Original: Wang Yisheng
The town of Uligi today is much livelier at night than in the past
The border town of Uligi is the most distant place I've ever been to when I was young. Uriji is a commune (Sumu) of the Alxa Left Banner, and when we were stationed, the Alxa Left Banner was under the jurisdiction of Ningxia and later returned to Inner Mongolia. Decades have passed, but its appearance, its appearance, still leaves an indelible mark on my heart, because I have been baptized by the fierce wind and sand there, and I have also been exposed to the poisonous sun there, and the Gobi Desert there has sprinkled my sweat and tears, and my footprints have made my memories. For many years, that hazy memory, although it was beaten by the relentless years, was still like a trickle flowing in the river of my growth, flowing with distant longing feelings, and the gentle sound of camel bells in the wind, the rich fragrance of the May sand jujube flowers, pervading the sky over the border town, and it soaked my young lungs.
In March 1971, when the temperature was warm and cool, and the border defense was tight, the reconnaissance company was urgently ordered to garrison the border town of Uliji. Urigi is no stranger to veterans, they have been stationed, but for us recruits from the interior, there is a mysterious feeling, a kind of attraction and curiosity in the mind, guessing: what is the border defense?
Now Uligi I don't know her growth, her changes, her tranquility and what kind of peace? In the past 50 years, I have never set foot in the past, and I dare not speculate in vain, at that time, Uliji was built in a desolate desert and a gap in the Gobi, the north of the town was a vast yellow sand, the south of the town was a vast Gobi Desert, and we were stationed in a place called the Dongfeng Brigade in the east of the town.
Sand date trees in the Desert Gobi
Due to the sparse population, the brigade is also dozens of households, hundreds of people, the east of the village is their long-term reclamation of the vegetable garden, surrounded by a patch of sand jujube forest, and further to look, is the sparse red willow spread to the depths of the desert, this is the most beautiful scenery of the town, to the industrious and brave and simple frontier people to bring vitality, bring beauty to enjoy, add a layer of peace.
Camels are the only means of transportation for people here to reach the depths of the desert, and each family has several camels, which are known as "desert boats" because they are resistant to hunger, thirst, heat and cold. In the evening, camel caravans returned to town with their belongings and dry firewood, and in the early morning camel caravans drove east and west to their distant pastures. The jingling camel bell, wandering through the desert, is the most beautiful note in the depths of the desert, and it seems to sing the oldest song of the desert people.
The town is inhabited by Mongolians, Hui and Han people, they have lived in harmony for generations, making the frontier peaceful, the People's Liberation Army garrison town, but also injected vitality into this land, like an extra green barrier, that era paid special attention to military-civilian relations, lianli every political study, can not help but emphasize the importance of military and civilian fish water conditions, to respect national customs and habits, and their beliefs. In particular, hui gathering places should pay more attention to the fact that drinking water from the same well should also use their buckets to fetch water, which is a respect for them. We mingled with the people here, supporting each other, helping each other, and guarding the peace and stability of the frontiers of the motherland together, and many, many interesting things have happened that are not worth talking about today, like ancient legends, but they do connect a link in my life. Sometimes I recall that experience, it has made me excited, lost, and mixed with some faint sadness, it seems that I am old, the little light emitted when I was young, no longer shines, and the precipitation is only a small story in the memory.
In the early 1970s, china's border defenses were not tranquil, including the China-Mongolia border line, and Urigi seemed calm, but there were also undercurrents. Within a few days of our stationing, there were several incidents of harassment of signal flares that had been raised for no reason, more than a dozen miles away, and only a few hundred meters near. I am afraid that this is all the work of the enemy on the border defense line, and it is a blatant provocation.
Joint defense patrols
To tell you the truth, as a new recruit, I sometimes have nervous hairs in my heart, and the most disturbing thing for me is the shift in the middle of the night, the first shift on the border defense line is my deepest memory, and I still have a little shame when I think about it. On the second 12:00 midnight in Wuliji, it was my turn to stand guard, my last shift was veteran Chen Gengui, this guy usually likes to joke with me, when the handover of the post he said to me: "Wang Yisheng, you be careful, don't let the agent put you away with a sack!" After saying that, he gave the password and went back to the dormitory to sleep. I distinctly remember that the password that night was "Be vigilant."
I stood with my gun in the corner of the barracks, looking into the distance, the sky was so dark, the night was so quiet, the little noise was heard so clearly and truly, occasionally I could hear the barking of dogs from the town, there were rats biting not far away from me, I don't know if it was a fight for the wind? Or grab food. At this time, there was a black and mushy thing rustling at my feet, I kicked it lightly with my toes, and the guy rolled into a round ball, which turned out to be a huge hedgehog, which corresponded to the sentence, where there are people living there are rats, and this hedgehog is the natural enemy of rats. The quiet night was accompanied by elves, and the palpitations of the heart were slightly comforted. At this moment, two red signal flares rose in the southeast of the camp, looking at the distance of about a kilometer, when my heart mentioned that the throat and eyes suddenly jumped, the scalp exploded, and the sweat and hair on the body seemed to stand up, thanks to the fact that I had just learned to load the bullet, pulled the bolt backwards, pushed the bullet into the chamber with a loud bang, and then closed the safety, and stared at the place where the signal bomb was fired.
Just then I heard the sound of footsteps behind me that was close to me, and I turned back violently and a black shadow had reached me, and I shivered a little, nervous that I even forgot the password of that night, and casually asked, "Who?" The other person said "Me! "It turned out that the instructor Zhou Qinghai was checking the sentry, and he asked me if I had a password tonight?" I said yes, just now two signal flares rose in the southeast direction, and I forgot about it. The instructor said in a low voice, "You can't forget the password until you know it, it will hurt people by mistake!" "I reported to him on the situation of the flares just now, and he said: Be clever and strengthen your vigilance.
Lying in the bed after being laid off, how can that nervous heart not be calmed down, think about everything that happened on this shift, if it is not the instructor checking the post, if it is a secret agent? I forgot the password at that time, if the instructor was treated as a spy, the brain was blank in the tension, if I opened the insurance, the board machine buckled, and a shuttle of bullets shot out, what would be the consequences? The more I thought about it, the more I was afraid, I gently put on a cotton jacket and sat up, looking out the dark window, my body was hot and dry, the beads of sweat rolled down my cheeks, and I held my head in my hands and hung low on my knees, at that time, I really didn't look like a soldier, but like a 16-year-old child who made a mistake, and for the first time I let out a long sigh...
Successive flares caused pressure on the entire company and plagued me and my comrades. The company commander made up his mind that this deadlock must be broken, so the company changed the previous training law, the day was reversed, the training at night became more frequent, and the emergency assembly at night became a common thing; according to the characteristics of the reconnaissance company, the training course was formulated, first of all, to eliminate the enemy who fired the signal bomb, that unforgettable night -- at about 11:00 p.m. on March 28, in the direction of the village east of the sand jujube forest, two red signal bombs flew in the direction of our camp, the whole company was assembled urgently, and the company commander ordered deputy company commander Liu Zifu to take full command. Zhou Instructor made a supplement, time is victory, there must be no delay at half a point, Deputy Company Commander Liu immediately arranged combat tasks, one row from the left, three rows from the right, the second row in the center, immediately into battle, a roar of a full company of bullets loaded, closed the safety, Deputy Company Commander Liu with a row, rushed up from the left, the pistol platoon from the right also quickly wrapped up, and then look at our second platoon, the fourth shift is on the left, the sixth squad is on the right, platoon leader Li Kui led the fifth squad in the center, the umbrella shape, alternate cover forward, Don't look at our platoon leader's usual hip-hop and kind-heartedness towards us, at a critical moment, the mighty and domineering military temperament was revealed, the sleeves were pulled up high, the pistol was carried, and the appearance of not being afraid of danger made us admire.
Two hours later, the deputy company commander issued a signal to encircle, and the officers and men of the whole company pounced on it like a group of fierce tigers descending the mountain, but the people did not catch it, so they found the timing firing device of the two signal bombs, and the deputy company commander Liu scolded angrily: "The enemy is really fucking cunning!" "Training at night is much more difficult than during the day, complex desert terrain, into the inside will be lost, as a scout from the beginning of the recruit must master a variety of skills, basic training to identify the direction, locate the North Star, map, map, map, familiar with the use of compass, learn to camouflage, lurk, cleverly identify the flow of sandbags, and so on. Walking in the desert at night, you also have to deal with the occurrence and elimination of various uncertainties.
Some comrades of the second platoon of the reconnaissance company took a group photo in the small town of Uliji
May border pass, the wind is light and cloudy, sleeping for a winter of various plants, waking up in the warm wind, the sparse sand willows carrying red poles swaying in the breeze, stringing green leaves dance its posture, telling the feelings for this land, the east of the village is a forest of sand dates, flowers are full of branches, just pixel wrapped in graceful and colorful maidens, Tingting Yu stands in the vast desert, it absorbs the essence of the desert, spits out its inner fragrance, the rich taste, pervades the whole town, drifting with the wind to the distance, the desert Gobi speckled green, Decorated with the dry Gobi Desert, it has vitality, hope, and beautiful scenery.
In the years of the town of Uligibian, we let go of passion, our youth was rejuvenated there, the monotonous and boring heart was no longer lonely, and we knew what was on our shoulders? We have longing, we have expectations, we look forward to letters from home, even if it is only a few words, it can encourage our pace of moving forward, comfort the heart of home. The recruits are looking forward to it, the veterans are even more looking forward to it, how they are looking forward to receiving the letter from their beloved at home, the heart of youth is burning at the border, they look forward to the day when they can meet their sweethearts, open the hearts of the youth sinuses, whisper, tell each other's love words, as a soldier, what a luxury this is, this good wish, can only be entangled in dreams.
Iron discipline put away the spring tide of the heart, no matter where we go, we abide by this discipline, can not have personal relations with the local compatriots, this is the need for the secrecy of the troops, let alone for no reason and do not know the girl to talk to each other, so as not to cause adverse effects, to put an end to future troubles. Speaking of this, I also really remembered what happened when I was stationed in my company, this incident happened to our class, not nominated, all old, I will use Brother Zhang instead, Brother Zhang is a veteran who joined the army in November 69, his home is in A, usually speaking without a straight shape, a deep and shallow sentence, we all call him "missing items" behind our backs.
During that time, this dude did not know what was wrong? Always a person in a daze, the soul of the two eyes hooked straight to the house, sometimes talk to themselves, do not talk to people, in the morning running exercise that eye is always looking to a place, once there was a toe, lying on the body of the squad leader, the squad leader glared at him fiercely, the day of May is also the longest, after dinner the sun is still high, everyone laughs and laughs in the barracks, only this old man out of the barracks to the southeast of the village, always wandering not far from a courtyard, the courtyard is inhabited by Mongolians, an old couple, There are only two daughters under the knee, both around the age of 20, although not beautiful, but also out of a table of talents, is this brother's mind put there?
After a long time, we finally saw the hint, every time he stood guard during the day, watched the brother dress up, washed his hair, washed his face, and bought a bottle of "friendship brand" alabaster, rubbed and rubbed it on his face, and changed into a new military uniform, took out a small mirror from his pocket, and had to look at the youthful beautiful beans and the not-so-obvious rosacea nose on his face. If you don't have any other thoughts, will you still be so tossed and turned?
Once we went out to train, and caught up with him to stand guard, the guard position should be at the west end of the house, waiting for us to return to the camp, the guard did not know where to go, our platoon leader Li Kui went to the east end of the house, our old brother was worried about the second girl, at that time did not turn our platoon leader's nose. What do we not know? You said that the troops shouted the loudest slogan, such a big movement, he didn't hear it, and your heart was too emotional, right? The cadres in the company felt very serious about this matter, and the whole company gathered that night, and the company commander personally lectured; originally the company commander's culture was not high, and his speech was straightforward, and he told the matter straight to the point, saying: "Some squads of individuals, who do not have a strong sense of standing guard against the enemy, are not in their own posts, and even talk to a girl about love, and this kind of behavior of yours is undermining military-civilian relations, affecting the unity of the military and the people, and undermining the discipline of the troops, just like you, our company is not allowed to mess around, I do not name you today, it is to let you correct your mistakes. You have to deeply understand the seriousness of the problem, who do you know? Write a copy of the check and submit it to the company! "Look again, my old man's face, as ashamed as a pig's liver, is about to turn purple.
Since then, this old man has really been like a deflated leather ball, and has become the joke behind our class. The heart of desire everyone has, it is flesh and blood, it is the age of youth and exuberance, it is inevitable that sometimes it is necessary to think wrongly, but we are soldiers, iron discipline is a tight curse, in the military barracks, you are not allowed to cross the thunder pool half a step, after serving for several years, your responsibility is to hold the steel gun to defend the motherland, and the duty of a soldier is to obey orders.
People in this life you will experience many things, will also know a lot of people, some things you will inadvertently forget, some people are just passers-by, some people live, you can no longer remember his face, even the surname of who, but some people leave this world, you still remember, because in your life, he helped you, he liked you, you and him although there is no relative, but in the journey of your life to give you a touch of warmth, this is the fate of life encounter. Although my old company commander Qiao Youming has been out of this world for many years and has never met in the decades since I retired from the army, his voice and smile have indeed accompanied me all my life, and then I grew up and had other views of me, which was later, but it did not affect my thoughts about him, after all, I left a beautiful moment in my young soul, and let me see him for the first time in a border town how to make friends.
On a Sunday at the end of May, I went to the company to see if there was any letter from home, and I happened to run into the company commander, and he said, "Doll! This is the company commander's affectionate name for each recruit, "Are you okay, can you go to the door with me?" "I said yes, out of the company headquarters and the company commander and the company commander went north, I asked the company commander where we went to visit the door, he said we went to Captain Li's house. Turn north to the east to Captain Li's house, where everyone has no yard, all the earth bungalows, long years of rain and sand, the roof is also made of mud, the whole town, the whole village you can not see a tile, Captain Li welcomed us into the house, Captain Li's home and other households, three earthen houses, the west side of the wall separated, the outside two by the north wall is a slippery soil kang, the kang is covered with wool felt, the east gable on the kang has several carved wooden boxes, the box is stacked neat bedding, the box is stacked neat bedding, Although the furnishings in the house are simple, they are also very clean and tidy.
A kang table of some years was placed in the middle of the kang, Captain Li let the company commander go to the kang, sat cross-legged, let me also go to the kang, I am not used to that kind of sitting posture, sitting on the edge of the kang, the company commander asked Captain Li: "I haven't seen you in the past few days, why did you go?" Captain Li said, "Go around the grazing points and bring them some food and salt!" The company commander asked, "Is the sheep's condition good this year?" Captain Lee said, "This year's grass is not very good!" He continued: "It snowed a few years ago, and not a single drop of rain has fallen since then!" "They were talking, Captain Lee's wife broke a brick of tea and boiled it in a copper pot, Captain Lee's wife we all know, that is, she led the women to wash and unwrap for us, really as enthusiastic as relatives."
Captain Li's age and his appearance are very inconsistent, just 40 years old people must look more than 50 years old, a face that has been blown by the wind and sand for many years, it seems so resolute and determined. From their conversation, I also knew that it turned out that Captain Li and the company commander were fellow villagers, both gansu people, Captain Li was a Gansu Tianshui person, during the Great Leap Forward in 58 years, he moved here with his wife and daughter, his family had a total of 5 people, a daughter, two sons, the daughter was called Li Cui, who did not go to school after graduating from junior high school, and the two sons were still studying. During the conversation, the captain's wife brought the black and red tea up, and the captain asked the company commander if he would visit his home this year, and the company commander said that he had just visited a few years ago, and he would talk about it again during this year's Spring Festival! It's just that sometimes I think about my son.
In their conversation, I learned about their respective stories. The company commander also talked about his marriage, which was when the troops were stationed in Linxia, he worked as a guard for the chief, and when he watched a performance, he knew his later wife. A row of girls sitting in front of them, a girl with big braids, approached the company commander's line of sight, probably staring at them all the time, and the political commissar asked the company commander if he had a crush on the girl, and if he looked at me as a matchmaker, he knew me anyway. On the day of the meeting, the company commander was a bit dumbfounded, the man was tall and big, half a head taller than him, not very handsome, still a Tibetan girl, who could not regret it without saying a word. Then he praised his wife. He turned his face at me, as if he were speaking to me, and as if to Captain Li: "Your sister-in-law this person don't look good, but the heart is very kind, very virtuous, every time I visit relatives, take care of that is not said, as long as drunk at a friend's house, there is not a word of complaint, hug up and leave, your sister-in-law is strong, some are strong!" Haha laughed. Then he said to me, "Doll, you are still young, and when you have a daughter-in-law in the future, you will know that a daughter-in-law is a good thing!" Saying that, I twisted my face to the side in embarrassment.
Our company commander had two major hobbies in this life, one was tobacco, the other was alcohol, and every day he got two Pegasus brand cigarettes made in Shanghai; his teeth were smoked black and yellow, and he was drunk as he was destined to drink; every time he drank, he had more, and his military kettle was not used to hold water, but to hold wine; the troops had regulations not to allow drinking, and he even drank secretly at night. This is a secret I discovered later when I was a correspondent.
The captain's wife fried two small dishes and brought them to the table, and the company commander gave me a look, leaned over my ear and said, bring me the kettle hanging on the wall, I trotted to get the kettle and handed it to the company commander and said: "Company commander, you and Captain Li drink, I will go back first!" ”
The visit with Captain Qiao at Captain Lee's house left a deep memory on me, and now that I think about it, it is like what happened yesterday, it is really, the years are mercilessly urging people to grow old! Although the matter of that side has passed for 48 years, it is still entangled in my mind, whenever after tea and dinner, standing on the roof of the noisy city, looking at the Helan Mountain where I once struggled in the northwest, and the direction of the vast desert Gobi, there are always some sighs, some sadness, some helpless past...
Of course, I am also lucky, I should be grateful for fate, thank the barracks, thank you for the experience of that year, it taught me to fight strong in the years of suffering.
The author's biography Wang Yisheng, a native of Linyi, Shandong, was born in March 1955 and joined the army in December 1970 at the age of 16. He successively served as a soldier of the Reconnaissance Company of the 20th Division of the Army, a company headquarters signal, and a squad leader of the fifth squad. In March 1976, he retired from the army and returned to his hometown, and in 1977, at the age of 23, he became the secretary of the party branch of the brigade (now the village), becoming the youngest branch secretary of the brigade since the founding of New China. In 1998, he entered the city to work hard, and now settles in Nanfang New District, Linyi City.
Original editor: Cao Yimin
Editor of this article: Xu Jianming