Border Letters: Warmth sent from the clouds

Original title: Border Pass Letters: Warmth sent from the clouds

Magnificent Kunlun.

Write on the front

May, the season of vigorous upliftment, the season of youth.

Every season, there are always people who strive to explore the connotation and value of youth, and depict the brilliance and color of youth.

The poet writes that youth is "a book that is too hasty." In the classic melody, youth is "a bird that never goes back". In the hearts of soldiers stationed in distant places, youth is a persistent, regretless choice, "a fire burning in the chest of soldiers."

Youth is hard to define. Stationed at a distant post, the youth of every officer and soldier is worth remembering.

The soldiers who guarded the cold moon at the border pass were as ordinary as the stones on the Karakoram Mountains. It is those ordinary stones that have built barriers and boundary monuments of the motherland.

Youth is supposed to be colorful, especially in this stormy new era.

This May, let us walk into the frontline of plateau border defense and feel the youthful style of the new era of border defense soldiers.

In May of karakoram, spring is late. With the cold wind blowing in the face and the snow rolling in, guarding the plateau wilderness at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, where are the concerns of officers and men of a certain unit of the Xinjiang Military Region delivered?

Once upon a time, the bianguan family letter arrived at ten thousand gold. Today, in the information age, letters full of feelings of home and country are still warm in the clouds.

The officers and men who insisted on staying here said that the plateau has a magical power, and if you keep it, you will fall in love with it and cannot do without it. The rolling mountains can isolate the prosperity, but they cannot isolate the truth and warmth. Letter after letter becomes a link to communicate emotions, turning into a warm current surging in the clouds.

Cold and warm

The mountains do not live up to the mountain keepers

Climbing up the mountain behind the training point, shouting out the inner depression - staying on the snowy plateau with thin air, this thought often lingered in the mind of Sergeant Zhang Yangyang.

After coming to Karakoram for more than half a year, guarding the wasteland known as the "Mountain of Ten Thousand Mountains", the almost isolated defensive environment has caused a huge gap in the heart of this post-90s warrior who was born in a warm family and is accustomed to being cared for and concerned.

This "drop" is sometimes like a change in altitude from the base of the mountain to the top of the mountain. Zhang Yangyang said that if you want to shorten this distance, you need to challenge yourself again and again and climb with all your might.

Time, a witness to growth. From not adapting to accepting, to slowly understanding and understanding, this process is extremely difficult for every "adaptee". In Zhang Yangyang's eyes, this is a kind of transformation.

Zhang Yangyang's home is in Shaanxi, and in the early summer the fields are endless waves of wheat.

On the day of Lixia, the family will gather together to eat cold noodles. Grandpa is older but still talkative, and he likes to chat with his youngest grandson, Zhang Yangyang.

In Zhang Yangyang's memory, the evening wind in his hometown is warm but not dry, sometimes with a hint of sweetness. Summer is here again, and the wind on the plateau is still cold.

Veterans said that the wind of the plateau sharpened the iron bones of soldiers. At this moment, Zhang Yangyang, who was standing on duty on the post, especially missed the bowl of cold noodles in his hometown, and his memory flew back to many years ago.

After graduating from high school, Zhang Yangyang signed up to join the army. Before that, he had never left home, and the farthest place he had ever been was the provincial capital of Xi'an. After getting the enlistment notice, he ran home from the county armed forces department and pounced on his grandfather: "I am about to become a soldier!" ”

The first to tell grandpa this good news is also a inheritance in the eyes of 18-year-old Zhang Yangyang. Grandpa was a soldier on a snowy peak on the northwestern border. After retiring from the army, Grandpa returned to his hometown to get married and have children. The family rarely listened to the old man tell the story of the shoushan in those years, until after Zhang Yangyang was born.

Growing up with his grandparents, Zhang Yangyang liked to listen to his grandfather tell stories the most. Every story is the "movie" of Zhang Yangyang's childhood: dealing with the sudden wolf, dealing with the wind and snow in the sky... The bravery of the plateau soldiers took deep root in the heart of the young Zhang Yangyang.

On the platform in the early morning, the train body reads "Urumqi". A place further west than this northwestern city, where Zhang Yangyang and his comrades's troops were stationed.

Set off, he embarked on a new journey in life.

Today, Zhang Yangyang can't remember how the family sent him to the village, only remembering that his grandfather kept holding his hand...

During a patrol last winter, the white hair wind blew on the top of the mountain, Zhang Yangyang almost fell when he passed the ridge, and the second-level sergeant Zhou Jianlong, who was walking in front, dragged him. Through the gloves, Zhang Yangyang felt a familiar force.

The garrison post is surrounded by heavy mountains, every time on duty at the sentry point, thinking of the elderly grandfather in the distance, Zhang Yangyang's heart is full of mixed feelings, there are thoughts, there are worries, there are also worries...

One day more than a month ago, shortly after the sentry, Zhang Yangyang learned on the phone that his grandfather was hospitalized due to illness, and tears instantly poured out of his eyes.

On the weekend, Zhou Jianlong specially called Zhang Yangyang out: "Go, let's go climbing the mountain together." Zhou Jianlong and Zhang Yangyang are fellow villagers, and weekend climbing is an agreement between the two: climb to the top of the mountain and look in the direction of hometown and relatives.

Standing at the top of the mountain, Zhang Yangyang was once again shocked by the magnificence of the mountains and rivers under his eyes. Remembering his grandfather, who was still in the hospital, tears blurred his vision. Zhou Jianlong had been guarding the plateau for more than ten years, and he was already the father of two children, how could he not understand the concerns of this comrade-in-arms.

"The mountains will not fail those who guard it. You shout, it listens. You shed tears, it remembers..." Facing the wind, the veteran's words reached Zhang Yangyang's heart.

That night in the study room, Zhang Yangyang, who was lying on the desk, did not raise his head.

The handwriting on the notebook is clear, and the tears that drip from the paper are condensed into tear marks, which is the fragility that Zhang Yangyang does not want to be known.

"Grandpa, I'm all well in the plateau. Keeping it is my agreement with you..." Closing the notebook and wiping away the tears, Zhang Yangyang silently prayed for Grandpa in his heart.

This was the first "family letter" he wrote to his grandfather. He said, insist, Grandpa will see.

Bitter and sweet

A line sent the word spring

Late at night, in the heart of karakoram, a beam of light was particularly bright.

Under the light, the thoughts of the company commander Wan Peng flew to his wife who was far away with his worries. Lowering his head, he continued to write down his inner words on the paper.

The emergency room of a military hospital more than a thousand kilometers away is brightly lit at the moment. A warrior suffering from acute gastroenteritis lies on a hospital bed. At the bedside, Zhao Shan, a military doctor who was on duty, was busy.

Every year, during the changing seasons, comrades in the outpost were often sent to the emergency department, and Zhao Shan's duty days were often busy until dawn. In order not to worry her husband Wan Peng, who was guarding the plateau, she always understated the hardships of work. Every time on the phone, when she heard his advice, she just smiled and comforted: "Rest assured, you pay attention to your body in the plateau." ”

Last summer, Zhao Shan, who originally worked in a hospital under the mountain, applied to her superiors to work at a hospital with more difficult conditions and higher altitudes.

She thought about this decision for a long time and never confided half a word to Wan Peng.

At that time, Zhao Shan and Wan Peng had just registered their marriage. Wan Peng is working in a certain department at an altitude of more than 5300 meters, and Zhao Shan's idea is simple: go to the plateau to accompany him.

Zhao Shan's superior leader got the application form and called specifically to verify the idea with Zhao Shan. Knowing that Wan Peng was defending the plateau troops, the leader said to her in a serious tone: "The conditions on the mountain are difficult, you are the technical backbone of the hospital, you can first second to adapt to the past, and then decide to stay after a year." ”

Shortly after this, it was Zhao Shan's birthday. On her birthday, she had arrived at the hospital's subordinate point to work. During the noon break, Wan Peng sent a message on his mobile phone: "Happy birthday Shanshan! ”

"I didn't tell you in advance, I'm already working on the mountain, and now we're getting closer!" Receiving the text message that Zhao Shan replied, Wan Peng suddenly jumped up from his chair.

Wan Peng, who was across the screen, seemed to see his wife's naughty smile. The next second, worry struck instantly. Clutching the phone, he painfully asked: "Who did you discuss the matter of going up the mountain?" "Can your body eat well"...

This is one of the few "no talks" between the two small mouths. In the past, when they encountered contradictions, they could all share and think of ways together. In Wan Peng's view, it is his responsibility to stay on the plateau alone, for everyone in the motherland and for their little family. In his heart, the "reproach" that blurted out was more of a concern from the bottom of his heart.

Hanging up the phone, Zhao Shan cried bitterly.

After thinking about it for an afternoon, the frank girl still decided to talk about it.

Late at night in the dormitory, Zhao Shan spread out the letter paper. Her impatience fell to the paper, turning into the relief and understanding of the tip of the pen, and a pile of things turned into a stream flowing on the tip of the pen.

The couple were on the same plateau, but they were separated by a long distance - when the weather was good, driving from the place where Zhao Shan worked, it was necessary to climb over the snowy mountains and Dasaka, and it took half a day to reach the sentry point where Wan Peng was stationed.

On a clear day, the letter was "sent" from her hand, carrying expectations to fly over the vast wasteland. The "courier" is a veteran who transports supplies from the regimental headquarters to the sentry point all year round.

On that day, the squad leader's car was full of the expectations of officers and soldiers. After more than 10 years of defending the plateau, veterans knew the weight of Zhao Shan's letter. He carefully placed the letter on his body.

In the afternoon, the car arrived at the company garrisoned by Wanpeng. The veteran learned from his comrades that Wan Peng had been sent to another point on a mission. Between the two points, separated by a mountain, the veteran had to return to the regimental headquarters that night, so he had to leave the letter to his comrades at the sentry. Before leaving, the veteran repeatedly instructed his comrades-in-arms at the sentry point to keep the letter and make sure to hand it over to Wan Peng.

Wan Peng received the letter 3 days later.

It was a cloudy day, and in his heart, it was a letter that sent spring.

Soon, it will be Wan Peng's birthday. By this day, the couple had been holding out on the plateau together for half a year. Zhao Shan contacted a cake shop in the county town, booked a birthday cake in advance, and asked the driver of the oxygen equipment to help deliver the cake to Wan Peng.

That afternoon, Zhao Shan received a photo. It was sent by Wan Peng's partner and company instructor. In the photo, Wan Peng holds a piece of cake in his hand and smiles so much that his eyes narrow into a slit. Next to him were smiling faces, each holding a piece of cake in their hands...

Happiness jumps out of the screen. Zhao Shan smiled, as if she was eating cake with them, and that sweetness had been sweet to her heart.

Today and yesterday

Written to "loved ones" who will always live

In an old photo album in the cupboard, a photograph has turned yellow. The smiles of the people in the photo are vivid and real.

Touching the photo, Wu Jia's tears fell again.

Nearly fifty years old, Wu Jia is a military doctor who has been walking on the plateau for 30 years. Among the rows of young people in old military uniforms in the photo, the teenager with a bright smile is her father, Wu Yongqiang, a combat hero and second-class hero. She said her father was 17 years old when she took the photo with her comrades.

Taking off her reading glasses and gently wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes, Wu Jia's thoughts flew back to Karakoram again.

"Wang Quanxi!" "To!" "RodYong!" "To!"

In that border battle decades ago, on the eve of the position, platoon leader Wu Yongqiang shouted out the names of his comrades one by one. That night, every name that answered "to", Wu Jia listened to her father repeatedly when she was a little girl.

She remembered her father saying that the wind on the plateau that year was bitterly cold, the cotton clothes on her father and comrades were very thin, and the moment the battle began, everyone had only one belief in their hearts - to charge.

Wu Yongqiang was ordered to lead a platoon of comrades to take down an enemy bunker.

Tongues of fire swept back and forth on the positions, and they charged again and again. Watching his comrades fall one by one, at the critical moment, Wu Yongqiang picked up a package of explosives and rushed to the bunker.

"Father is determined to die with the enemy." Wu Jia said that when his father charged, he was hit by a shell and then lost consciousness. When he woke up again, he was already lying in the back hospital.

With the pain in his heart, Wu Yongqiang learned that he had lost his hands and legs by the shell. Greater compassion ensued, and the doctor told Wu Yongqiang that more than half of the platoon had died in that battle...

In Wu Jia's memory, his father, who took off his military uniform, was still strong. After undergoing many surgeries, her father's perseverance gave Wu Jia a kind of courage - one day, she also put on a military uniform.

For 30 years, Wu Jia was dedicated to being a plateau military doctor. For half the year, she walks at the highland outpost to deliver medicine to her comrades. Many of the comrades-in-arms around me chose to leave the plateau, and the officers and men of the outpost changed stubble after stubble, but Wu Jia always insisted on his inner choice - "I want to stay in the plateau, and the plateau needs me." ”

A faith, a lifetime to follow. In the past 30 years, Wu Jia has visited more than once at every outpost of the plateau. She remembered the name of each Dasaka, and remembered every sentence of "Lian Soul" carved on the side stones of different companies.

"No matter how far you go, remember when you come." This is what my father said to Wu Jia. That year, Wu Jia went to the plateau for the first time, and her father told her that the conditions on the plateau were harsh, you were a girl, you really couldn't stand it, you could come down.

In the Karakoram Plateau, the first thing the garrison recruits do when they go up the mountain is to go to the Consilva Martyrs' Cemetery to pay tribute to the heroes. Standing in front of the monument for the first time, Wu Jia bowed deeply, she knew that here, there were her father's comrades-in-arms.

The night before Wu Jia returned home from visiting relatives that year, about to return to the team, Wu Yongqiang stayed up all night at his desk: he used his two mutilated arms to "clamp" a pen with difficulty and write on the letter paper. In just over 10 lines, the old man wrote all night.

Handing the letter to his daughter, Wu Yongqiang shed tears. He said: "Child, please help me bring this letter to the heroic comrades who are buried in the plateau, who are our relatives who are alive forever." ”

Standing again in front of the monument in the Kangsiwa Martyrs' Cemetery, Wu Jia had a letter in her hand.

"Comrades Wang Quanxi, Luo Yong, Qin Zhenqing, etc., are you okay?" Today, our daughter came to see you. Standing in front of the tomb of the martyr Qin Zhenqing, Wu Jia read the letter, tears flowing.

That day, through the video connection in his daughter's hand, Wu Yongqiang saw rows of martyrs' tombstones. He said with tears, Comrades-in-arms, the motherland is prosperous and prosperous today, and I have witnessed it for you.

The wind in the martyrs' cemetery blew through, leaving a rustling sound, like a rallying cry, and like a charge trumpet. Raising her head, Wu Jia looked at the mountains in the distance, and the points and outposts on the clouds were still waiting for her.

Walking on the road of the plateau border pass, this is what she understands as "father's inheritance", and it is also Wu Jia's responsibility as a soldier.

Pictured: Zhang Yangyang writes a "family letter" at his desk.

Pictured: Zhang Yangyang (second from left) with his comrades on patrol.

Pictured: Wan Pengduan's photo with his wife.

Pictured: Wu Jia looks into the distance on a round trip.

Pictured: Wan Peng and Zhao Shan are together.

Photo by Dong Shaopeng (■ Xia Yunlong Correspondent Tang Zeyuan Zheng Qian Zhang Jin)