#挑战30天在头条写日记#
Life and Death West Malaysia Line
Wang Chengwen
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Section VI
The rivers in Longzi County belong to the Xiongqu River system, with 4 tributaries such as Sequ, Luoqu, Yumaiqu and Xibaxiaqu, and 41 long-term flowing tributaries in the mountains and valleys. Among them, there are 5 rivers with a catchment area of 100 square kilometers. There are 65 large and small lakes in the county, with a total area of 33 square kilometers.
The West Horse Line, in the southeast of Longzi County, is not too long, the water system is relatively rich, there are many unavoidable rivers along the way, swamps and quagmires that cannot be avoided. The highway continues to extend in a southeasterly direction. Steep mountains and hard rocks have brought one problem after another to the officers and men of the 3rd Battalion. After entering the 30-plus kilometer area, in addition to the dangerous mountains and rivers, the swamps and mudslides along the line obstructed the troops' advance from time to time. The main geological difficulties encountered by the officers and men of road construction are:
Quagmire swamps. In dense forest areas, the leaves block the sunlight and air, and the litter and leaves under the forest are covered layer by layer, so that a large amount of water accumulates on the surface; in addition, there are often impermeable sedimentary layers at the bottom of the soil layer, resulting in the elevation of the diving level, the soil is in an overhumid state, and the growth environment of trees deteriorates, and the grass and wood mosses suitable for growth and development are developed. After several successions, the forest was degraded and evolved into a quagmire swamp.
River swamps. Along the low-lying river, when the river is shallow and the flow rate is slow, the aquatic plants growing on the bank gradually form swamps. In some of the routes, the ground is covered with snow in winter, and the next year the snow melts, and the ground is covered with water, and dwarf grasses and bryophytes are mixed, forming swamps.
Forest swamps. After 50 kilometers, most of the road is forested, and the branches and leaves are piling up, as if a thick quilt has been covered on the ground. It both stores a lot of rainwater and reduces soil evaporation, keeping it in an overly moist state. Due to the carbonization process, most of the mineral nutrients in the soil are leached, causing the death of plants and trees, and replacing them with flourishing bryophytes. Bryophytes retain most of their water, slowing down the decomposition of plant residues and causing the quagmire to accumulate, gradually forming a "forest swamp" phenomenon.
Meadow swamp. In some areas that are too wet, weeds multiply in large quantities, forming a thick layer of grass, which makes the soil permeable condition deteriorate, the toner gradually decreases, and the original plants gradually decay, growing sedges, moss and other plants. These moisture-loving plants have a strong ability to hold water. Humidity exacerbated the rapid development of meadow swamps.
Mudslide. Heavy rains, floods, glaciers, and snow cover along the West Malaysia route will saturate and dilute the soil containing sand and soft mountains to form harmful torrents. It erupted suddenly and violently. Sometimes carrying boulders, it slides down quickly, causing damage to the project.
There were more than 30 geological disasters such as swamps, quagmires, and mudslides of various sizes along the West Horse Line, and the officers and men of the 3rd Battalion were in a state of confusion and actively faced the battle.
In July 1977, the construction of the 8th Company entered the second phase of the project, and several swamps were laid in front of them. At 66 kilometers, there is a swampy wetland about 100 meters long, irregularly 40 to 60 meters wide, and a slope of twenty or thirty degrees, blocking their progress.
This section of the wetland, with a thick layer of sedges, moss and other plants on top, and water and decaying plant rhizomes and silt below, is about 60 or 70 centimeters deep on average, and the deepest part is more than 1 meter. The fighters called it "Meadow Swamp".
Deputy instructor Bai Xueman (enlisted in Jiuquan, Gansu in March 1969) and Yu Jia'an, the commander of the 1st platoon (enlisted in Jiuquan, Gansu in March 1969), led the soldiers of the 1st platoon to work in muddy water, remove straw mats, pry away loose stones, and move stones to pave the roadbed. There is no cement in the construction of the West Road, and the piers are made of dry stones. A few cubic meters of pine wood with a diameter of about 50 centimeters were cut from the forest to build a temporary bridge. The group fought in the muddy water for more than two weeks, and the sludge and snow water seeped into the bones of the young officers and soldiers. Just when the officers and men had conquered the meadow swamp and were full of joy, suddenly, with a "click", a lightning bolt pierced the silence of the sky, and a thunderclap woke up the creatures on the high mountain. A stranglehold thunder made the sky crack and the grass and trees were sad. After a while, the sky changed drastically, and immediately changed from the cloudy sky to pitch black, the dark clouds in the sky were like overturned inkwells, and the "ink" fell to the ground like a bucket of water, and a little blister appeared in the small puddle on the ground...... The day after the rainstorm, the drizzle was still falling, and the improvised wooden bridge built by the officers and soldiers was gone.
The 2nd row, which started at the same time as the 1st row, also encountered a period of "hard stubble". At 69 kilometers, they encountered a clear river, about 30 meters wide and about 1 meter deep, with low-lying river swamps at both ends, and about 100 meters with the approach bridge. This section of the marsh is in shallow water on both sides of the river, and the water flow is slow, and aquatic weeds are formed on the banks. The riverbank is covered with snow in winter, and the next year the snow melts, and the riverbank is waterlogged, and the river is swampy and the grass and bryophyte are overgrown. Only bridges can be crossed. Lei Zhen (enlisted in Fengjie County, Chongqing in January 1973) platoon commander led his comrades-in-arms to tie a safety hemp rope around their waists to clean up the swamp silt in the rapids and build bridge piers with stones. The officers and men fought for 27 days in swamps, mud and waist-deep snow and rain. After each ashore, many comrades were cold and numb in their lower limbs, and they could not recover for several hours. The stone pier log bridge was repaired, and people and vehicles could pass. Unfortunately, a rare hailstorm struck suddenly. The raindrops of hail, as big as glass beans on a checkerboard, were as hard as small stones, like thunder, and the tighter tents were smashed through some small eyes by the hailstones, and the cattle and sheep who had no time to escape met with accidents. The nameless flowers and plants on the slope drooped their heads by the furious hail, and some crawled directly into the mud, and they shed their blooming stamens with infinite bitterness. After a hailstorm, heavy rain, then moderate rain, then light rain. After the hail and rain, there was no trace of the bridge in the water built by the 2nd row.
The 8th Company is a heroic company that can fight well, and in the Battle of Fumei in July 1949, it stubbornly resisted the enemy's many heavy attacks, and completed the combat mission excellently, and was awarded the title of "Luoju Town Combat Hero Company" and "Hero Company of Attacking and Defending" by the Fourth Army of the First Field Army. The many raids of climatic and geological disasters have further stimulated the heroic spirit of the officers and men of the 8th Company. Company commander Xiao Rongshuang (enlisted in Yongchuan District, Chongqing in March 1963) told the soldiers: Our Red Army hero company must not stretch the belt in front of the cement beach of the river, but must face difficulties!
Among the soldiers of the 8th Company, there are a number of junior and senior high school (technical secondary school) students. Instructor Li Zengrong (enlisted in the army in Heyang County, Shaanxi Province in March 1965) was a man of culture, and he felt that the most concise way to compete with Tiangong and fight against disasters was to win with knowledge and wisdom. He put Zhang Daoxing (enlisted in Fengjie County, Chongqing in January 1973, technical secondary school degree, then deputy platoon commander of any platoon, after the construction was completed, he served as the regimental science and culture education officer and the teaching director of the regiment culture school), Chen Zuyao (enlisted in Fengjie County, Chongqing in January 1973, then served as the deputy platoon commander of the 3rd platoon), Tang Anrong (enlisted in Renshou County, Sichuan in 1975, then served as the 10th squad leader), Han Leyuan (enlisted in Fuling District, Chongqing in January 1976, then served as the squad leader), Liao Xueyang (enlisted in Yilong County, Sichuan Province in January 1976 and served as a squad leader at the time) and others formed an engineering and technical research group. They used mathematical and physical principles, used data calculations, solved the relevant data of debris flows, swamps, and river water, and reached a consensus with the comrades of the squad platoon before construction. Their data calculation method is: HP (bridge bottom elevation) = HP (minimum mark) 10hn (bottom height) 10 hc100 (once in a hundred years debris flow depth) + HN (river bed silt during design) + BD (mud surface boulder) + HW (mud level ultra-high value) + HZ (debris flow obstruction climbing height) + C (safety high). The officers and men of the 1st and 2nd platoons meticulously organized the construction in accordance with the theory they had designed, and in just over 20 days, they completed the task of building bridges over meadows, swamps, quagmires, rivers, and other "troublesome" areas.
Building a bridge over a river deep in the jungle is another scene. In the mainland in February and March, spring flowers have bloomed, and the willows and flowers are bright. But on the West Malaysia line, heavy snow is falling. Most of the lines are covered with snow ranging from 0.5 meters to more than 1 meter deep, which brings unimaginable difficulties to the construction troops in building roads and bridges.
In February 1978, the 3rd Artillery Company was working at kilometer 92, and a river blocked the way. The river is run down from San'an Qulin, and there is no name on the construction drawings. The drawings mark that a wooden bridge needs to be erected from here. The bridge was designed to be 25 meters long, 7.7 meters wide and 3 meters high. The bridge is about 20 meters wide. In winter, when the snow and ice cover the mountain, the water under the ice is about 30 centimeters deep. In summer, the snow melts and rains, and the river is about 2 meters deep. On each side of the river there is a relatively flat quagmire swamp about 60 meters long. It is necessary to use local materials and erect wooden bridges. Design materials: 0.5 meters in diameter, 3 meters in length, 12 logs, 0.4 meters in diameter, 3 meters long, 12 logs, 3 meters long, 0, 25 meters square wood.
In the face of heavy snow, the "bridge in the snow" was erected well and quickly. The party branch of the machine gun company held a branch committee overnight to unify thinking, formulate construction plans, and clarify the tasks and safety work of each platoon. The 3rd Machine Gun Company is a combat hero company, which once cooperated with the infantry to repel the enemy's repeated counterattacks in the liberation of Lanzhou on August 25, 1949, and completed the combat mission excellently, and was awarded the title of "Heroic Company of Fierce Fighting" of the Fourth Army of the First Field Army. Instructor Feng Guanghua mobilized the officers and men to resolutely complete the task of "bridge in the snow" without fear of steep mountains and thick snow, and not afraid of freezing and difficult to walk. He and his deputy company commander Qian Zhengming led the soldiers up the mountain, shook off the snow, and made several convenient roads up the mountain to cut wood.
The timber requirements for bridges in humid areas are high, with straight trunks, hard wood, and corrosion resistance. They led their officers and soldiers to a dense mountain forest 3 kilometers away to cut wood. Knocking on the snow all the way, while looking for a good material suitable for bridging of the iron forest pine trees. The forest and snow fields in the plateau, the temperature is minus 12 degrees, and the leather hats, leather gloves, and fur shoes are not easy to use. The comrades who pulled the dragon saws and cut down are better, and those who chop branches and chop down with axes stand in the snow nest, and they can't do it with gloves. They gritted their teeth, cut down enough timber for building the bridge according to the size requirements with a saw and an axe, and rolled the timbers one by one to the newly built road one by one through the thick snow, or in groups of two or four people, one by one to the riverside construction site. Then, 8 soldiers who can order carpentry are selected to solve the material backup. Liu Daoshan, deputy platoon commander of the 1st platoon (enlisted from Fengjie County, Chongqing in January 1973, and later served as the commander of the 3rd Company of Machine Gun), and Wang Huichun, deputy platoon commander of the 2nd platoon (enlisted in Fengjie County, Chongqing in January 1973, and later served as the deputy instructor of the 2nd Battalion) led the 1st and 2nd platoons to clear the swamp and bathe mud in the middle at two ends, drill holes in the river and fire cannons, and dig rocks to lay the foundation. Everyone's foreheads were sweating, their bodies were shivering, their hands and feet were cold and numb, and their fingertips were painful. The comrades who went down to the river were divided into two shifts to dig the mud and dig the foundation, and took turns to go ashore to bake the fire for warmth, and go back and forth to the water for operation. After the concerted efforts and unremitting efforts of the comrades of the whole company, the wooden bridge was finally erected. They named it "West Horse Bridge" and became a beautiful scenery on the West Horse Line.
(To be continued)
(Note: All illustrations in this article are provided by the author)
About the Author:
Wang Chengwen: In November 1969, he enlisted in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province, and served as a soldier and clerk in the 3rd Battalion and 8th Company of the 32nd Regiment of the 11th Division of the Army of the Tibet Military Region, the secretary of the 3rd Battalion, the platoon commander of the 7th Company, the deputy instructor of the 4th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 32nd Regiment of the 32nd Regiment of the 32nd Infantry Division of the Xinjiang Military Region, the chief of the Political Department of the 11th Division, the political commissar of the Xinjiang Aheqi People's Armed Forces Department, and the director and political commissar of the People's Armed Forces Department of the Jianghan Oilfield in Hubei Province. He retired in 2011.
Author: Wang Chengwen