Chapter 587: Frontline line of border defense, paying tribute to ordinary and great people
Most of the vehicles equipped by the 353rd Regiment are big-ass jeeps that have not been eliminated in the last century.
This old-fashioned purely mechanical vehicle is older than many soldiers in terms of service time.
But it is very suitable for border defense, mainly because the leather is durable.
Chen Jun sat in this old-fashioned car, took a team of people, supplies, family letters, etc., and waved goodbye to Political Commissar Cui.
Anyway, with Wang Jianxing as a senior member of their accompanying team, patrolling the border would be fine, at least there would be no chance of getting lost.
If you were to go to the mainland in July, you wouldn’t even have to think about it. It would definitely be the hottest time of the year, with lush summer vegetation everywhere.
But in this desolate border, even the grass is sparse along the way. Even if you walk a long way, you won't encounter one at all.
Along the bare road, several jeeps were driving unsteadily.
Chen Jun was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle. While feeling the bumpy road, he looked dimly at the snow-capped mountains in the distance.
He was quite leisurely, but Li Wujie, who was sitting next to him, was holding a brand-new Type 191 assault rifle in his hand. That guy's eyes were like thieves.
Diliu looked to both sides.
Chen Jun originally didn't want to talk to this guy, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Li Wujie constantly shaking his head and looking around.
He couldn't help laughing and said: "What's wrong? I see you are nervous. Are you afraid?"
"No, it's not."
Li Wujie shook his head at first, then after thinking about it, he raised his hand and scratched his head in embarrassment and said: "Captain, I'm not afraid that something will happen to me, I'm afraid that I won't be able to react when I suddenly encounter an enemy, and I won't be able to protect you. .”
Hearing what he said, Chen Jun also laughed dumbly, but didn't say anything else.
Because there are indeed many dangers to the border defense forces. These dangers do not necessarily come from the enemy, but also from the environment and natural dangers.
After spending two months in the 353rd Regiment, many concepts began to change.
For example, the health team at the regiment headquarters does not have a morgue in the mainland, but it does exist at the border.
When mainland recruits arrive at the unit, the first thing they visit is the company's honor room. The banners, certificates, or commendation documents from their superiors all demonstrate the company's excellent history, making every new soldier proud of their company.
Not here.
The regiment's honor room is generally not open to the public, and recruits who come directly to the brigade are not allowed to visit, because the honors there represent heavy sacrifices.
The first stop for border guard recruits is the cemetery of veterans on the snowy mountains. The veterans tell stories to the recruits, and most of them do not focus on bragging.
Instead, it tells about the battle with the returning elements and tells the new soldiers how to judge the presence of the returning elements and where the opponent's activities are.
How to fight when you encounter those ferocious returning elements?
It just so happens that among the four seasons of the year, only the summer months of July and August are when the returning elements are most active.
Because except for these two months, the mountains are blocked by heavy snow during other periods. There are few roads that can provide access, and the places that can be accessed are guarded by front-line sentries.
Soldiers like Li Wujie who had just come from the mainland had only fantasized about killing enemies on the battlefield, but they had never encountered a situation where they might actually take action.
Seeing that he was really nervous, Chen Jun patted Li Wujie on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Okay, relax."
"Let's not mention that we may not necessarily encounter the enemy. Even if we do, if you are so tight all the way, I am afraid that you will fall first before fighting."
"Have a good rest. Soon you won't be able to drive on this road anymore. You can only climb with your legs. Save some energy."
"Yes!!"
Li Wujie promised smoothly, but he still couldn't relax in his movements, and Chen Jun didn't bother to remind him again.
It is also a good thing to be vigilant and grow slowly.
This time when he came out to inspect the regiment's defense line, Chen Jun did not arrange for Bian Tao to accompany him. That guy was already in poor health, and because of his age, he was not as adaptable as the eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy.
It was pure suffering when I came out.
What's more, after the above transfer procedures were completed, the Tibetan Military Region directly transferred Lao Bian to the regiment logistics, responsible for keeping statistics on the material situation of each battalion and company.
If you have a job, it would be inappropriate to take him with you.
Before coming out, Chen Jun thought that this patrol would be difficult.
But he didn't expect that the actual patrol would be more difficult than he imagined.
After the vehicle traveled about sixty kilometers, there were no roads further up. The vehicle could only be dropped off at the supply camp, and the materials and personnel moved forward on horseback.
Horses, in today's age of informationization, synthesis, and integration, if it weren't for coming to the border defense, there would be no chance to see them.
He watched Wang Jianxing commanding the people in the supply camp and leading the horses out of the stables.
Chen Jun couldn't help but stepped forward and touched the horse's mane, then turned to look at Wang Jianxing: "Old Wang, there are horses at this supply depot. Why haven't I seen the regiment's soldiers training?"
"I remember that in the training syllabus, there seemed to be mention of military horse formation exercises and riding and shooting training subjects."
"Captain, it's not impossible." Wang Jianxing explained with a smile: "It's because these two months are in the summer, the roads can be opened to traffic, each supply camp can be self-sufficient, and the war horses have not gathered at the regiment headquarters."
"After August, most of these war horses will be taken to the Linzhi regiment headquarters and the military subdivision for intensive care."
"We only practice Qin when the mountains are closed by heavy snow. In the summer, we are assigned to the supply depot. This also makes it easier for comrades coming from the front line to get to the regiment headquarters faster."
"We won't be able to wait until the heavy snow closes the mountains. Materials are scarce and the supply depot cannot support so many war horses."
While explaining, Wang Jianxing handed the reins to Chen Jun, then he chuckled and said: "Captain, have you ever ridden a horse?"
"If there were no horses in this patrol, and we just relied on our legs to walk, we wouldn't be able to walk down the hundreds of kilometers of defense line in two months. For us, we must learn to ride horses."
To be honest, riding a horse really hit Chen Jun's blind spot.
The main reason is that he has never been exposed to this stuff before.
But as a regiment leader, Wang Jianxing bared his teeth and laughed maliciously as he watched a bunch of veterans next to him looking at them eagerly.
As the saying goes, if you have never eaten pork, have you never seen a pig running? Just because you haven’t ridden it doesn’t mean you haven’t seen it.
Chen Jun grinned and immediately took the reins from Wang Jianxing. The horses have undergone special training. As long as they are wearing military uniforms and don't shout, they will generally not be disturbed.
Chen Jun still knew this.
He first held the reins and stroked the horse's mane as a sign of friendship, letting the horse become familiar with his scent, and then stepped on the stirrups and climbed onto the horse.
The laughter is the laughter, the trouble is the trouble.
When Wang Jianxing saw the leader's posture, he knew that he had never ridden before.
Although the movements are smooth, no matter how brave you are, suddenly riding on a tall horse, you will feel inexplicably nervous if you are inexperienced.
Lao Wang quickly waved away the people around him and said loudly: "Captain, when riding a horse, just think of it as a horse stance, but the place of the stance is changed to the horse's back. Don't sit directly on it at the beginning, as your center of gravity will be unstable. .”
"Especially when the horse is running fast, don't sit directly on the horse's back. You should familiarize yourself with it first. You can sit when it is running slowly, but your body must follow the ups and downs of the horse's back."
“Otherwise, it’s still easy to lose focus.”
"There must be a fist-sized distance between the buttocks and the saddle, and the pedals should only be stepped on one-third of the way. This way, if the horse falls, you can break free quickly and just tighten the saddle with your legs."
With Wang Jianxing as his guide, Chen Jun learned very quickly, but even so, it took him nearly three hours of practice at the supply camp before he was ready to go up the mountain.
You can't be careless.
During their patrol this time, most of the areas were above 5,000 meters above sea level. One mistake could put their lives in danger. Staying for such a long time was not only to get familiar with riding horses, but also to get familiar with the nature of the horse assigned to them. All warriors must be familiar with it, because horses, like people, have different temperaments. If you are not familiar with this, hundreds of kilometers of snow-capped mountains are no joke.
Wait until everyone is ready.
Chen Jun then gave the order to set off.
The road up the mountain is even more rugged and difficult. There are mule and horse trails all the way, which is bumpy and extremely difficult.
When the team crossed Zhangla Mountain, one of the horses suddenly fell to the ground and died. The reason was not even known.
Chen Jun could only listen to Wang Jianxing's suggestion and bury the horse on the spot, and the patrolling team continued to move forward.
The first three days were fine. Even if most of the roads were difficult to walk, we could still ride horses. On the fourth day, when a group of them arrived from Zhangla Mountain to Nyangla Mountain, they couldn't even ride horses.
Because many patrolling soldiers of the 353rd regiment fell off the cliff here. In order to prevent the tragedy from happening again, the regiment nailed many wooden rafts along the way to remind them.
There used to be a camp in Nyang La Mountain, but the troops withdrew a long time ago. A group of people could only stay in the abandoned camp and cook at night.
There is nothing to fill the patrol team's stomach. There are compressed biscuits and self-heating hotpots, but they are not suitable for border patrol personnel.
This time they were accompanying the new regiment leader to familiarize themselves with the defense line. It would take at least more than a month to walk hundreds of kilometers.
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The compressed biscuits are not enough to eat, and the self-heating hotpot takes up too much space. Instead of carrying so many rations, it is more practical to bring more supplies to the front-line soldiers.
Therefore, what they eat in the evening is just boiling some snow water and adding some laoxiang, which is what mainlanders call dried vegetables.
At night, with the bright moon in the sky, there were a lot of dry firewood piled indoors in the abandoned camp. The soldiers made fires to keep warm and sat together to chat about homely matters.
Chen Jun was also squatting by the fire, rubbing his hands that were itchy from the cold, and was lost in thought.
This time he was on the front line of border defense. Not long after he came out, he saw how miserable life here was.
No wonder the old man said that if the soldiers from the mainland go to the frontier, even if they just lie down, they have made a contribution.
It's really true.
Without coming here, who can imagine how miserable the border guards really are?
Just when Chen Jun was stunned, Chief of Staff Wang, who had been busy for a long time, took the kettle heated by the fire and handed it to him: "Commander, drink some hot water to warm yourself up."
The firelight flickered, illuminating the faces of the soldiers in the abandoned barracks all red.
Chen Jun took a few sips of warm water and put the kettle on the ground. He looked up at the abandoned barracks and couldn't help but ask: "Old Wang, this must have been the place where the 353rd Regiment used to be. Why was it evacuated?"< br>
"Harm"
Wang Jianxing heard the inquiry, raised his hands to rub his hot palms, and sat down on the ground: "Border defense construction is not static. As the defense line is established and improved, the location of the camp must also be appropriately changed."
"Captain, you have seen what happened today. There is a section of road where there are many wooden signs. It used to be called the fatal cliff."
"This was originally a reinforced garrison company with a total of 181 people. The main and non-staple food alone consumes 100,000 kilograms every year, not counting the consumption of military uniforms, quilts and horses."
"There are supplies for eating, drinking, diarrhea, and supplies needed for fighting. There is no other way except to carry people on their backs."
“I remember that in 2007, not long after I came here, I had to deliver supplies here once. The regiment logistics had to rent local yaks and thousands of sheep every time to carry the supplies here in separate waves. ”
"In the beginning, Suimingya was where we dismounted today. Too many of our fellow villagers' sheep fell down, and supplies were severely damaged. We had no choice but to send the supplies to Suimingya."
"Soldiers in the company change to carry this way. I carried it several times when I was young. Today we have military horses and we are faster. In the past, one person would carry a load of fifty or sixty kilograms, and it would take more than ten hours to go back and forth."
"After coming back, the tired people couldn't straighten their backs, their faces turned blue, and their mouths turned purple. Many people even fainted, and some accidentally fell off the cliff."
"It's hard to see what's going on here. It's too difficult to transport supplies. In addition, the firewood required for heating and cooking for one or two hundred people every year costs 500,000 kilograms. Just as the defense line was adjusted, the camp was moved."
Wang Jianxing did not go into so much detail. In fact, the country is now a little richer, and many camps have begun to have heating and supporting oxygen equipment. The development in the past few years has been very good.
When he first arrived, the Olympic Games had not yet started, and the country's infrastructure was far inferior to what it is now.
He was stationed here when he first arrived at the military camp. When Lao Wang was a child, his family was very poor and did not have enough to eat. Although he later went to military school and was able to eat well, his height was still over 1.6 meters.
It is true to say that Wang Jianxing looked like a little old man standing in front of Chen Jun.
When he first came here to camp, he once chopped firewood. In order to prepare more for the company, the firewood he prepared was dozens of kilograms heavier than his own weight. As soon as he carried it, he lost his balance.
The man and the firewood rolled down the mountain.
He rolled several hundred meters away. Fortunately, he was small. Although a lot of firewood was scattered on his back, some remained. He held on to the rope without letting go, and then he got stuck by a big rock.
Even so, after the veteran who cut firewood with him carried him back to the company, he lay down for a month to recover.
He almost died when he was a teenager, but Lao Wang didn't say a word about these things.
Border defense construction requires successive generations of people, and there is no need to publicize the sacrifices he has made.
Because there are many people like him here.
But even if he didn't talk about it, Chen Jun could roughly guess how difficult it was before after patrolling for the past few days.
Not long after chatting, all the soldiers felt sleepy, and a group of people and horses all entered a room to rest.
Except for the soldiers who needed to be on duty, everyone else spread out their backpacks and lay around on the ground to rest.
After dawn.
The group continued to set off. Chen Jun climbed to the top of the mountain, corrected his position on the map, and matched the terrain one by one.
Setting off towards Ningla Mountain, on the sixth day of the inspection, snowflakes suddenly appeared on the mountain. This also made Chen Jun truly understand what July snow is.
Fortunately, they are all veterans and have enough experience. They never leave their cotton-padded jackets and coats.
Except for him, the regiment leader, and Li Wujie, who was once again promoted to an orderly, no one else found it strange.
On the seventh day, the patrol team led by the regiment leader finally arrived at the station of the 12th Company of the 4th Battalion of the 353rd Regiment.
The establishment of border defense regiments is generally relatively large. It is said to be a regiment-level unit, but in fact it is almost enough to be called a border defense brigade.
Chen Jun expressed his condolences to the Twelfth Company and sent all the family letters compiled by the Twelfth Company in advance to the company chief.
Looking at the border guards, they were carrying rifles, wearing coats, and ammunition pouches slung over their left shoulders.
The soldiers, who were obviously extremely serious, were now crowding around the Chief of Staff with excitement on their faces.
Carefully waiting for his name to be called, he received the letter from home as if he were holding a treasure, hid in a corner and opened it and read it over and over again, raising his sleeves from time to time to wipe away his tears, for fear of getting the letter paper wet.
Chen Jun finally understood what the political commissar said before departure.
If you are not at the border, you will never understand what a letter from home means to the soldiers.
This is the greatest comfort in their hearts, and it is also their confidence and hope to stay on the front line of the border all year round.
While the soldiers in the company were happy, Chen Jun did not bother to rest, so he pulled Wang Jianxing and left the company with several veterans.
Prepare to climb up to the far sentry tower and mark the military map in your hand.
After all, he is the leader.
The place he manages is so large. This is the country's trust in him and the headquarters' high hopes for him.
When we come out this time, no matter what, we must thoroughly understand all the details of the 353rd Regiment's location.
(End of chapter)