#春日生活打卡季#
Witness the exchange of international posts at the sentry post
Reihu Changtaka
I still remember what I saw at the sentry post.
The time was fixed at 10 o'clock in the morning on Thursday, April 28, 1988, and it was time for the exchange of international mail between China and India at the Nathula Pass.
(This photo comes from the Internet)
Between nine and eleven o'clock that morning, I was standing guard at the sentry post. My post was on the slope not far from the International Post Office, and at the foot of the post box was the place where the famous couplet was painted in the army. Being able to stand guard at the Nathula Pass is indeed "fun" for a soldier!
I was standing in the sentry box performing my sentry duties, and through the windowpane, I first saw three men walking slowly towards the mountain pass on the snow below the Indian hillside, the first one walking was the postman with a bag on his shoulder, the one behind was two Indian soldiers, and the one at the back was still carrying a gun on his shoulder.
I raised my wrist and looked at my watch, and at 9:45 a.m., no one would have appeared in the snow at any other time, and I saw that they had come to exchange mail, so I stared at them until their figure was blocked by the mountain, and I looked elsewhere, and at 9:55 a.m., I saw our postmen, Yalin and Basang, coming from the bend in the direction of our company to the international postal booth, waiting at the postal booth a few minutes earlier than the Indian postman. When I saw the Indian personnel coming up from the foot of the slope, my eyes were focused on them again. Observing their every move, when they came to a place more than 20 meters away from the barbed wire fence of the border line, the Indian soldier carrying the gun in the back found a raised snowdrift and lay down behind, and took out his gun to shoot in a posture.
When I saw this, my heart suddenly became nervous, and I quickly held the gun in my hand, hid by the window, and hiddenly observed the Indian soldier lying on the ground with a gun, thinking in my heart that as long as he dared to shoot, I would first shout to him, issue a verbal warning, and then shake the phone to report to the command post. I stared at him for a while, and saw him lying there motionless, and I didn't see him continue to move, and then I turned my eyes to the two people who continued to walk. Although I have heard Guo Jiafeng's squad leader and veterans say that every Thursday and Sunday at ten o'clock, when the Indian postman enters the mainland, he is left alone, and other people are not allowed to step in. They didn't say these details, and I didn't ask them in detail, so I was shocked.
(Photo courtesy of the author)
The Indian postman had already walked to the barbed wire, and I saw that I pushed open the barbed wire door, entered my territory, closed the door, and walked briskly to the international postal kiosk more than 10 meters away. The other Indian soldier stood on the barbed wire fence, looking sideways in the direction of the post office.
In less than three minutes, the Indian postman came out of the international postal booth, walked to the barbed wire door, opened the door and went out, closed the door and turned away, and the Indian soldier standing next to him also left, and only after the two men had walked past the Indian soldier who was lying on the ground, he got up and took his gun and withdrew. Seeing their distant backs, I put my heart down, and I put the gun on my shoulder and continued to stand guard.
For me, a recruit who had only been at the Nathula outpost for ten days at that time was indeed rare and strange, for a recruit
When encountering this situation, how to deal with it is a test. It is also necessary to strengthen the study of the 14 stipulations of the State Council and the Central Military Commission on a number of policy issues concerning border defense work in the Sino-Indian, Sino-Sinian, and Sino-Bhutarian border areas, so as to be reasonable, responsible, and beneficial, and never to provoke trouble in the first place and never to fire the first shot. At the end of the year, I was able to score the best score of 98 points in the examination to study border defense policy, and I am glad that I have won another consecutive commendation for this.
Later, after I became acquainted with both Yalin and Basang, I had the opportunity to go into the International Post Pavilion to watch the exchange of mail between China and India when I was on a medical trip. Under normal circumstances, when both parties exchange emails, they should check whether the tin envelope on the mail is in good condition, and if it is not damaged, they will sign each other to complete the exchange.
If the Indian postman does not return for more than 30 minutes, the Indian on the other side of the barbed wire fence will shout to their postman and if he does not return, he will fire a gun urging him to return.
Yalin and Basang had set out from the Yadong County Post and Telecommunications Bureau the afternoon before, rode horses to the Daoban accommodation under the Erji Lian checkpoint, and rushed to the Nathula Pass in the morning of the day of the exchange of mail. No matter the wind or rain, the storm and the snow, it is necessary to exchange on time, and whoever misses the point is responsible, rain or shine.
(Photo courtesy of the author)
About the Author:
Linghu Changsong: Han nationality, the screen name is the scenery of the mountain, and he is from Tongzi County, Guizhou Province. He joined the army in October 1987 and served as a company health officer at the Naitula outpost of the 6th Frontier Regiment of the Tibet Military Region; in December 1989, he was transferred to the 6th Regiment Communications Company to serve as a company health officer; he was discharged from the army in December 1992 and joined the Tongzi Chemical Plant.
Author: Linghu Changsong