, while Wang Bingchu pulled a Mauser pistol from his pocket.

Almost simultaneously, the two crouched down and got up, hiding on either side of the stairs.

Leaning forward slightly for a glance, Wei Ran put away his gun and said softly, "The reformers have arrived."

Upon hearing this, Wang Bingchu quickly put away his gun and peeked out. He then saw Dong Weixin, dressed in a suit and tie, holding a parasol that he had just put away.

"Brother Wei arrived quite early, Wang."

Before Dong Weixin could finish speaking, he saw Wang Bingchu standing to the side.

"Brother Wang, you're still alive!"

Dong Weixin and Wang Bingchu shared a bear hug, but both kept their voices extremely low.

"Sit down and let's talk!"

Wei Ran quietly invited the two to sit down around the table, and also took Dong Weixin's umbrella, opened it, and placed it at the bottom of the stairs to block the view below even more completely.

"I've finally found you!"

While Wei Ran was pouring tea, Dong Weixin excitedly whispered, "We were all stunned when we received the letter you sent. Yi Mo cried so much."

Everyone is still alive.

Wang Bingchu interrupted Dong Weixin, but then changed his mind halfway through his sentence, asking, "Who else is still alive?"

"Those who upheld the Constitution survived."

When Dong Weixin said this, not only Wang Bingchu, but Wei Ran also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"He and Yimo both joined the base area's hospital, one as a doctor and the other as a nurse," Dong Weixin said in a low voice.

"Are they married?" Wang Bingchu pressed.

Not yet.

Dong Weixin explained, "They agreed that they would wait until they drove the Japanese away before returning to Xifengkou to get married."

Brother Wang, you absolutely must go then, otherwise Yimo's family will be all gone.

"Okay! I'll go!"

Wang Bingchu readily agreed, then asked rather cautiously, "Others...other people?"

"Ugh"

Dong Weixin sighed, "Master Feng didn't survive."

When he drove the cart, taking me and Shouxian south, the mule worked for days and nights until it died of exhaustion.

"Danglang"

Wang Bingchu accidentally dropped the teacup he had just picked up and smashed it on the table.

"Shouxian untied the reins and pulled the cart himself, carrying a load of wounded soldiers."

With bloodshot eyes, Dong Weixin said, "That child ran around all day without stopping, but the Japanese devils were chasing him very fast."

Later, there was a small earthen slope, and Shouxian couldn't get across it while pulling his cart, so he cried in desperation.

Feng, the cook, didn't want to implicate Shouxian, so he was the first to take his own life. And what about the wounded, and the seriously wounded? Alas!

Dong Weixin sighed helplessly, "They died. A whole truckload of wounded soldiers, just to save the two of us. Sigh—!"

"Ugh"

Wei Ran and Wang Bingchu each sighed, and the second floor, where they were the only diners, fell silent.

"Sorghum stalks."

“Yes! Sorghum Stalk! How is he?” Wang Bingchu snatched the opportunity to ask the question from Wei Ran.

"He's fine, he's doing well."

The grief on Dong Weixin's face seemed to lessen somewhat. "He married Mr. Huo's female student, and now he's the captain of the guerrilla force."

"The sorghum stalks are getting married? That's wonderful!"

Wang Bingchu asked in a low voice with surprise, "Where's Guo the Bachelor? How is he?!"

At this moment, Dong Weixin fell silent.

"He's dead too?" Wang Bingchu panicked.

“He went to Yan’an last year before his injury had fully healed and met his female classmate, Xu Zhixia.”

Dong Weixin sighed with his eyes closed. "And then they... sigh!"

"Just say it!" Wang Bingchu urged.

"They went to Jinling?" Wei Ran, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked. When this question reached their ears, Dong Weixin and Wang Bingchu both trembled involuntarily.

"He really went?"

Wang Bingchu instinctively grabbed Dong Weixin's shoulder. "Did he go? Tell me quickly!"

"Gone"

Dong Weixin covered his eyes. "They went back to visit Old Master Xu, intending to ask him to help them purchase some weapons and ammunition."

Then they caught up with Datusha, but their fate remains unknown.

"Those damn Japanese devils! Those damn Japanese devils!"

Wang Bingchu cursed under his breath, gritting his teeth, as he crushed the rough porcelain teacup in his hand into several pieces.

"Let's get down to business," Wei Ran said, taking a deep breath and hardening his heart.

"Yes, let's get down to business, let's talk about business."

Dong Weixin seemed to want to change the subject, so he rubbed his face vigorously and said, "Brother Wang, we both need to join the 59th Army. Can you arrange for us to join the Big Sword Team?"

"Join the Big Sword Squad?" Wang Bingchu was taken aback, and asked subconsciously, "Why?"

This time, Dong Weixin didn't say anything, but just stared straight at Wang Bingchu.

"it is good"

After a brief hesitation, Wang Bingchu said, "Then let's kill the Japanese together."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Wang," Dong Weixin immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute.

We've been through thick and thin together.

Wang Bingchu said, "I won't ask you why you're here. I just know you're here to fight the Japanese devils."

"We're here to kill the Japanese devils," Dong Weixin said firmly.

“Come back to this teahouse early tomorrow morning and wait for me at the entrance,” Wang Bingchu said. “I’ll go back and discuss it with the platoon leader.”

"Alright, then we won't stand on ceremony with Brother Wang."

Dong Weixin breathed a slight sigh of relief, stood up and said, "We'll be here on time tomorrow morning."

“I’ll be here waiting for you tomorrow,” Wang Bingchu said, standing up as well.

Watching him go, Wei Ran picked up his top hat, followed Dong Weixin downstairs, grabbed an oil-paper umbrella from the doorway (whose owner he didn't know), held it above his head, and followed Dong Weixin into the rain.

"Brother Wei is still as carefree and easygoing as ever."

Dong Weixin seemed to appreciate Wei Ran's act of "borrowing an umbrella," but his tone no longer carried the naivety of a student soldier from half a year ago; instead, it revealed the maturity and vicissitudes of a veteran.

Spring rain is as precious as oil.

Wei Ran caught some of the cold raindrops in his hand. "It's a waste to use an umbrella to shield such an expensive item."

"Whatever Brother Wei says is true."

Dong Weixin slowed his pace, offered Wei Ran a cigarette, and then took out a Japanese lighter to light it for him. "Brother Wei, do you think we can make it this time?"

"What can possibly work?" Wei Ran deliberately made his tone sound like a test, even if he already knew the answer.

"What else could it be but the Development Party?"

Halfway through his sentence, Dong Weixin realized something and immediately shut his mouth, saying, "Brother Wei is setting a trap for me."

Stay vigilant.

Having already known the answer, Wei Ran offered an impeccable reason before continuing in a probing tone, "What do you plan to do?"

"Kill the Japanese first"

Looking at the dim sky, Dong Weixin said, "The more Japanese devils you kill, the more people will listen to you."

"Anything else?" Wei Ran continued to ask.

"I'm a college student, after all."

Dong Weixin said, "If you can kill Japanese devils and are educated, getting a slanted leather belt shouldn't be a problem."

"As long as you have a plan, that's enough."

Wei Ran wisely ended their conversation, asking, "By the way, what's the date today?"

“March 12th,” Dong Weixin said.

"What a perfect time."

Wei Ran sighed inwardly. March 12, 1938, was two days before the Battle of Linyi and two days before the great victory at Linyi began.

大捷
Wei Ran sighed inwardly. In this era, it was indeed a great victory, but by the standards of later generations, it was actually more like a Pyrrhic victory.

A Pyrrhic victory is already a great victory; how difficult was the victory?
This is a question that people of this era could not answer, and a solution process that future generations cannot imagine.

"Brother Wei, where are you going?"

Dong Weixin called out to Wei Ran, who was walking forward with an umbrella, "You've passed by. The inn we're staying at is right here."

"It's my fault, I was distracted."

Wei Ran turned around apologetically and followed Dong Weixin into the inn. They passed through the back hall and arrived at the door of two side rooms side by side.

"Hey buddy, go buy us some food to stave off hunger, and also heat up a pot of wine and cut up some cooked food," Dong Weixin said, taking out some loose change from his pocket and handing it to the waiter who had led them in.

The young man, who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, readily agreed and turned to run towards the front hall.

"Let's take a break first, there are too many people and too many eyes around here."

Before pushing open the door, Dong Weixin said in a low voice, "We'll talk about the rest after we get into the Big Sword Team tomorrow."

"Alright," Wei Ran readily agreed, pushing open the door to the next room.

It's still mid-March, and with this rain, the weather is really not warm.

Perhaps for this reason, corn cobs were always burning on the small kang (heated brick bed) in this side room, making the room exceptionally warm.

After closing the wooden door and locking it with a bolt, Wei Ran listened intently while also taking in the not-so-large guest room.

The windows were made of paper, and the kang (a heated brick bed) was made of mud bricks. The bedding at the head of the kang looked fairly clean, and there was a standing table at the foot of the kang.

In this day and age, unless it's a major city like Tianjin or Shanghai, such a hotel room is at least considered to be a three-star standard.

After taking out and inspecting everything except the centaur, Wei Ran was surprised to find that the suitcase containing the clothes not only still contained the soldier's gala and a set of military uniform, but also an old Mauser pistol and a Kowloon belt full of bullets.

This was a truly unexpected surprise. In addition to this surprise, he also found a photo album in the camera case that he hadn't seen before.

This photo album contains photos taken every time the shutter was pressed, starting from Xifengkou.

"Thank you"

Wei Ran sighed, put the photo album he had hurriedly flipped through back into the camera case, then took off his long robe, put the Nine Dragons belt inside, and after putting the long robe back on, stuffed the Mauser pistol into his pocket.

Immediately afterwards, he took the three fully loaded PPK pistol magazines from his suitcase, put them in his pocket, and hid the PPK pistol in his top hat.

After he had finished getting himself all dressed up in his "masturbation protective gear," he heard the sound of his assistant gently knocking on Dong Weixin's door next door.

"Brother Wei, come over and have a drink." As the door opened, Wei Ran heard the greeting from next door.

"coming"

As Wei Ran spoke, he put away the various props on the kang (a heated brick bed), went out, and went into the guest room next door.

He knew very well that after finishing this drink tonight, he would set off to kill the Japanese devils at this time tomorrow. This time, it would be a fight to the death.

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