War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1996 The Moment of Death
In the early hours of the morning, the soldiers of the 59th Army, who were resting against the graves with their broadswords in their arms in the desolate graveyard, were awakened by a messenger.

Without any unnecessary communication, noise, or firelight, everyone silently lined up and began running forward with the person in front of them.

Although it's springtime in mid-March in eastern Shandong, it's not exactly warm. Even the heat generated by running is negligible because of the Yi River blocking the way.

Even so, these people did not stop or show any fear; instead, they rushed into the Yi River during its dry season.

As his trousers and shoes became soaked, the icy, even slightly icy, river water made Wei Ran feel as if steel needles were piercing every pore of his legs.

He could even feel the impact of a creature escaping along his trouser leg as he moved, before his skin went numb.

But soon, the low temperature robbed him of his skin's ability to feel, and all he could do was rush across the river before his legs cramped from the cold.

"My leg is cramping!" Just then, a soldier said in a low voice through gritted teeth.

Before he could finish speaking, Wei Ran and Dong Weixin, who were standing next to him, grabbed his arms from both sides and quickened their pace.

Through the soldier's gritted teeth and perseverance, the three men and many other soldiers successfully crossed the icy Yi River.

There was no time to rest. After landing, the soldiers crawled forward and approached the barbed wire fence that the Japanese had erected on the riverbank.

After a short wait, the soldiers at the front cut through the barbed wire, and everyone else immediately got up, crouched low, and rushed through the barbed wire, carrying the murderous intent that permeated the Yi River, towards the Japanese positions and the village where the Japanese were stationed.

"laugh"

Wei Ran, who jumped into the trench, used his momentum to cut off the neck of a Japanese soldier with a single stroke. But he didn't stop at all. Instead, he rushed along the trench toward the Japanese machine gun position in the distance.

In this darkest hour before dawn, more and more soldiers crossed the barbed wire and jumped into the trenches, beginning a silent hand-to-hand combat with their broadswords.

However, just as Wei Ran was about to rush to the machine gun position, the roar of machine guns finally came from afar.

"puff!"

Wei Ran swung his anti-Japanese broadsword and stabbed it into the chest of a Japanese soldier, while simultaneously raising his Mauser pistol with his left hand.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Wei Ran's left hand suddenly produced a series of fine bursts of fire from a Mauser pistol, quickly clearing out the surrounding Japanese soldiers. At the same time, his right hand also drew the Mauser pistol tucked into his waistband, lowered the nose, and prepared to fire.

Before both magazines ran out of bullets, Wei Ran and his two companions managed to capture the machine gun position. But this was not the end of the battle; it was merely the beginning.

Just as Dong Weixin was firing his Mauser pistol at the Japanese soldiers surging around him, covering Wei Ran as he reloaded his gun, Wang Bingchu also picked up the stolen Type 96 pistol and turned it to aim at the Japanese position.

"Da da da! Da da! Da da da!"

"Hold!"

Wang Bingchu merely fired a few shots with the crooked-handled rifle before tossing it aside amidst curses.

This familiar scene brought a slightly helpless smile to Wei Ran's face.

Fortunately, in just a short while, more and more soldiers of the 59th Army rushed into the trenches, and Wei Ran and his two companions picked up their broadswords again and began to fight.

At this moment, in this battle that was absolutely in their favor, the Japanese artillery was unable to exert its advantage due to the night attack, and because of the surprise attack, the Japanese were advancing much faster.

"puff!"

In the trenches, this anti-Japanese broadsword was finally more useful than the Type 38 rifle. When Wei Ran killed a Japanese soldier who couldn't turn around in time because the rifle was too long, he immediately risked his life and squeezed into the pile of Japanese soldiers with the soldiers around him. In the process of dragging and pulling the sword, he cut wounds on the Japanese soldiers who were right next to him.

"puff!"

Wei Ran slashed at the neck of a Japanese soldier once again, but this time he held back his strength and released the hilt the moment the sword got stuck. He grabbed the soldier's hair with one hand and its collar with the other, forcing it to turn around and twisting its neck.

Before the unrestrained broadsword could even hit the ground, foul-smelling blood gushed out, spraying the surrounding Japanese soldiers' heads and faces like water guns during a water festival, thanks to Wei Ran's bloody control over the corpse.

"Oh!"

As Wei Ran pushed the corpse aside, he kicked another Japanese soldier who instinctively tried to rub his eyes, bending his knee in the opposite direction. He also took out the anti-Japanese broadsword from the metal notebook and, with a touch of Zhang Fei's embroidery-like skill, lightly sliced ​​across the necks of every Japanese soldier around him, creating one human-shaped water gun after another.

While he was showing off his skills, Wang Bingchu, Dong Weixin, and others either threw grenades into the distant trenches or provided cover for each other with Mauser pistols and broadswords.

"laugh!"

Having temporarily averted the crisis, Wei Ran forcefully tore off his cotton-padded coat, which had been soaked through while crossing the river; it was too much of a hindrance.

With a haphazard knot around his waist, Wei Ran pulled out the large sword that was stuck to the side and caught up with Dong Weixin and the others ahead.

By this time, they had broken through the trenches surrounding the village, and they were finally able to rush into the village, which had been occupied by the Japanese and used as a camp and position.

"Grenades! Get grenades ready!"

Wang Bingchu, who was leading the charge, roared and shouted.

During the night raid just now, the platoon leader who was originally at the forefront has been killed in action, and he is now the commander of the platoon.

As the order was given, the surrounding soldiers pulled out a grenade.

Just then, a group of disheveled soldiers rushed out of a farmhouse courtyard.

Without any warning, two grenades flew into the courtyard wall, and Wei Ran, who was at the front, immediately drew his gun and fired a burst of shots.

"Da da da!"

As the burst of bullets struck several Japanese soldiers, the surrounding soldiers brandished their broadswords and began hacking at the Japanese soldiers who instinctively tried to dodge the bullets.

"Boom! Boom!"

After the two grenades thrown into the yard exploded one after the other, Wei Ran put away his Mauser pistol, grabbed his knife, and was the first to rush into the yard. Ignoring the Japanese soldiers who were injured or killed by the explosions, he rushed into the main room and began hacking and slashing.

After easily eliminating the enemies in this courtyard, the group immediately rushed to the next courtyard.

But unlike before, the Japanese soldiers in this courtyard did not rush out; instead, they set up their guns.

"set fire!"

Wang Bingchu wasn't going to waste any time here, and made a decision with a wave of his hand.

Immediately, several soldiers took off their cotton hats or tore off their sleeves, lit them, and threw them onto the roof of the thatched house.

"You two stay here!" Wang Bingchu said to the two soldiers, and threw grenades as soon as he heard them come out!
"Yes!"

The two soldiers immediately responded to Wang Bingchu's order. One of them pulled out a Mauser pistol and pressed down the nose of the machine gun, while the other pulled out two hand grenades and prepared to fire.

Without lingering, the survivors rushed towards the next house.

Slash with a broadsword, fire with a pistol, or even blast with a grenade or set the roof on fire to create a disposable oven.

In the midst of this fierce fighting, the village, which had been occupied by the Japanese, was gradually illuminated by firelight, and then by the pale light of dawn. One by one, the houses were recaptured.

Finally, as the sun began to rise, the village occupied by the Japanese was gradually taken over by them, leaving only a small part behind.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Wei Ran pulled the trigger again, suppressing the Japanese soldiers who were stubbornly resisting in a house.

"Grenades! Does anyone have any grenades?!"

Wang Bingchu, clutching the wound on his head from a stray bullet, shouted at the top of his lungs, "This house is a brick and tile house, and it's not easy to set it on fire. Our only option now is to throw grenades in."

"Throw bricks!"

Seeing that no one responded, Wei Ran immediately spoke up, while also loading two Mauser pistols with bullets.

"Yes! Throw bricks!"

Dong Weixin also realized what Wei Ran was about to do, so he put down his broadsword and began to reload his Mauser pistol with bullets.

"Throw!" Wang Bingchu loaded the Mauser pistol with bullets and gave the order.

Immediately, bricks were either thrown over the courtyard wall or smashed into the window of the house where the Japanese soldiers were hiding.

It was under the cover of these bricks that Wei Ran, Dong Weixin, and Wang Bingchu rushed into the courtyard.

"Watch out! It's a grenade!"

Wei Ran shouted in panic in Japanese, and a series of exclamations immediately came from the side rooms and the main room.

Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Wei Ran, holding a Mauser pistol in each hand, had already pulled the trigger and fired two horizontal arcs at the paper windows and the tightly closed door before he even reached the front of the north room.

At the same time, Wang Bingchu and Dong Weixin also pulled the triggers into the side rooms, while the other soldiers rushed into the courtyard with their lives on the line, and then rushed into the rooms with their knives.

"The Japanese are retreating! The Japanese have begun their retreat!"

Just as Wei Ran, covered in wounds, was leaning against the south wall loading bullets into his Mauser pistol, shouts came from outside the courtyard.

"Let's go! Let's chase after the Japanese devils!"

Also in this early spring, Wang Bingchu, shirtless but covered in sweat and blood, raised his broadsword and shouted, leading all the surviving soldiers out of the courtyard and out of the village, and also leading Wei Ran into the intense white light.

Is that all? What about a fight to the death?
Wei Ran gradually stopped in his tracks amidst the white light, but as the light faded, he discovered that the Mauser C96 pistol in his hand had been replaced by a Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera.

Looking around, the first thing he saw was Wang Bingchu holding up the Icanta camera. Following the direction the camera was "aiming," Wei Ran was taken aback.

Not far away, a burly soldier with binoculars was looking into the distance.

It's him! It's General Zhang?!

Almost subconsciously, Wei Ran raised his camera and quickly framed the other person, pressing the shutter button simultaneously with Wang Bingchu next to him.

"boom!"

Just then, the sound of artillery fire came from the direction the general was looking.

"notify"

General Zhang appeared to be in poor health. He weakly gathered his strength and said, "Order the pistol platoon to go and reinforce Dongshankou."

"Commander-in-Chief! This is the best!"

"Go!"

"Yes!"

One of the officers finally agreed, then winked at Wang Bingchu and Wei Ran, and led them away.

"Did you two just take a picture?" the officer asked in a low voice.

"I took the picture," Wang Bingchu replied in a low voice.

"Alright, you can hand over the pistol platoon to Deputy Commander Dong to reinforce the 443rd Regiment."

The officer then pulled out a letter and handed it to Wang Bingchu, saying, "You two need to find a way to break out and seek help."

"Yes!" Wang Bingchu replied without hesitation.

"Let's get going!"

The officer said in a low voice, "Whether the Commander-in-Chief can survive depends on whether the two of you can find reinforcements."

"Yes!"

Wang Bingchu agreed again, took the letter, and quickly ran away with Wei Ran into the distance.

"Wei Ran, Brother Wei," Wang Bingchu suddenly asked after taking only a few steps, "Back in Juyong Pass, do you still remember the number Feng Huotou was assigned?"

"Remember"

Wei Ran was momentarily stunned, then nodded and said, "We have to keep that college student soldier alive."

“I’m dragging Brother Wei down with me to our deaths,” Wang Bingchu said frankly.

"Is there anything you regret?" Wei Ran asked.

"Yes, I have"

Wang Bingchu sighed with regret, "I was planning to attend Shouxian and Yimo's wedding banquet, but it seems that's not going to happen! If only we could have driven the Japanese away."

"Have a sip," Wei Ran said, taking out his portable wine flask and handing it to the other person.

"Wow! Where did this come from?" Wang Bingchu asked in surprise.

"Back in Linyi, the innkeeper who kept Dong Weixin and me gave it to us on credit, and we never got a chance to drink it."

As Wei Ran spoke, he unscrewed the lid of the wine jug and handed it to the other person.

"Don't tell them we're going to reinforce later," Wang Bingchu said, taking the wine jug.

"it is good"

Wei Ran nodded decisively. His mission upon returning was to fight to the death, and even if there were no mission to fight to the death, he had no intention of running away.

"This wine is delicious, so refreshing!"

After taking a swig, Wang Bingchu handed the wine jug back to Wei Ran, wiped his mouth haphazardly, and said to Dong Weixin, who was walking over, "Deputy Platoon Leader Dong, I have an urgent task for you!"

"Yes!" Dong Weixin immediately responded loudly.

"Take this letter and this camera, and try to get out and seek help."

Wang Bingchu said in a low voice, "This is Major Ma's order."

"Just me?" Dong Weixin asked instinctively as he took the letter and camera.

"Nonsense, this is our pistol platoon now. If I send soldiers to protect you, who will protect the commander-in-chief?"

“There’s a picture of the Commander-in-Chief in that camera,” Wei Ran reminded him. “You’d better take it carefully.”

"Okay, I'll set off right now!"

"I see you off"

As Wei Ran spoke, he took the lead, went around to the back of a big tree, and took out the horse that had bitten him.

Unfortunately, there were no weapons on the horse's back.

"Get on this horse, go quickly and come back quickly," Wei Ran said, handing the reins to the other person.

"And you?" Dong Weixin asked, as if he had a premonition.

"We'll stay and protect the Commander-in-Chief."

Wang Bingchu said, "You'd better survive, kid, or you'll be the only one who misses out on Shouxian and Yimo's wedding."

"You all have to survive too."

Dong Weixin didn't waste any more time; he mounted his horse and left the command post along the steep mountain path.

Watching the other person's figure gradually disappear, Wang Bingchu turned around and roared, "Pistol platoon, assemble! Prepare to kill the Japanese!"

It's time for a fight to the death!
With a sigh, Wei Ran put away the camera that was pointed at Dong Weixin's back, and then drew his Mauser pistol from his waist.

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