Chapter 6: Loyalty

The young soldier handed a bottle of canned fruit to Zhanxiage. Zhanxiage looked at the can in his hand with slight confusion. The 2002 Spring Festival bell had just rung, and whether in the mall or the military camp, he rarely saw fruit canned fruit with a cap made of a metal piece pressed against the mouth and a white rubber ring inside that could only be pried open with a military knife.
Zhanxiage's gaze finally fell on the production date of the fruit can, which was clearly marked July 1990. The bottle of canned apple in his hand was already twelve years old.
Nie Hua glared fiercely at the young soldier, scratching his head and saying, "Sorry, these cans are for us to eat ourselves. Xiao Zhang, hurry up and help everyone change them!" ”
"No need!"
Zhanxiage drew the military knife from his body, slowly pried open the twelve-year-old fruit can, used his small spoon to scoop up a piece that might be an apple, and quietly popped it into his mouth. The apple had already been soaked until soft and mushy, not needing to be bitten into a ball in Zhanxia Ge's mouth. But the seal on this can was still good—sweet, honey-like.
That night, Lian Zhan Xiaoge himself didn't know how long he had been chatting with these soldiers stationed at China's highest-altitude military posts. They talked about life, ideals, life in the barracks, about the hunting dog from Nie Hua's hometown that dared to fight wolves, and all topics allowed by the work code. In this barracks without television, with no radio channels and no entertainment facilities or venues, Zhanxiage discovers he has become an outstanding speaker. He vividly describes how he confronts a Bengal tiger in the tropical rainforest, tells the story of a lizard that can only run on water, and tells of encountering a terrifying sandstorm in the desert. The people around him are all listening intently, their eyes shining. At the most critical moment, From time to time, someone exclaimed in amazement.
In the end, Zhanxiage and Nie Hua squeezed together for an unforgettable night. Nie Hua, a burly man from Shandong, was afraid of disturbing his rest. He carefully pressed himself against the wall, straightening his body, and in this most uncomfortable position, he stood still for three or four hours.
Before Zhan Xiagege and the others got into the car, Nie Zhen tightly held her hand, only knowing one word: "Thank you!" Thank you! Thank you! ”
When the car drove far and Zhanxiage turned around, he could still see a group of loyal defenders of the Republic standing in front of the barracks, waving to them from afar.
Zhanxiage whispered, "They are all heroes!" ”
Long Jianhui nodded silently.
The car arrived at the foot of an icy peak in the Karakoram. Long Jianhui whispered, "Get out!" ”
On a flat stony beach, a tall, majestic monument stands proudly like a sharp sword pointing to the heavens. Its square base bears the marks of wind and rain, as if telling everyone who stands before it about its long history and a passionate era.
Gazing at this stone monument perched on a 5,000-meter plateau, behind it lies a snow-capped mountain covered in snow year-round. At its summit, the white snow peaks and the clouds drifting across the clear sky almost merge into one. Combined with this stone monument, a kind of artificial grandeur and natural grandeur perfectly blend, forming the most rugged and simple rugged charm.
"This is the Kangxiwa Martyrs' Cemetery, where ninety-nine heroes who bravely sacrificed themselves in the 1962 border self-defense counterattack against India are buried!"
Long Jianhui stared at everyone before him and said in a deep voice, "According to our Snow Mountain customs, anyone passing through here or coming here must come and see, light a cigarette for our hero, and offer a toast to our hero!" ”
Long Jianjun took a box of Hongta Mountain from his pocket. On the oxygen-scarce plateau at 5,000 meters altitude, the inferior cigarettes would burn out as he smoked. He took three sticks from the incense box, lit them, and carefully placed them under the tombstone.
The driver unloaded a case of strong liquor from the truck and carried out several cans. Long Jianhui grabbed a bottle of liquor, raised it high, and shouted, "You new trainees have arrived at the school. We were supposed to hold a welcome banquet for you at the base, but no matter which group or group of students you belong to, I will bring them here first." In front of ninety-nine heroes, on their behalf, I welcome you to the snowy mountains, to this world where pollution and defilement are absolutely unacceptable! ”
Long Jianhui flipped the bottle in his hand, and the fifty-five-degree strong liquor traced a graceful and smooth arc through the air, crashing hard onto this 5,000-meter-high plateau.
Ninety-nine heroes lay quietly on a snowy plateau at an altitude of 5,000 meters. Here, not a blade of grass grows, only endless gravel, ice and snow, and the eternally unchanged snow-capped mountains that have endured thousands of years. In front of their tombs, you cannot see the ancient pines or cypresses, nor the clusters of flowers. This place is so remote that even during festivals, very few people come here to pay respects or visit graves. But they are by no means alone, because whoever passes by here bows to them because they are true heroes!
"Did everyone see that steep peak covered in ice and snow all year round?" Long Jianhui's voice changed; he roared hoarsely, "Let me tell you, there are two even older and greatest heroes up there!" Back then, to protect the red flag on their bodies from being defiled by the enemy, they used their own hands and bayonets to climb up bit by bit in front of the enemy who were ready to watch the spectacle, and planted the red flag at its very peak! ”
"Now, half a century has passed, and we still can't move the hero's body back. The summit of that mountain is so steep that even with helicopters, our engineers can't find a place to settle. So we can only let the two heroes and the red flag they protected with their lives keep flying above it!"
Zhanxiage stared at the iceberg where even apes couldn't climb it, its entire body clad in a layer of smooth, solid ice. He took a deep breath and roared, "Salute!" ”
"Swish!"
The right hand of twenty-five new generation Republic soldiers was slashed hard against their foreheads.
"I believe everyone standing before me is admirable. You've undergone the strictest training, and I believe you can pass the final training ground smoothly! But what I, as your instructor, want to teach you more is not combat skills or survival skills, but two simple words! Long Jianhui's voice was truly resolute and forceful. He shouted fiercely, "That's ...... loyal !! ”
That night, this small group camped under the stone monument of the martyrs' cemetery.
As dawn brightened, everyone got up on their own. When they lined up and took roll, Long Jianhui realized that Zhanxiage and the other two trainees were missing.
Long Jianhui roared angrily, "Who knows where they went? Report to me immediately!" ”
No one answered.
"Don't tell me that an elite cadet who has consecutively earned the Earth, Jungle, and Mountain Medals is a disorganized, undisciplined bastard!" Long Jianhui glared in anger, his bloodshot eyes wide open, and he roared hoarsely, "I even more refuse to believe that other instructors are all blind fools!" Who really knows where they went? As soldiers trained at the Fifth Special Forces Elite Training School, as the most outstanding war machines in China and even the world, you should understand the importance of obeying orders and observing discipline! ”
No one spoke, but someone involuntarily turned their head, their gaze fixed on the snow-covered cliff covered in ice and snow year-round, with a red flag standing atop its peak.
Everything is clear!
Long Jianhui hoarsely said, "Zhan Xia Ge, you bastard, what the hell are you trying to do?" Everyone, come with me immediately! ”