#头条创作挑战赛#
Forever "Chen No. 5"
Commander Chen Mingyi in the eyes of a recruit and a female soldier
Zhang Zhihong
In 1973, when I joined the army and went to the communications terminal of the Tibet Military Region, the commander of the military region was General Chen Mingyi, and I vaguely remember that the deputy commanders were Deputy Commander Tianbao and Deputy Commander Nan.
Female soldiers of the telegraph corps in front of the communication building of the main station
Commander Chen Mingyi was the chief of staff of the old 18th Army, ranking 5th among the leaders of the 18th Army. In the early 50s, he led the 18th Army and commanded more than 25,000 soldiers and migrant workers, and after five years of hard work and great sacrifices, he built the world-famous Sichuan-Tibet Highway, which is the most beautiful and dangerous in the world, which makes countless people yearn for it and makes countless people talk about it. This veteran Red Army veteran who had gone through the 25,000-mile Long March, and who had been through the battlefield for a long time and had been rolled out of bullets and bullets, enjoyed a high reputation among the troops of the military region. In the early 70s, he was already the No. 1 chief, but everyone in the military region still called him Chen No. 5, and I never heard anyone call him Chen No. 1. (laughs)
At that time, I often saw Commander Chen in the courtyard of the military region, sometimes in the square in front of the club auditorium, Commander Chen was of medium and well-proportioned height, he always wore a yellow mud military uniform, did not wear a collar badge, wore a mud coat, and liked to wear semi-high-waisted black leather boots on his feet, because when I was in middle school, I read a book describing the commander of the Air Force, General Liu Yalou, Liu Yalou is a general who stayed in the Soviet Union, and he is very particular about appearance, and the black high-waisted leather boots are always shining, and he is very impressed, so I will think of Commander Chen and General Liu Yalou together. I think Commander Chen's image is unique and handsome! At that time, I also heard that Commander Chen was very fond of taking photographs. Many years later, I saw in the People's Liberation Army Pictorial a photograph of Commander Chen's return to the Long March.
Originally, as the commander of the second-class military region, the founding general who was awarded the rank of major general in the first time of the Republic in 1955, did not have the opportunity to have direct contact with ordinary female soldiers of our communications company, but an interesting incident shortened the distance between us and Commander Chen.
Female soldiers of the telegraph team pose for a group photo in front of the auditorium of the military region
At that time, there was no fruit shop or vegetable market in Lhasa, and there was only one trading company, that is, a state-run store, which only sold woolen yarn and blankets produced by the Nyingchi Bayi Woolen Mill, as well as thermoses, towels, soap, toothpaste and other daily necessities that were easy to transport. We couldn't eat fresh vegetables and fruits for many years, and when we were training in Nyingchi Nisi in the first year of enlistment, the altitude was low, about 3,000 meters above sea level, and trees grew on the mountain, and there was a kind of golden wild fruit called "Pao'er" in the thorn bushes, which we often went to pick and eat in the summer, and we also picked and ate wild peaches that were astringent and sour and smaller than walnuts. At that time, there was no railway, road transportation was difficult, whether it was the Qinghai-Tibet line or the Sichuan-Tibet line, it took 20 days to go in a single trip, and the urgently needed materials could not be transported, and the vegetables and fruits could not be transported for a long distance. We are a company and there is no other way to make fruits, and I remember that from the first five years of being a soldier until the first vacation after five and a half years, I did not eat any other fruits except for the occasional taste of apples.
The gate of the communication terminal and the gate of the headquarters are very close, a few steps to the right hand of the gate of the terminal is the courtyard of the headquarters, Commander Chen's house is in the courtyard of the headquarters, there are apple trees, I don't know whose masterpiece it is, the apple trees actually planted and bore apples, one night on duty, I forgot which naughty female soldier slipped to the yard of Commander Chen's house to pick apples, and was caught by the sentry of the guard company. The girl from the main station, dare to go to the commander's yard to pick apples! Frightened, the female soldier put down the apple and ran. A few days later, we were in the dormitory, and the head of the main station came to inform us to go and get the apples, and the small half-basin apples sent by Commander Chen, the apples were small, half green and half red, and we were really flattered and tasted the apples of the commander's house.
Half a century has passed, and this interesting story still often pops up, and my heart is warm. The leaders of Commander Chen's generation are all gone, but their great achievements, their sassy military might, and their love for soldiers will never be forgotten! Commander Chen, in our hearts, is the eternal Chen No. 5.
Female soldier comrades-in-arms of the telegraph team in front of the auditorium of the military district
(Note: All illustrations in this article are provided by the author)
About the Author:
Zhang Zhihong: Born in 1957, enlisted in the army in December 1972, he served as a telegraph operator of the telegraph squadron of the communications terminal of the Tibet Military Region, deputy instructor of the second company of the seventh battalion, and deputy instructor of the third squadron of the aviation communication station of a certain fleet since 82, and an officer and director of the club. In 97, he transferred to work in Ningbo Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. He retired in 2017.
Author: Zhang Zhihong