goodbye, binglian mountain! the veteran sets out on his border patrol for the last time...
2024-09-06
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
■ yang manku, huang lufei, liberation army daily reporter wu anning
patrol team officers and soldiers climb to the mission point. photo by zheng xiaolin
just as the sky was getting light, a clear whistle broke the tranquility of the karakoram mountains.
at the foot of binglian mountain, the patrol team of the binglian mountain border defense company of a border defense regiment of the hotan military sub-district in xinjiang quickly assembled. in front of the team, several veterans who were about to retire stood straight with firm eyes, ready to carry out their last border patrol mission. in a few days, they will say goodbye to the barracks.
before departure, the instructor took the veterans to the site of the company's old barracks. these were the first batch of soldiers who defended the company in the 1960s. in the absence of mechanized equipment, they braved the severe cold, snow, and hypoxia, relying on their own hands to build a fort on the ice peak. "we are about to leave. i hope you will always remember the old barracks, inherit the spirit of your predecessors, and walk the road ahead." following the direction of the instructor's finger, on the hillside next to the old barracks, the words "totally and thoroughly serve the people" written by the predecessors in tin cans are particularly eye-catching.
as he set out on patrol, veteran hao qiang was overwhelmed with emotion. looking at a glacier in front of him, he subconsciously touched the rope he had carried with him for many years, and his thoughts suddenly returned to 2021.
it was his first time to go to a certain highland to perform a traffic maintenance mission. hao qiang and his comrades each carried about 15 kilograms of equipment. when they arrived at this glacier at an altitude of more than 5,500 meters, they saw that the slope was covered with ice and snow, with a slope of nearly 80 degrees. during the climb, the ice under his feet broke, and his body slid down the steep slope and fell headfirst into a snow pit more than 1 meter deep. his comrades hurried forward and lifted his feet to "pull" him out.
when climbing again, the instructor adjusted the order of the team: the backbone cadres carried heavy objects and interspersed in the middle of the team, while paying attention to protecting their comrades around them. squad leader bu heng took out a rope, tied one end around his waist, and told everyone to hold the rope tightly and line up.
the cold wind mixed with hail, hitting the soldiers' faces. at the front of the team, the instructor walked and dug with an ice pick, carefully clearing a path for everyone. the squad leader and the backbone were interspersed in the middle of the team, fixing the entire team with ropes around their waists. hao qiang and his comrades held the ropes and stepped on the footprints and moved forward slowly.
many soldiers were out of breath while climbing with heavy loads, and their legs felt heavy and sore as if they were filled with lead. however, seeing the cadres and backbones carrying heavy loads, hao qiang and his comrades gritted their teeth and persevered. during that time, they worked hard for more than 10 hours a day, successfully set up the equipment in the mission area, and completed the task of maintaining traffic with high standards.
now, standing under the glacier again, the steep slope in front of them made several recruits gasp.
"everyone hold on to the rope and climb up slowly, following my footsteps!" this time, hao qiang took out the rope and walked in front of the squad like the squad leader led him back then, constantly reminding the new recruits to keep up. the mountain was high and the slope was steep, so everyone used their hands and feet to climb hard, with gravel and ice rolling down from their feet from time to time.
"kunlun, the beginning of my military service; border defense, the intersection of youth and passion..." during the climb, azhemali, an old yi soldier from sichuan, couldn't help but hum the song "youth of binglian mountain". this was the first song his squad leader taught him after he joined the company, and it was also his favorite song. thinking of his imminent retirement, he couldn't help but tear up and told his new comrades about his first patrol mission.
that day, the temperature dropped sharply, the snow and wind were raging, the exposed skin felt like being cut by a knife, and the hands and feet soon became numb due to the cold. when almost reaching the top of the mountain, azhema li missed a step, and his right arm and thigh were cut by ice. everyone asked him to rest on the spot and wait for the return trip. he gritted his teeth and said: "i would rather overdraw my life than fail." this is the oath that the karakoram border guards stick to, and he has kept it in his heart since he joined the company.
"patrol the border with one mind, officers and soldiers are of one mind." in order to avoid any regrets for azhemali, who was on patrol for the first time, squad leader tan and veteran ba bin supported him and climbed to the point step by step, insisting on completing the patrol mission. back in the camp, azhemali, who is good at art, painted the backs of his comrades in the snow on the border stone, named it "ice lotus warrior" and kept it in the bedside table.
"no grass or flowers can grow here, and stones are the only decorations. when people see good stones, they will carry them back even if they have to go through long distances and high mountains." as he was about to retire, azhemali worked overtime every day to paint stone paintings for his company and comrades. there were statues of revolutionary predecessors, new fighter planes soaring in the sky, silhouettes of comrades training hard, and hands covered with frostbite after completing their missions... ordinary stones became vivid under his pen and decorated various places in the camp.
"we will preserve the veterans' stone paintings well, and their stories in the company will also be written into the company history." the instructor said that in order to pass on the company spirit, the company's predecessors had set a rule that everyone must write the company history, and everyone's experience of struggling in the company will be recorded in detail.
the slope became steeper and steeper, and the patrol team helped each other and finally reached the duty point on the top of the mountain. looking up, the towering snow-capped mountains glowed with a light blue light under the sunlight, just like a blooming ice lotus.
"i am a soldier of the chinese people's liberation army. i swear..." the veterans who were about to retire and the new recruits raised their right fists together and repeated the military oath. the loud voices echoed in the karakoram mountains for a long time.
goodbye, binglian mountain.
source: liberation army daily
