The soldiers love "green" so much that it drives them crazy. There was a soldier who once loved "madly".
That soldier was sent to Rigeze for treatment. In the street, under the gaze of the crowd, the soldier hugged a tree by the roadside and cried like a lover who had long suffered from lovesickness. Seeing the "green", he recovered and went back up the mountain.
The harsh life has given the soldiers a vigorous imagination akin to that of early humans. A Tibetan soldier told people a story about a "King of Trees"—
Long, long ago, the King of Trees prophesied that someone would eventually occupy Chaguola Mountain, and the trees should act before humans. However, the red pines, boxwoods, white birches, and green willows... none of them were willing to go; all the trees pushed and shoved each other, avoiding it as if it were a plague. The King of Trees could not move anyone. Just think about it, that flowerless desolate highland, a forbidden zone of life, severe cold, wind, and snow... The King of Trees could not overly burden the trees, so it was settled. From then on, in a fit of anger, Chaguola Mountain declared a break with the "King of Trees", stubbornly growing taller and taller, rooting into the blue sky, and became an incredibly magnificent ice and snow tree. No tree in the world could compare in height, strength, or beauty; it became the true "King of Trees".
Without "green", how can humans survive? This is not just a biological proposition; it seems more like a philosophical question. The historian Arnold Toynbee, in his book "A Study of History", used a positivist approach, citing numerous examples to prove that "the environment in which civilization is born is a very difficult environment, not a very comfortable one," thus proposing a formula: "the greater the challenge, the greater the stimulus." Although there are supplementary conditions of "moderation and excess," "beauty is difficult," and "excellence requires suffering."
A thoughtful squad leader once sang the song "Flowers for Chaguola", carrying ten saplings from his distant hometown up the mountain. The squad leader and the soldiers dug ice and pits together, carrying soil from the mountain below, and managed to plant the saplings. Everyone wrapped the saplings with their own cotton quilts. During those days, the most important thing at the entire outpost was to take care of the saplings. There was no meeting or superior orders; it was entirely spontaneous.
One day, the squad leader squatted alone in front of the saplings, holding a textbook on tree planting knowledge, carefully flipping through it word by word. The soldiers did not dare to disturb him and watched from a distance. When the book in the squad leader's hand was blown away by a gust of cold wind, he covered his eyes with his palm, and the soldiers gathered around in small groups. Some hugged quilts, some wore fur coats, and some simply took off their cotton clothes, silently wrapping the already dead saplings tightly. The soldiers only hoped that the squad leader could indulge himself and sing "Flowers for Chaguola" once more.
It was no longer possible.
The soldiers would rather pick up dry cow dung than burn the withered saplings, burying them deep beneath the ice and snow.
It is evident that nature is retaliating against any attempts to conquer it with grand strategies. However, on this highland where summer does not exist, it is these indomitable soldiers who represent the Chinese military, embodying the occupation of the highest cold land on Earth. They also represent all of humanity, proving the ultimate conquest of the conditions under which humans can survive.
The soldiers indeed love "green", and they also love the opposite sex. Their feelings are sincere. In this regard, the officers and soldiers are united.
Squad leader Luo is a student officer who graduated from a military academy. Upon graduation, he applied to the principal to go to Tibet, and then he applied step by step to the military district and military sub-district until he reached Chaguola Mountain. With the ability to "pass five levels and slay six generals," the squad leader naturally had a somewhat capable girlfriend, who was a talented girl with a bit of philosophical understanding. The talented girl once compared the squad leader's ascent of Chaguola Mountain to Hannibal crossing the Alps. For a while, the talented girl ran to the unit's mailroom every day. After running more than sixty times without receiving a single letter, she lost the courage to go again. Later, the squad leader explained in a letter that heavy snow had blocked the mountain, but the talented girl refused to go to the mailroom again, no matter what.
Later, a kind classmate introduced the squad leader to a girl who did not understand philosophy very well. The squad leader then received a very "philosophical" letter: if he could not transfer back home within two years, it would be goodbye. It turned out that this girl was even less willing to run to the mailroom every day.
The squad leader had no choice but to run home himself. During a three-month leave, he held hands with his childhood friend, running in the fields, by the river, and on the haystacks. The squad leader realized that childhood friends were still the best. When the holiday was over, the childhood friend realized that it was still better to say goodbye.
The squad leader said it was very normal; no one wanted to run like that.
Chen Decan was also a student officer who graduated from a military academy. A handsome young lieutenant in uniform naturally attracted a lovesick girl. The lovesick girl was smart and understood that the lower the rank of the officer, the more qualified he was to talk about love. Upon inquiry, it turned out that Lieutenant Chen had no romantic history. Thus, the lovesick girl's voice became enchanting:
"Can, I love you."
"Can, you must not leave me."
At the train station platform, the lovesick girl's expression and actions were even more unforgettable:
With tears streaming down her face, she kissed Can's forehead with a "pop," waving a perfumed handkerchief as she chased the train...
Can did not disappoint the lovesick girl and adhered to their agreement to write a letter every week, writing 32 letters. Six months later, as the heavy snow on the mountain melted patchily, Can finally received a letter:
"...This past half year has been truly difficult, extremely painful. Those dresses and jeans swaggered past me, leaving behind the words 'no one wants them,' which really hurt my heart. It is hard for us to meet, and I haven't received a single letter. I ask myself, what kind of love is this? I am a fragile and sentimental girl, and I don't know what will happen after we get married. When will you be able to come down from the snowy mountain? Therefore, after much consideration, please forgive me, and I wish you find someone better than me..."
Can held the thick stack of 32 unsent letters and had a moment of "sudden enlightenment" that was not Buddhist.
That squad leader was only twenty-four years old, and people from his hometown recognized him from a program broadcasted on CCTV. "Outstanding Squad Leader of the Army," second-class merit, five medals, ten certificates, giving reports everywhere, oh, the pride of the people of Shaanxi. A girl with the surname Xu came to his door. His mother hurriedly wrote to her son about this unexpected joy. The military leader specially approved the squad leader to take a 15-day leave after giving reports in the mainland. However, after returning home for a few days, he could not see the girl Xu. Upon inquiry, it turned out that the girl Xu had repeatedly weighed the situation and thought it was better not to meet. The girl Xu initially "pursued the abstract," but now "pursues the concrete." She suddenly realized: no matter how good someone is on television, they are still out of reach.
It seems that such matters are not as good as having an uncle. The uncle brought a very sensible good girl. The good girl said that the country has regulations: if one has achieved second-class merit, the country can arrange a good job after retirement. The squad leader said that when to retire still depends on the organization's arrangements. The good girl then said nothing more. It turned out that the very sensible good girl loved "doing a good job".
On Chaguola Mountain, there walks a forever cheerful squad leader named Lü Yongxi.
A Tibetan female poet lamented that in the place where spiritual and material life is the most impoverished, love makes up for everything.
If viewed from this perspective, then Gong Changrong should be considered a happy squad leader.
The squad leader's wife is named Chen Guoying, a wife who is absolutely not afraid to run to the mailroom a thousand times. It is precisely for this reason that she became the squad leader's wife. Originally, a wife touching the squad leader is protected by the constitution, but the opportunities to touch the squad leader are indeed too few, and the constitution is powerless in this regard.
Once, just as the wife managed to touch the squad leader, she received an urgent telegram from the army. Not having to run to the mailroom to receive the telegram, the wife naturally did not want to, but the squad leader said that a soldier's duty is to obey orders. The wife said, "Why is it so difficult to be a soldier's wife?" The squad leader replied, "Love requires sacrifice." The wife then sent the squad leader off on the train.
As soon as the squad leader left, the wife bought five boxes of matches, counting one by one every day, counting five times until she became familiar with the matchsticks but still did not touch the squad leader, and then went to the hospital to give birth to a little squad leader. The wife spent her first 21 hours in labor, happily uttering "Come save me" before fainting.
The little squad leader is not a boy but a girl. Boys and girls are the same. The squad leader is very happy, singing to his wife and little daughter on the distant mountain top under the moon:
"The moon on the fifteenth shines on my hometown, shines on the border..."
Some have raised objections to this song (including "Goodbye, Mama," "The Blood-Stained Wind and Color," and "Letters from Two Places, Mother and Son's Love"). In February 1988, a Xinhua News Agency reporter said in an internal reference that "some songs make soldiers sing while shedding tears, evoking the feeling of 'the wind is bleak and the water is cold, the brave man goes and never returns.' Some songs evoke soldiers' feelings of homesickness." "The soldiers of the 1980s had ideals, loved learning, and understood life; what they needed were songs rich in the spirit of the times, reflecting youth characteristics, vigorous, lively, and melodious, rather than songs that made people shed tears."
However, regardless of anything, the soldiers here sing without fail. The soldiers love to sing, and the officers love to sing too. In this regard, the officers and soldiers are united. Listen, "In the quiet night, you miss me, I miss you too," what beautiful words, both men and women feel the same, why not miss each other? Listen again, "You guard by the baby's cradle," this is much better than "You guard by the baby's sickbed." Last year, both the wife and little daughter were sick, and the mother and daughter spent 27 days together on the hospital bed counting pills. While counting the pills, the wife still sang:
"In the harvest fruits, there is your sweetness, and there is my sweetness, the reunion of thousands of families is your wish, and it is also my wish..."