Chapter 56
It was a dark and windy night.
In a valley somewhere near the Kyrgyz border, Ji Feiwen wrapped his face tightly with a towel, grabbed Shi Fangfang's hand and asked, "Mom, didn't you say you would bring me and my brother to travel to Tianshan? Why are you asking us to climb the mountain in the middle of the night?"
"Silly girl, your mother is not bringing you here for a trip. She is taking you across the border at night to enjoy life in the Soviet Union." Before Shi Fangfang could say anything, an old lady wearing a headscarf who was accompanying her said happily.
Ji Feiwen was shocked: "Mom, are you really going to take me and my brother to the Soviet Union? That's treason! If we are discovered by the border guards, we will be shot! You can't affect Dad because of your own selfish desires. I don't want to go to the Soviet Union."
"Your father doesn't want us anymore. If we don't go to the Soviet Union, will we be laughed at in our hometown?" Shi Fangfang held Ji Feiwu in her arms and climbed the path on the mountain with great effort. "The Soviet Union is a paradise. Everyone eats big bread and sausages, and there is endless beer and soda, as well as endless bras. Your father is determined to divorce me and send you back to the countryside. He won't listen to anyone's advice. In this case, let's just go to the Soviet Union to live a good life and let him be jealous and resentful in this poor country alone."
Ji Feiwen was shocked when she heard this. "But our Principal Kong said that the Soviet communist theories are all lies. There is no such thing as an easy win in this world. Mom, where did you hear this theory of subversion? You want to escape to the Soviet Union!"
"Why do you care where I heard it from? If the Soviet Union was in trouble, would so many people flee to the Soviet Union with us? If you don't want to go to the Soviet Union with mom, mom won't force you. Just stay here, and when it's daybreak, find your own way home." Shi Fangfang said impatiently.
Ji Feiwen was silent. They had been riding in the farm's rides all the way here, and they had to travel secretly at night. It took them nearly two days just to cross the Gobi Desert and the valley grasslands. On the way, they also encountered wild beasts such as wolves, tigers and leopards. If she was allowed to stay alone, she would definitely be eaten by the wolves.
Ji Feiwen was heartbroken. Ever since her mother had a quarrel with her father, she had gone crazy. She could clearly feel that her mother didn't love her anymore. From what she said just now, she didn't even consider her life or death.
She is now in a dilemma as to whether to leave or stay.
It was the same lady who had spoken before, who pulled her aside and said, "Silly girl, follow your mother. Can your mother harm you? Let me tell you, those who fled to the Soviet Union a few years ago have all become officials, live in big, spacious houses, and eat rice and noodles every day. If we go there, we can be like them..."
After hearing her words, the people nearby became more determined to escape to the Soviet Union. They climbed the narrow mountain path at the border with great effort, little knowing that at this time there was a team approaching them.
It took them several hours to climb halfway up the mountain when they suddenly heard a warning from a border guard over a loudspeaker at the corner of the mountain. At the same time, several large searchlights shone on their position, making it impossible for them to open their eyes. The border guard dogs at the border post also barked non-stop.
"Listen, people down the mountain. We are border guards from the 17th outpost of the Border Defense Department. We have discovered that you are suspected of climbing over to escape to the Soviet Union. Please return immediately by the same route you came from. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences! I repeat, please return immediately!"
The fleeing crowd was startled and covered their eyes to block out the glaring lights. They whispered to each other, "We deliberately took a detour along the mountain far away from the sentry post, how come we were still discovered by these soldiers?"
"Could it be that there is a traitor among us and the news leaked out?"
"What should we do now?"
"We have come this far. As long as we cross this mountain, we will reach the Soviet Union. I will not go back to the mines and suffer. I will fight them to the bitter end. Even if I die, I will die in the Soviet Union."
"How can we fight? Those border guards have guns in their hands! If we fight hard, they will just beat us into a sieve!"
"Why are you panicking? Be quiet!" Amidst a noisy voice, a man calmly took out a gun from his package. At the same time, a dozen men following him also took out their guns and stood behind the man.
The man said, "Let the children and women go in front."
The crowd panicked: "Why?"
"These soldiers respect the elderly, children, women and children. When they see children and women, they will not shoot at them."
The crowd was still unwilling to push their children and wives to the front to block the gunfire. The man pointed the gun at them impatiently: "Stop talking nonsense. I just took your money and sent you across the border. I'm not here to be a good person for you. Even if you die today, you must die abroad for me. Don't ruin my reputation."
The crowd reluctantly pushed the children and women to the front. The children were so scared that they cried loudly. The border guards on the mountain heard the children crying and warned them again and again, but the crowd had no choice but to continue climbing up under the gunshots.
Seeing that they were determined to cross the border, the border guards, after repeated warnings to no avail, had no choice but to shoot at them as a warning.
The sound of bullets exploding scared the children and women so much that they ran around in panic. The leader of the escape operation shouted anxiously, "No one is allowed to retreat. Move forward. I will kill anyone who dares to run back!"
With border guards in front forcing them to retreat and leaders behind them forcing them to move forward, the mountain road was rugged and narrow, and the crowd was in a dilemma. In the end, they gritted their teeth and rushed up the mountain.
There was only one squad of soldiers guarding the sentry post on the mountain. Faced with so many people charging at them, they could only fire their guns in defense.
As soon as they opened fire, the crowd ran down the mountain again, and the leaders fired back.
In the chaos, the sentins were outnumbered and gradually fell into a disadvantage.
In the crisis, Chen Shengqing and nearly 50 Kyrgyz people arrived, and a big battle broke out on the mountain.
Two hours later, when the cavalry battalion dispatched by the Border Defense Department arrived at the outpost, two soldiers were seriously injured at the border outpost, Chen Shengqing and others were slightly injured, more than half of the fleeing people were injured, and a large number of people died. The leader and his subordinates who were responsible for the escape killed ten people and two escaped. The cavalry battalion was divided into two, one part went to chase the fugitive leader, and the other part took the remaining fugitives back to the border defense camp for joint interrogation.
When Chen Shengqing returned to the Kyrgyz village again, it was already dawn.
"Are you injured?" Yang Qiujin was shocked to see blood on his face and hands. She went over and pulled him, checking his injuries from head to toe.
"It's okay, just a minor injury." Chen Shengqing let her finish the examination and smiled at her soothingly, "I'm going to take a shower, then I'll take a nap and take you guys to play nearby."
He didn't want to say more, and Yang Qiujin didn't ask any more questions. She helped him find a set of clean clothes and watched him take a shower.
They stayed in the village for a day. Yang Qiujin learned from the bride that the fleeing crowd last night actually wanted to kill the border guards and flee to the Soviet Union. When they were finally suppressed by their own people with guns, she broke out in a cold sweat.
It was not until this moment that she realized how dangerous the daily work of border defense officers like Chen Shengqing was.
When she returned to the military compound, she distributed the specialties she had bought during her travels to the wives of soldiers who were her familiar neighbors.
Under a big poplar tree on the way to the supply and marketing cooperative past the military unit, there were several military wives gossiping, and she pricked up her ears to listen to some of them.
"Hey, have you heard? There was an escape at Post No. 17 two days ago. Many people died and two soldiers were seriously injured."
"I know that. I heard that it was an organized and premeditated escape. The people accompanying them had Soviet machine guns and weapons. The fighting was terrible that night. I heard that if the Kyrgyz people who were on duty to guard the border nearby had not been fearless and fought them head-on, and Captain Chen happened to be among them, those people would probably have killed all the soldiers at the sentry post and fled directly to the Soviet Union."
“Is it so amazing?”
"No, I heard that when the cavalry arrived, they actually caught Shi Fangfang and her two children from among the fleeing crowd. They are now being held in the barracks, and we don't know how to sentence them."
"Shi Fangfang is really crazy. She actually fled with her child. I don't know what she was thinking. Poor military doctor Ji and her eldest daughter. They are both nice people. Why did they get involved with Shi Fangfang who is so confused?"
"It's everyone's fate."
.......
Yang Qiujin listened for a few seconds and then stopped listening. She turned and left, thinking to herself, it is said that those who escaped from the Soviet Union would be shot if they were caught, so Shi Fangfang would not be shot, right?
A few days later, the result of the handling of the escape incident came out. Shi Fangfang and other escapees who were captured were not shot, but sentenced to hard labor and sent to a military labor reform mine thousands of miles away for hard labor reform. Her two children were sent back to her hometown, and Ji Mingchen also divorced her.
The Kyrgyz people on Border Line 17 were reported to Kyoto by the military for their meritorious service in preventing the escapees. They were highly praised by their leaders and many rewards were sent to their village.
Chen Shengqing was called to the regiment headquarters by the regiment commander Guo Shengrong and the political commissar Liao for a talk.
"Xiao Chen, it has been several years since you were promoted from deputy battalion commander to battalion commander, right?" the question was asked by Captain Guo.
Chen Shengqing sat upright, with a serious expression, opposite him, and answered loudly: "Report to the head, four years!"
Captain Guo glanced at Political Commissar Liao, who asked with a smile, "I heard that you injured your hands and legs during the interception two days ago. Are you okay?"
"No!" Still the answer was concise.
"You probably know that among the fugitives captured by your cavalry battalion, there are family members of the military doctor." Political Commissar Liao did not beat around the bush and said, "According to the interrogation conducted by our comrades in the border police, we learned from the fugitives that this escape was organized by the two leaders who escaped and were not caught. They have a thousand connections with our border defense department. They said that someone from the military department helped them plot and plan, so they avoided the border defense department. Our border guards came to the No. 17 border post for inspection. According to their account, the contact person was most likely the family of the military doctor, because before that, she had some extra money for no apparent reason and bought a new watch and a bicycle, and the family of the military doctor was very close to the family of Captain Luo. Now Captain Luo, his family, and the military doctor have all been arrested by the military for interrogation, if nothing unexpected happens..."
Political Commissar Liao paused for a moment and said, "You may be promoted because you have made great contributions in this incident and uncovered the spy who has been hiding in our military."
After hearing this, Chen Shengqing showed no joy on his face. He asked, "If Captain Luo's family member, the one called Li Man, is found to be a spy, what will happen to Captain Luo?"
Guo Shengrong said: "You and I both know it very well, why bother asking."
Chen Shengqing lowered his eyes and said nothing.
The three of them were silent for a while, and Guo Shengrong stood up and said, "Let's go. I will personally interrogate Captain Guo's family."
The three of them walked together to a cluster of iron gates in the military camp. When they arrived at the border military interrogation room, Riemann was tied to a chair.
Guo Shengrong gave a look to Political Commissar Liao, who went next door to interrogate Captain Luo, while Chen Shengqing stayed here and watched Guo Shengrong interrogate him.
Guo Shengrong sat opposite Li Man, looking at the woman in front of him who was prettier than other women in terms of appearance, clothing, temperament, etc. He lowered his head to glance at the information in his hand and said, "Li Man, no, Zhou Xue, you have been lurking beside Captain Luo for many years. What is your mission?"
Riemann had disheveled hair and untidy clothes. He had been tortured before Guo Shengrong came, but he kept his mouth shut and refused to say anything.
She said coldly: "Captain Guo, I don't understand what you are talking about."
Guo Shengrong was not in a hurry. "When Captain Luo was on a mission in Shanghai, he met you who had something stolen. That's how you two met and later got married. You told Captain Luo that you were born in a small water town in the south of the Yangtze River. When Captain Luo wanted to marry you, the organization checked your identity and there was indeed no problem. But..."
At this point, he changed the subject, "That family did have a daughter named Li Man, who looked somewhat like you. The strange thing is that before you married Captain Luo, Li Man's parents died mysteriously, and their house caught fire for no apparent reason, burning everything to ashes. You did this to impersonate Li Man, thinking you had killed and burned them all, but you didn't know that there were eyewitnesses to the fire."
Impossible! Li Man almost subconsciously wanted to refute it. She had acted very cleanly at the time, and there was no one living around the Li family's house. Guo Shengrong was clearly deceiving her.
However, she did not say anything, but her pupils shrank for a moment and her hands clenched unconsciously, which still exposed her thoughts.
Guo Shengrong said with a sharp gaze, "Tell me, who is your superior? Who are you in contact with? You have been lurking beside Luo Jin for nearly five years. What do you want to do? As long as you confess, you may still have a chance to survive."
Zhou Xue sneered: "Do you think I still have a chance to survive?"
Guo Shengrong glanced at Chen Shengqing without knowing what was going on. "Let me ask you again..."
“No matter how many times you ask me, I still don’t know.”
"Really? Then Captain Luo doesn't know either?" Chen Shengqing suddenly asked.
Zhou Xue was silent for a while, "He knows nothing."
Chen Shengqing came up to her, stared into her eyes, and said word by word: "You have been married for five years. Even though you don't have children, Luo Jin has always treated you as a treasure and loved you. Even if you are with Mu Tou, you should have some feelings for him. Can you bear to watch him die because of you?"
Zhou Xue still said the same thing: "He knows nothing."
Guo Shengrong lost his patience: "You have slept together for so many years. He was a reconnaissance soldier. He must know about this. You won't tell me, right? Then I will pry it out of his mouth. I want to see how long you two can keep your mouth shut!"
Guo Shengrong stood up and walked to the next room angrily. Soon, Luo Jin's screams were heard.
Zhou Xue clenched her teeth and said nothing.
Chen Shengqing sat opposite her, turning a pen slowly and said, "You were born a spy, you should know very well that we have many kinds of torture that can torture a person to the point where he would rather die than live, but still feel the torture consciously. Captain Luo is such a good person. I heard that he often brought you water to wash your feet and warmed your bed in advance so that you could sleep more comfortably. When you had a fever in the middle of the night, he ignored his own injuries and limped to the hospital carrying you on his back. He knew that you didn't like washing clothes or cooking, so he took care of all these tasks..."
The past events came to mind one by one. Luo Jin's screams from next door were heard continuously. Zhou Xue burst into tears. "Don't say it, don't say it."
Chen Shengqing would not stop, and continued to speak slowly: "Zhou Xue, you don't want to have a child with Luo Jin. Is it because you are afraid that if you have a child with him, you will miss him and the child and forget your mission, or are you afraid of bringing disaster to Luo Jin? It's a pity that if you don't tell me, Luo Jin will be tortured to death."
Zhou Xue still gritted her teeth and said nothing, but the tears on her face kept flowing.
Chen Shengqing was not in a hurry either. He tapped the table with his slender fingers again and again, as if tapping on Zhou Xue's heart.
No one knew how long it had been, but Luo Jin's screams suddenly stopped. At the same time, Guo Shengrong's sigh came from next door: "What bad luck." Then there was no more sound.
Zhou Xue panicked, "What happened to Luo Jin?"
No one answered her. Chen Shengqing sat in front of her calmly, without moving.
"I'm asking you what happened to Luo Jin?!" Zhou Xue asked almost crazily.
"Want to know?" Chen Shengqing took off the cap of the pen and took out a piece of white paper. "Tell me about your mission. After you finish, maybe you can meet your husband."
She emphasized the word "husband" with particular emphasis.
Zhou Xue seemed to have suddenly lost all her energy and spirit. She drooped her head listlessly, tears streaming down her face. "I said."
When Chen Shengqing returned home, it was almost twelve o'clock in the evening.
It is already mid-October and snow has begun to fall in the border areas.
Chen Shengqing walked into the house in the wind and rain. He originally thought that the house would be cold, but he didn't expect that as soon as he entered the house, he felt that the fire wall in the house was heated up and the house was warm.
There was a small oil lamp lit in the living room, probably because they were afraid that he would come home too late and not be able to see the furnishings in the house and bump into the table.
He tiptoed into the room, originally planning to just curl up and lie down next to Yang Qiujin and fall asleep.
Who knew that when he walked into the room, Yang Qiujin woke up and asked him, "You came back so late, have you eaten?"
Chen Shengqing said: "No, I was busy all afternoon."
"You must be so busy that you don't even have time to eat." Yang Qiujin got up from the bed, turned on a flashlight and put on her clothes. Seeing the tired look on his face, she said softly, "It's very cold outside. You lie here and don't move. I'll go get you some hot water to warm your feet, and then make you some food."
Chen Shengqing did not refuse, "Don't bother too much, just make something to eat."
"Then I'll make you some noodles."
"OK."
Knowing that winter in the frontier was different from that in her hometown, Yang Qiujin kept the beehive coal stove half-sealed at night since the beginning of winter. She put two more pieces of beehive coal in the stove and put a pot of water on it. The stove could burn until dawn and the water would still be hot.
Yang Qiujin first poured hot water into the footbath and tested the temperature before passing it to Chen Shengqing, letting him wash his face and feet.
Then he went back to the kitchen and skillfully kneaded the dough and made noodles. When the water was boiling, he did not forget to put a handful of winter cabbage leaves into the pot. Finally, he mixed the spicy fried chicken that he had reserved for him in the evening and a plate of stir-fried sauerkraut with the noodles. A tempting, sour and spicy, bright red dish of spicy fried chicken was ready.
After Chen Shengqing finished his foot steaming and ate a large bowl of noodles, he felt so comfortable that he started sweating. "It's still better to be at home."
Yang Qiujin took the bowls to the kitchen, washed them, and came back to see that he had already poured out the water for washing feet and was lying on the kang bed. She took off her coat, lay beside him, and asked, "What did you do today? Why did you come back so late?"
"We interrogated Captain Luo and her family." Chen Shengqing held her in his arms and tucked her in carefully. "Shi Fangfang's money was indeed taken from Li Man. Li Man asked her to build good relationships with other military wives in the family compound and ask their husbands about the locations of our border guard posts and the number of people at the border guard posts, so that the Soviet spies can take large-scale actions."
"No wonder Shi Fangfang has the money to buy a watch and a bicycle." Yang Qiujin suddenly realized, "But Li Man has been married to Captain Luo for five years. She shouldn't have only this mission, she should have other missions, right? Didn't Captain Luo give her any hint?"
"Luo Jin is a smart but confused person. His feelings for Li Man are genuine. He doesn't believe that Li Man is a spy, but he is always on guard against her and has never told her anything about our department. Li Man's superiors have been watching her for so many years and have not brought back any useful information, so they put pressure on her. She was helpless and found Shi Fangfang to spread her net everywhere. But Shi Fangfang and Ji Mingchen failed to get a divorce, so she fled to Suzhou with their children, dragging her into it."
"Then how should Captain Luo pronounce the verdict?"
"Luo Jin was good to Li Man, and Li Man also had some feelings for him. She knew that she would be killed if she was caught, so she took all the blame on herself. Luo Jin would not be shot, but he would be stripped of his military title and political power, and be imprisoned for more than ten years before being released."
"I didn't expect that a spy like Riemann still had some feelings for Captain Luo." Yang Qiujin was a little melancholy, and suddenly seemed to think of something, "I remember you said before that Captain Guo intended to promote one of the three of you to deputy captain. The three captains are still inexperienced, and now Luo Jin, the second captain, has been punished by military law. The only qualified one is you, and you have made great contributions in intercepting at the border. Are you going to be promoted to deputy captain?"
Chen Shengqing didn't answer directly, but just stroked her black, smooth hair and said, "It's getting late, go to bed early."
Yang Qiujin muttered, "Even if you don't tell me, I know you will definitely be promoted to deputy regiment commander. It's good to be promoted, your salary and allowance will increase. When the time comes, send more money back to our mother, so that she will have more money to buy what she wants."
Chen Shengqing smiled silently. The first thing he thought of when his allowance increased was his mother. He didn't know if she was stupid or too calculating.
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