Chapter Twenty-Four

  I, a 22-year-old Chinese soldier, wearing snow camouflage jacket and holding a domestically-made automatic rifle, with a pair of military boots from Ah-Mei-Ken on my feet and a Red Tower Mountain cigarette, the most fashionable, popular and deeply rooted in the Chinese army, dangling from my mouth.

  Old man, I'm going to put on trial those traitors who betrayed China!

  All we need is for several brothers to shout together: Hurray!

  Due to the austerity of the public hall, I can only play a supporting role as a yamen runner. I slapped that traitor's buttocks with my snowy sleeve, and he immediately woke up with a loud cry, then stared at me with wide eyes.

  Traitor, what's your damn name?

  That traitor was still dazed and staring foolishly at me, so I took advantage of the situation and fired a shot that grazed his head, burning off all the hair on his scalp.

  That traitor then shrank his neck and said that the Liberation Army spared my life, I confessed. My name is Wang Ba Dan, also known as Piggy. My mission was to receive infiltrators from outside the border and cooperate with them to deliver weapons and drugs to those who were not intelligent, telling them to kill people, set fires, and cause trouble. Then when the police arrested them, I would take a video and send it abroad, saying that the police were arresting people indiscriminately, China has no human rights.

  I knew it, traitors like him are spineless!

  Three strokes of the whip and he would be willing to reveal even the color of his former master's underwear in order to curry favor and seek reward.

  Actually, I really wish this traitor wouldn't surrender so quickly, let me enjoy it for a bit and scold him for a few hours before talking, but this traitor...

  That country is really hopeless, they even want to recruit such people as internal response, and they don't feel ashamed or humiliated!

  I picked up the waterproof map again, pointing at the marks on it and asked the traitor how he knew about these. With such a large range, did you go to spy alone? By the time you figured everything out, we would have changed shifts many times!

  That traitor rolled his eyes and said this was bought.

  What did you buy?

  Military maps can also be purchased, and they are even marked with the daily patrol route of the Chinese border defense troops?

  If this can be bought, I estimate that the old ladies selling eggs in the free market will switch to selling hand grenades and those who sell clothes on the street will all change to selling AKs!

  I didn't say a word and shot him on the spot, that traitor was crying out loud and rolling all over the ground. Honestly, I don't dare to deceive people. It's really true that I bought it from some local herdsmen!

  I was stunned.

  The relationship between the herders and the local garrison is generally good, especially when there are snow disasters. At that time, it's almost entirely thanks to the brothers of the local garrison who use machinery to open up a road to rescue people and livestock, and even mobilize helicopters to deliver supplies to the herders who are trapped.

  How did it turn out that the garrison patrol was betrayed?

  I reckon that traitor saw me and thought I was going to beat him up, so he immediately knelt down on the ground and muttered "it's true, it's true". Those herdsmen usually can't buy some scarce daily necessities, but I would take those goods to sell to them and then try to gather information from their mouths.

  Herders are highly mobile, so it's not unusual to encounter border patrol teams. After fooling around with those herders a few times, you can basically figure out the route of the border defense army patrols.

  Looking at the traitor's trembling body, I knew that the traitor would probably not dare to lie.

  Intelligence gathering Intelligence analysis We also took these courses, and as early as World War II, some masters of intelligence warfare were able to analyze important intelligence from ordinary newspapers, magazines, radio programs and the like.

  This time, I've really seen it!

  I'll just say something off-topic here then?

  Sometimes when I visit some websites, I can see some military enthusiasts posting news and information about weapons, including pictures of weapons.

  Yes.

  For a military enthusiast, that's just a hobby and posting it out can also show your erudition and extensive social connections. But are some things really that simple?

  A photo of a shipyard's slipway for launching vessels, ordinary people can only see two rails and nothing else. But for those who have some basic knowledge of military affairs, with a simple calculation, the approximate length and weight of the vessel about to be launched will all come out!

  Then calculate the maximum firepower and tonnage of the gun-carrying personnel based on these.

  To say nothing of other things, others don't even need to enter that shipyard to roughly know what kind of thing is being manufactured inside.

  So much hard work and research by so many military scientists, so many brothers in the military industry working to the death under secrecy, all for nothing because of a small show-off!

  Ancient warriors all knew to keep one or two killer moves secret and unknown to others, as they might just save their lives at a critical moment!

  It seems like now we all don't understand this nuance anymore?

  Those military enthusiasts who recklessly post pictures and data, you guys love the military, which is a delightful thing to see as a soldier.

  But everything should have a limit, right?

  So don't let your occasional boast one day be stained with the blood of a Republican soldier, okay?

  It seems like I've gone off on a tangent again...

  I was just about to continue when I heard movement coming from outside the stone seam again.

  Isn't there just one traitor? How can they find their way here in such a big snowstorm just by following the sound of gunfire?

  I kicked over the fuel tank on the ground, I didn't care about that much anymore, and directly pressed the golden-haired white-skinned corpse to extinguish the fire. Then, with a rifle butt, I knocked down that traitor and rushed into the snow cave from just now.

  Still in the midst of the wind and snow, I saw a group of people wearing snow camouflage gear crawling over with low posture, tactical movements standard, proceeding in dense formation. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't tell which country's tactical assault method this was?

  Then those guys started shouting...

  Baa!

  I'm speechless...

  What's with all these low-posture crawling movements that are still so fast? What a commotion, it's just a group of sheep!

  Then a shepherd emerged from the vast snowy wind, carrying a long sheep herding stick with two sheepdogs by his side.

  I was watching to see if there was anything else suspicious behind. The sheepdog had already discovered me and started barking loudly! The old shepherd stopped, crossed his staff and shouted: "Adasi?"

  We have also received some Uyghur and Tajik dialect training, so we can understand a few sentences. I know that's asking if I'm a friend? I guess this old man is indeed a shepherd and won't make any trouble, so I quickly stood up and said "As-salamu alaykum", I am a big As-salamu alaykum.

  The old man walked over, followed by the two sheepdogs standing beside him, panting heavily, as if to say that if I didn't behave myself, they would immediately improve their diet on the spot!

  The old man carefully sized me up and down, then looked at the thing in my hand, then looked at the military emblem on my hat, and said in Chinese, "Are you a big army?"

  Great army?

  What era is this still having a large army?

  But I also can't say it's not, right?

  I told you, I am the main force, what about you?

  The old man patted his chest with great force and said, "I'm Tuluhong, I'm the best shepherd in the commune, I'm a Communist Party member, I've led the army through!"

  Perhaps still afraid that I wouldn't believe him, the old man opened his sheepskin jacket and let the wind and snow pour in, revealing a badge on his chest.

  I didn't see it clearly but I know this custom.

  Many old Uyghur Communist Party members wear a badge with the four characters for "Communist Party member" on their chest, and some even wear a Mao Zedong badge.

  Those Uyghur old men had all dealt with the Liberation Army back then. When they entered Tibet, there were indeed many Uyghurs who risked their lives to help the Liberation Army find and open roads.

  Joining the Communist Party of China is an honor earned with blood and sweat for them. So, wearing a medal symbolizing this honor on their chest is only natural.

  I told the old man, "Sir, I believe you, hurry up and put on your clothes, it's cold outside."

  The old man burst out laughing and said, "You Han children are so pampered! My grandsons can run around in the snow with their butts exposed and nothing happens, let alone an old man like me! What are you doing all alone in the mountains?"

  Before I could answer, the old man took a fierce look at me and his face changed. "Hey, are you catching spies?" he asked. I heard the sound of gunfire in the distance, was it the army fighting against bandits?

  Doll, don't worry. Old Han also fought against the rebels with the big army back in the day. You follow Old Han into this mountain, Old Han is very familiar with it. Old Han will help you catch the spies, but first, you need to follow Old Han to find some food, drink, and clothes. If not, how can you catch the rebels on an empty stomach?

  I dragged that traitor along with the equipment we could carry and followed the old man.

  To this day, I still don't understand why I believed that old man so much. As a special forces soldier, how could I just listen to the words of an old shepherd?

  Maybe it's because of the badge on that old man's chest. Maybe it's because that old man said he used to fight too. Maybe...

  I remember when I was a kid and got lost, my grandfather found me like this and then called me to follow him home.

  So in the blizzard, some people were only a few steps away from the rescue team, but they couldn't find them and ended up freezing to death.

  I followed the old man for less than twenty minutes, and slowly slid down a snowy slope. I actually saw the light coming out of a small stone hut.

  The old man leaned his mouth close to my ear and shouted, "Baby, did you see that? That's the old man's house. The house has fire, meat, ***, buns, and wine, a very good and warm house.

  That's right.

  I have always had immense respect for those who survive in harsh natural environments, I think they are more robust and tasteful than those who challenge the limits.

  A person who prepares for ten years and then climbs a snowy mountain once, claiming to have conquered the extreme and looked down on others, compared to this old shepherd, I think it's like comparing our neighbor who likes to sing Peking Opera to Mei Lanfang!

  Every day in a harsh environment, and can make the treacherous mountains and evil waters step by step crisis days out of flavor, I think that's what it means to appreciate life, enjoy nature and challenge the limits!

  Others, at most, are just playing tickets.

  The old man didn't let me in the house at first, but instead handed me a coarse cloth and told me to rub myself vigorously with snow on my skin outside, then stand at the door for a while after warming up before letting me in.

  As for that traitorous old man, he said, "Don't you worry about it, my children are watching him. If he tries to run, my children will bite him to death!"

  I just watched that traitor shrink into the flock of sheep, two sheepdogs lying beside him with their tongues lolling out, panting and staring at his throat, their beady eyes full of expectation, just waiting for the traitor to make a run for it so they could improve their diet!

  When I sat by the stove, the warmth had already been delivered to my face. Then the old man said, "Girl, it's not that the old man is stingy. You've just frozen and starved, you can't eat buns and meat right away. Wait until you warm up, and the old man will roast meat for you."

  I burst into tears.

  My parents are so fond of me, my grandparents and great-grandparents are also so fond of me. Although I'm already a grown man, although I've been through such tough training, but I'm still not used to being spoiled.

  I'm not afraid of being beaten or scolded, what I'm afraid of is people pitying me, it's painful.

  Are you saying I'm a bit of an idiot?

  After drinking two bowls, I was hot all over, and the old man rolled a Mohe cigarette and handed it to me with a smile, saying "Baby, do you want to smoke this?"

  I quickly took it with both hands and then hastily handed over a Red Tower Mountain saying "Sir, would you like to try this?"

  The old man laughed and said that your cigarette is not strong or fragrant, my Mohe cigarette is better. Doll, this vest of yours I've never seen before, has the army changed its uniform?

  I told you that the old man's equipment is much better now than it was before, he has changed his armor several times and even replaced his sword. Look at this new sword in my hand.

  The old man said, "Yes, yes, I'm getting older and going down the mountain less often. It's only during winter that I go down to stay for a few months. Usually, I'm on the mountain with the sheep." The army changed their uniforms and equipment, but as long as the military emblem on the hat doesn't change, the old man can still recognize that Dajun is a good person!

  As we chatted back and forth like this, I looked out at the wind and snow and said, "Old man, didn't you give that traitor something to eat so he wouldn't starve to death? I still need to catch that traitor and take him back to be interrogated by our superiors. Once the traitor is dead, he's useless."

  The old man's complexion changed like spring.

  Even his whiskers were standing on end as he grumbled, "I won't give it to you! I won't give it to you!" The old man's ** had meat, mantou, wine, and everything else, but he refused to give any to the traitor. A traitor is not a good person, a traitor is not human, I cannot waste food on him!