Chapter 1118 When rushing on the road in a violent storm
In the blizzard that almost obscured the field of vision, two sleighs connected by ropes were also heading due west with difficulty under the obstruction of the strong wind.
At this time, Wei Ran, who was in charge of operating the sleigh, still felt a little unreal. He knew he could escape from that labor camp, but he didn't expect it to be so easy.
However, looking at the loads of supplies loaded on the sleigh, it all seems very reasonable.
Although he couldn't stand Ihor holding a reindeer calf in the same car. But he had to admit that these two people, or three people including himself, had to fight to stay alive.
I did make adequate preparations to escape.
On the sled he was responsible for alone, there was a box full of raw frozen fish and a box of boiled potatoes frozen into ice. Not to mention, Ihor also had a half-year-old reindeer in his arms.
The little guy looked like he was used to being held. Not only did he not struggle at all along the way, but he also buried his head in Ihor's arms.
Don't forget, there are two other adult reindeer tied with ropes behind the sled. Not only can they take over the job of pulling the sled at any time, but if necessary, either one can feed three people for a week.
This was only the reserve of one vehicle. Weiran didn't even have time to see what was on the other vehicle controlled by Mesut, and now was not the time to be curious about this.
The two sleighs walked for less than ten minutes under the hard pull of the reindeer, and the field of vision in front gradually broadened. At the same time, Mesut, who was walking in front, also slowly stopped the reindeer.
Come down.
"What's wrong?" Wei Ran asked after stopping the reindeer.
"We have to cross the river in front," Mesut said as he came closer. "We have to go faster. If we are discovered later, I will cut the rope and we will run in different directions."
"Can I go to your car?" Ihor said abruptly, "I am too heavy in Victor's car."
"no problem"
Mesut nodded without thinking, "I'll bring a box of coking coal over here. Victor, if we get separated, you have to find a way to go west. We'll meet on the west bank of the Yenisey River."
Hearing this, Wei Ran hesitantly glanced at Ihor, who was already holding the reindeer calf and carrying the only weapon in another car. Finally, he nodded and allowed Mesut to put a box of coking coal into the car.
On his sleigh, he also secretly put the two boxes of ammunition into Mesut's pocket and pressed them hard.
After receiving Wei Ran's hint, Mesut nodded without leaving a trace, returned to his reindeer sleigh, shook the reins vigorously, and rushed out.
Almost immediately, Wei Ran also controlled the sleigh without the eyesore to follow. Fortunately, due to the weather, no other vehicles were seen on this two-hundred-meter-wide river. On the contrary, there were almost no vehicles because there were no woods.
The blocking wind overturned the sleigh.
They rushed to the other side without any danger, but the two sleighs did not dare to stop at all, and continued to head west-south, hurriedly escaping in the night.
However, compared to the other side of the river that has been left behind, this primitive taiga is obviously less visited by people. Furthermore, the snow in the forest is thicker, and the two reindeer sleighs are moving much slower than before.
few.
Their speed has slowed down, but the wind and snow have not weakened at all, especially the snowflakes hitting their bodies and faces, which have almost obscured their vision. Even the reindeer in front and behind them have been covered with thick snowflakes.
A layer of snow.
Even so, the two sleighs still didn't dare to stop. Both of them knew very clearly that the farther they traveled in this wind and snow, the lower the chance of them being found. How could they escape?
The hope is higher.
Tightening the scarf wrapped around his face, Wei Ran took out the warm body stove from the metal book and stuffed it into the inner pocket of his jacket. Then he took out the bearskin mittens and put them on the knitted gloves that could no longer keep warm.
It wasn't until his elbows were wrapped in thick bearskin gloves, blocking the incoming cold wind, that he felt comfortable patting the deerskin robe that Uncle Sergey had given him as a birthday gift, and then
I patted the accumulated snow on the wolfskin cotton pants and thick felt boots I bought with money.
Finally, he touched the can and bottle of bear oil in his pocket, and he felt a lot more at ease. In any case, there was a high probability that he wouldn't have to worry about going hungry this time.
As he relaxed and the heat slowly released from the body stove, he became more and more relaxed. After walking slowly and hard for more than two hours, when he changed the body stove into the boot of a boot,
Mesut, who had been walking in front, also pulled the reins and made the reindeer turn left.
When the car he was responsible for also turned around, Wei Ran took out the British compass fixed to the flyback watch and glanced at it. At this time, they had already started walking due south.
After briefly recalling the satellite maps we saw before entering this historical segment, and then estimating the speed of the two sleighs, Weiran could probably determine that they were about 15 kilometers to 20 kilometers on the east bank of the Yenisey River at this time.
Deep in the dense forest on the left and right.
Correspondingly, they were about 15 to 20 kilometers away from the labor camp they escaped from. However, the snowstorm at this time was getting worse and worse. According to the current momentum, the traces left by them when they crossed the river must have been
The snow was buried and filled up.
While he was thinking about it secretly, Mesut finally shouted to the reindeer to stop again.
"Victor, change to the other two reindeer!" Mesut shouted loudly.
Hearing this, Wei Ran immediately shouted to the reindeer to stop. He skillfully moved the two reindeer at the back of the car to the position of pulling the cart, and tied the two reindeer pulling the cart to the back of the car. By the way, he also took out a hard tool for brushing the horse's hair.
The brush helped the four reindeer brush away the ice and snow frozen on their bodies, then took the small bag of concentrate handed over by Ihor and fed each reindeer a handful.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "This time you are in front and keep walking south." Mesut pointed in the direction, "Do you need me to give you the compass?"
"Need not"
Wei Ran pointed to his brain, "I have a very good sense of direction. Please remind me if I go astray."
"lets go!"
As Mesut spoke, he had already untied the rope between the two sleighs, and after Weiran ran to the front, tied them together again.
This time he switched to Wei Ran as the leader, and he clearly felt that it was much more difficult to move forward. The snow in the forest that had never been stepped on before could easily swallow the reindeer's knees every time. The speed of advancement was not surprising.
Slowed down.
Compared with the reduced speed, what makes Wei Ran even more strange is that Mesut, who had just agreed to meet on the west bank of the Yenisey River in case of being separated, did not seem to be in a hurry to cross the Yenisey River at this time.
, so after walking for an hour or two in a row, their direction of travel has been heading straight south.
However, even if the slender structure of the two sleighs is conducive to pulling, and even if two reindeer are pulling at the same time, due to the full load of supplies and the deep snow in the forest, the speed of the vehicles may not be as high as Wei Ran estimates.
He couldn't even run 10 kilometers in an hour - even if he was pushed by the violent wind and snow behind him, it was still useless.
Of course, if it were on compacted ice, he believed that even if they were dragging so many things, the two strong reindeer could easily increase the speed to thirty or forty kilometers and run for an hour.
question.
While he was paying attention to the speed of the car, Mesut was obviously also thinking about this matter, so when the two hours were up, he asked Wei Ran to stop again and replaced him with the other two deer who had had enough rest.
.
Not only that, the sleigh he controlled was also ahead again, but the direction of its advance was not to continue south or west to the Yenisei River, but to the east.
This time they only ran for just over an hour, and the frozen river they had ventured to cross once again lay before everyone's eyes.
The only difference is that the snow on this river is extremely flat at this time. There are no traces of vehicles running over it, and there is no sign of bulldozers smoothing it. Obviously, this is an area where no one has set foot.
Braving the violent storm and snow, they once again crossed the frozen river. When the two sleighs entered the depths of the forest again, Mesut finally decided to stop and take a rest when he saw the faint shadow of the mountains in the distance.
Get out of a blizzard that threatens to knock down trees.
The three of them worked together to park the two sleighs behind a steep slope sheltered from the wind. Wei Ran chose a pine tree as thick as his waist, called on the other two to help, and opened the bundle of glued canvases like a giant
A cloak was wrapped around the trunk of the tree, and was securely held in place by the straps that bound the canvas itself.
After he hammered the corners of the canvas with large steel nails provided by Mesut and packed them with snow, Ihor also wielded a snow shovel and shoveled all the snow under the trees outside like horse manure.
.
Using more than half of the remaining canvas, they found a nearby tree to make a larger tent, and drove all nine reindeer into the tent and tied them to the tree trunks. Then the three of them dragged two sleds inside.
In their tent.
After sealing the tent door, Mesut fumbled to light an oil lamp, adjusted it to the minimum brightness and hung it on the tree trunk, and then took out an iron bucket.
There is a hole the size of an egg on the side of the bottom of the iron bucket, and there is a stove frame made of steel bars inside the bucket.
You don't even need to look at this to know that it is used as a simple stove.
Breaking off the dead branches that had just been cut from the trunk, throwing them in and lighting them, Ihor immediately placed an enamel kettle filled with snow on top.
Soon, the iron bucket was burned red by the charcoal fire inside, and the smoke-filled tent immediately became much warmer.
After opening the corner of the tent door slightly to let the smoke dissipate, Mesut sat on his sleigh, slapping the snow on his body and trembling as he asked, "Victor, candle, take out the candle quickly.
"
Hearing this, Wei Ran immediately took out a large pack of candles from his pocket. Each of these candles was as thick as a cucumber and more than thirty centimeters in length. According to his estimate, these candles could be lit throughout the night.
No problem, it is a good thing that can both illuminate and warm.
However, Mesut had no intention of lighting them on fire. Instead, he split them all in half with an axe, threw them into two large enamel jars, and placed them beside the iron bucket.
superior.
Soon, under the scorching heat, the candles in the enamel jar melted into liquid one after another. Mesut, who had already warmed up, also used a branch to pick out the cotton wick inside, and after stroking away the remaining wax oil with his hands,
Throw it into the tin bucket stove.
After stirring the two cups of melted wax, he took some of it further away, placed it on a flat ground, and carefully covered it with snow to cool it down faster.
Instructing Wei Ran and Yihor to stay away from the two enamel tanks, Mesut then asked them to unload all the materials from the two sledges and conduct a careful inventory.
"In addition to the nine reindeer, we now have a box of raw and frozen fish and a box of boiled potatoes, as well as two boxes of coking coal, four barrels of kerosene we saved before, and two kerosene lamps."
The four barrels of kerosene that Mesut mentioned were not the 20-liter oil barrels in the sanitary oxide metal book. They were used by the Soviet Union in large quantities during World War II and in the 1950s after the end of World War II, such as T34 tanks or various Soviet trucks.
A metal bucket configured to hold lubricating oil or coolant.
Each of these square iron buckets only has a capacity of 3 liters. This capacity of not too much and not too little also allowed the Soviets, especially Soviet soldiers, to use it for various purposes. Among them, the most common
, has been transformed into various outdoor stoves. In addition, it is used to hold any liquid including vodka.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Of course, there are also a considerable number of soldiers or militiamen who fill this thing with hot water and use it as a soup pot.
Just like the four iron buckets that Mesut brought out, just looking at the insulation jackets made of canvas and felt on the outside, you can tell that these things were most likely used to hold kerosene before they were used.
Lumberjacks who need to work in the field for long periods of time use it as a soup pot.
As if he had guessed what Wei Ran was thinking, Mesut reached out and took out three more empty buckets from the pile of supplies and gave them to Wei Ran and Ihor, "You can fill them with hot water later."
Accepting this small surprise with peace of mind, which can provide great help to keep out the cold, Mesut continued, "In addition to food and fuel, we also have a rifle and a few bullets. The rifle is held by Ihor.
I'll keep the bullets, do you have any objections?"
"No," Ihor said first.
"I don't mind either." Wei Ran nodded. The dragoon rifle didn't even have a stab. As long as there were no bullets in it, it was only as lethal as a baseball bat.
"Although we only have one shotgun and not many bullets, I have prepared three fishing rods and enough hooks and lines. If we encounter a lake on the way, maybe we can try to catch fish."
As Mesut spoke, he had already opened a rolled-up canvas roll, revealing three fishing rods that were only one meter long and fish hooks and lines fixed on the canvas roll, as well as pieces made of iron sheets and the hair of unknown animals.
of false bait.
"We still have a bag of feed and three salt bricks," Ihor reminded.
"I also prepared some additional veterinary drugs, which can also be used by humans in emergencies."
Mesut said as he took out the items from the wooden box at the rear of the sleigh, "In addition, I prepared a pair of skis and ski poles for everyone, and of course, snowshoes."
"There are also animal skins," Wei Ran reminded, pointing to the animal skins taken from the sleigh beside him.
"Two of these animal skins for each person," Mesut said as he had already arranged, "if it's not enough."
"enough"
Wei Ran said, and gave each person two wolf skins and a smaller fox skin. He had taken these because of the number of people.
Of course, in addition to these public goods, there are also some private things that are not counted. For example, the pocket watch compass that was already in Mesut's hands at this time and the pen that Wei Ran gave him as a birthday gift. For example, when Wei Ran decided
The body stove and bearskin mittens that had been put away before stopping to rest, as well as the kerosene in the Soviet kettle on his waist.
In this little tacit understanding, after everyone had put away the animal skins for warmth, Mesut also turned over the first sledge truck, and then took out two iron irons that were obviously made by himself from the box and placed them on the stove.
While heating.
Under the watchful eyes of Wei Ran and Ihor, Mesut took out a small candle left in advance and pressed it on the heated iron, letting the melted wax drip onto the inverted sleigh skateboard.
Then, he used the twice-heated soldering iron to move quickly on the skateboard to melt the dripping wax oil again and spread it more evenly.
"We'd better do waxing the sled runners more often."
Mesut reminded while he was busy, "This will allow us to go faster and save our reindeer less effort. Correspondingly, the two sleighs can also run longer distances.
Okay, now you two pour hot water on the cup to unmold the solidified candle inside, and then try to wax the skateboard of the other sleigh."
Hearing this, Ihor picked up the enamel kettle first, poured hot water on one of the enamel jars, and easily took out a large piece of oversized candle that was completely solidified inside and was nearly ten centimeters in diameter and height.
come out.
Wei Ran didn't bother to fight with the devil. He just unmoulded the reshaped candle and slowly filled the empty bucket he just got with snow, then poured the remaining hot water in the kettle into it and started again.
I boiled a pot and added some firewood.
After removing the insulation cover from the outside of the iron bucket, Wei Ran placed it next to the red-hot iron bucket and heated it slowly. Then, while Mesut was polishing the sled skateboard with a piece of deerskin, he used the other party's soldering iron to burnish the sled.
Another skateboard waxing.
After nearly an hour of busy work, all four skateboards of the two sleighs were re-waxed, and the iron buckets used by everyone for heating were filled with scalding hot water. Even the reindeer next door were filled with hot water.
He got a salt brick that was fixed on the tree trunk and could be licked at will, as well as a basin of warm water and a small amount of feed.
Even the unloaded supplies were evenly distributed between the two vehicles. Between choosing Ihor, who was holding a gun and holding a deer calf, and other extra supplies, Weiran chose to pull the unloaded supplies without even thinking about it.
Miscellaneous items such as cooking utensils and feed that can cause breathing problems.
After the charcoal fire in the tin bucket was completely burned out, the three of them filled the emptied tin bucket with more firewood, then buried the ashes, re-harnessed the reindeer, dismantled the canvas tent, and wrapped the car tightly with ropes
The rest of the supplies continued to move forward with difficulty despite the violent storm and snow.
This time, the direction of the two sleds was still the looming mountains due east. But Mesut, who was responsible for leading the way, did not mention his destination or detailed escape plan either when he was just resting or now.
.
Under his leadership, it took the two sledge trucks another three hours to pass through a two-kilometer-long valley. Finally, the reindeer barely arrived before their strength was exhausted.
The east side of this mountain range.
Thanks to the shelter of this mountain, the wind and snow here were undoubtedly much lighter. They continued to call the reindeer and walked slowly south towards the foot of the mountain for about seven or eight kilometers, and finally they found a dense forest at the foot of the mountain with no wind at all.
Deep down, I chose a relatively high location and stopped again.
Using the faintest light of the kerosene lamp, they hurriedly set up tents under two trees next to each other. The three of them drove all the reindeer into one of the tents and tied them up, but they had no time to rest, collect firewood, or
Collecting pine branches, or wielding a snow shovel to clear the snow in the tent.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! In the intense busyness, the surface snow was shoveled away from both tents, and a thick layer of pine needles was laid on them.
In the tent where the people lived, a pile of bonfires were raised with iron buckets to provide warmth. At this time, on top of this simple stove, there was also an aluminum bucket pot that Mesut bought with money, and inside it was
Three pieces of raw and frozen fish and three frozen potatoes were boiled. The enamel kettle placed by the stove was also filled with snow waiting to melt.
In such spooky weather, there is naturally no need to worry about people following the firelight to find this place, but vigil work is still necessary. After all, although the wind and snow here are blocked by the mountains, the corresponding wild animals, especially those that can harm
The probability of seeing wild animals coming to them is also much higher. Among them, wolves are undoubtedly the most threatening.
Of course, this vigil work will undoubtedly be left to Ihor, who cannot drive a reindeer sleigh, so he has been riding in the car all day.
After a quick dinner, Wei Ran and Sumeite each lay down in a sleigh covered with wolf skins. In each of their arms, they also held a tin bucket filled with hot water.
As for Ihor, who is keeping watch at night, he can only hold a cold rifle and a warm reindeer calf and sit on a wooden box covered with animal skins. In addition to keeping watch at night to watch out for wild animals, he also has to ensure that he can replenish firewood at any time and not let the animal hide.
Only when the fire goes out.
This Japanese prisoner of war had no complaints about this job, but when he looked at the deerskin robes and goggles hanging around their necks, Wei Ran and Mei Su, he couldn't help but feel a little envious.
After this day's escape, although it didn't have to operate a sled, it was still very cold, especially when Weiran and Mesut both had goggles but it didn't.
So along the way, it didn't have much chance to open its eyes. Most of the time, it covered its head with animal skins and hugged the reindeer, huddled on the sleigh that was surrounded by ventilation.
Of course, Wei Ran did bring an extra pair of goggles from the store warehouse, but how could he take the initiative to give these to Ihor?
Just like how could he know that while they were resting, in the dense forest on the other side of the road they crossed for the second time, there was a young figure carrying an SKS semi-automatic rifle driving a dozen sled dogs, dragging
Riding a sleigh in the primeval forest where the storm was raging, he anxiously searched for the three missing party members serving sentences and the reindeer who needed to provide meat for the entire logging farm.
