The snow was falling heavily and the woods were deep. Yan Fenghuo, who was sentenced by the military court, was sent to this cold world where the sky was filled with ice and snow and towering trees. This was a logging camp in the deep mountains of Northeast China. In winter, the mountains were closed by heavy snow and became uninhabited.
Known lonely corner.
The lumberyard is not only a lumberyard, but also a military prison. The prison is in a cave next to the north side of the lumberyard. It has a huge space and is divided into different prison areas, where soldiers from various units are detained.
They have to work hard and receive political education all year round, which is no different from a normal prison. If there is a difference, it is that the prisoners in a normal prison wear prison uniforms, and they wear military uniforms with their military ranks removed. Another point is that
It is relatively free, but no one can go out alone.
The forest is so deep and dense that you don’t even know where the road is, and there are dozens of ferocious military dogs kept in the prison. If someone escapes, these well-trained military dogs will find the fugitive as soon as possible.
Since we dare to set up a military prison in such a deep mountain, we are not afraid of you escaping at all.
"Duh! Duh! Duh!"
In the lumberyard with heavy snowfall, Yan Fenghuo was naked from the waist up, swinging his ax fiercely to chop wood.
The muscles on his body covered with scars were in the shape of strips. The cold had no effect on him. The blood would melt if it touched his body, and his whole body would exude a white mist.
"This guy is really a lunatic. How big of a crime has he committed?" A prisoner wrapped in a military yellow coat breathed heat into his cold hands and said, "I have been squatting here for half a year. This Yan Fenghuo sleeps four times a day.
For an hour, the rest of the time is spent chopping firewood, hey..."
A prisoner next to him took over and said, "What are you doing with him? If he likes to chop wood, let him chop it. It will save us a lot of effort."
"That's right, this damn god, it would be great if I could have a bottle of Laobaigan and roast a rabbit." The prisoner stomped his feet and complained.
It's too cold, it's really too cold here. Not everyone can bear the temperature of more than 30 degrees below zero. What the prisoners in this military prison enjoy most is to get some liquor, get a rabbit, and drink liquor.
Warm up and eat the fragrant rabbit meat.
There is no taboo on liquor in this military prison, but it is only used as a necessity to warm the body.
The words reached Yan Fenghuo's ears clearly, but he showed no expression at all. He was still chopping wood calmly, with an extremely focused expression in his eyes.
He was not a madman, he was just venting his anger in this way. When ten years' imprisonment was imposed on him, he finally understood that there were some things he couldn't do, and if he did, he would have to pay back.
But he doesn't have much regret. If he had to do it again, he would still make that choice. But the way of choosing would change, no longer so blindly, no longer so arbitrary.
It's a pity that nothing can go back. The only thing he can do here is chop wood. Other than that...
Yan Fenghuo stopped what he was doing, took out the liquor and took a sip into his mouth, then looked at an open space to the west of the logging camp.
An unnamed tombstone was erected in the open space, with a line of words written on it: Dedicated to the heroes!
This open space is 400 square meters in size and has a circular shape. It turns out that this open space is not an open space, but a very deep pit called a mass grave.
The identities of the people buried in this mass grave cannot be determined, but it can be inferred from some traces: they were Chinese prisoners of war captured by the Japanese soldiers, who were massacred and buried in this mass grave.
The cave was a military base built here by the Japanese in the past. After it was discovered, the existence of this mass grave was learned from the records left in the base.
I just don’t know if these prisoners of war who were trapped and killed were soldiers of the Kuomintang army or soldiers of the Red Army. But whether they were the Kuomintang army or the Red Army, they were all Chinese, and they were all heroes who shed their lives and blood for the War of Resistance Against Japan.
"Shh!...Shh!..."
A sharp whistle sounded, and all the prisoners immediately gathered in the cave's spacious hall after hearing the whistle.
Today is Thursday, political education and study.
This is a military prison, which still retains the army's schedule and traditions. Every Thursday is a political education class, and the political education class here is more in-depth than that of the army. They are a group of prisoners who committed crimes in the army, and the army is more
Willing to complete their transformation.
Another point is that the nature of these prisoners is not bad. The reason why they are sent here is overwhelmingly passionate and loyal, coupled with a hatred of evil.
This prison is completely different from the prisons in the outside world. These prisoners are cute, just because they have done something wrong.
"Yan Fenghuo, hehe, come to class, hehe." The person in charge of the class was a lieutenant colonel wearing a fur coat. Everyone called him Instructor Zheng.
Instructor Zheng is in his forties, has a wife and children at home. He works as a political instructor in this military prison. He has stayed in the mountains for many years and taught these erring soldiers for decades.
Yan Fenghuo threw down his axe, took the yellow coat covered with snowflakes, shook it vigorously, put it on and walked towards the cave.
The space of the cave is very large, and the sound of generator sets is constantly ringing to support the electrical equipment of the entire prison. Further inside are the prison cells that were converted from the Japanese army camp, one next to the other. If you count them in detail
, this military base left behind by the Japanese is enough to accommodate a reorganized division.
It's just that many places are sealed, and a military prison simply can't use so much space.
"Okay, let's go to class now, haha." Instructor Zheng put a stack of red-headed documents on a table slightly higher in the hall, with a smile on his face.
The prisoners below were lined up neatly with small benches. After hearing the command to sit on the benches, they all sat down and began to listen to the class.
It is worth mentioning that there are not too many guards here, and the maintenance of some disciplines relies entirely on the officers or non-commissioned officers who have better performance among the prisoners and have served as managers before being imprisoned.
All in all, this military prison will be very relaxed every winter. The university is closed and no one will escape. Those who dare to escape will only die. There is a strong sense of humanity here and the smell of a military camp. Sometimes, the prison even
The officers and guard soldiers still regard these mortals as comrades-in-arms.
In a sense, this is not a prison, but a special unit that gathers many people together to reform them through labor and work hard.
"Let's study the documents first." Instructor Zheng picked up the red-headed document in front of him and said with a smile: "The food expenses have increased again, and the salary of the army has increased again, haha."
After finishing speaking, instructor Zheng began to read the red-headed documents one by one and talk about the army.
This is the first part of political education, making all prisoners feel that they are still soldiers and have not been ostracized.
After reading the red-headed documents one by one, Professor Zheng rubbed his hands and said: "Comrades, the party and the country have never given up on you, because you are always the people's soldiers, even if you stay in this military prison, haha."
All the prisoners looked serious and sat quietly listening.
"To be honest, from my personal point of view, it's not worth it for you. This is why I have stayed here for more than ten years." Professor Zheng lit a cigarette and said seriously: "You are all young people.
How can young people not be jealous of evil and have no anger? People are not afraid of doing wrong things, but they are so afraid that they don’t know where they are wrong. What is my duty? My duty is to let you know where you are wrong.
I don’t want to see every good young soldier become negative and degenerate because he did one wrong thing. I am a soldier, and you are also a soldier. Soldiers should face everything they have and face everything they have done.”
When Professor Zheng, who was always smiling, said these words, his face was full of sincerity and seriousness.
This is his job, it is enough to let these soldiers who made mistakes know where they went wrong.
"Do you still remember your oath of enlistment?" Professor Zheng asked.
"Remember!" all the prisoners said in unison.
"Okay, let me hear the oath of enlistment that we will always remember!"
"I swear: obey the leadership of the Communist Party of China, serve the people wholeheartedly, obey orders, strictly observe discipline, be brave and tenacious, not afraid of sacrifice, practice hard to kill the enemy, be ready to fight at all times, never betray the army, and defend the motherland to the death."
The loud voice resounded throughout the cave. These prisoners used their most calm and powerful voices to say the sacred oath that they had received when they were enlisted in the army at the age of 18.
The oath of enlistment was solemn and sacred when joining the army, and now it added a strong feeling: they are still soldiers, soldiers who made mistakes.
"Yes, this is your oath. The oath of a person, a man, and a soldier cannot be returned. It will not be broken because you have done something wrong, and it will not disappear because of the passage of time. It will be engraved on you forever.
What is in the heart of each of us..."
Professor Zheng's not-so-loud voice struck everyone's heart. They knew they were wrong, and they longed to repent and to be forgiven by the motherland and the people. And they knew that their days here were to repent, and when the time came, they would return to the army.
After completing their military service, at that time, they were still a soldier, a soldier of the people under the leadership of the party and the army.
Halfway through the political education class, Professor Zheng pointed to the heavy snowfall outside and sighed: "There is a mass grave there, and buried in it are the revolutionary predecessors who sacrificed their lives for the victory of New China. We live next to them, and I
Dreaming about them every night...you know what that says to us?"
The prisoners were sitting quietly in silence, but Yan Fenghuo suddenly stood up. All eyes immediately focused on him, this guy who only chops firewood every day.
"A person's life is only once." Yan Fenghuo stared at the heavy snow outside and said calmly and firmly: "Loyalty is only once. If loyalty means sacrificing one's life for the country, then I am willing to at least leave a spirit behind for all
People can experience the meaning of loyalty from it.”
After finishing speaking, Yan Fenghuo strode outside, headed for the mass grave under the heavy snow, and sat there for a long time.
He sat for three whole days and three nights without anyone disturbing him. In Professor Zheng's room, Tang Jingzhong also sat for three whole days and three nights. He saw Yan Fenghuo crying, saw Yan Fenghuo smiling, and looked at
When Yan Fenghuo looked up to the sky and howled.
"Chief, this soldier is very good. You can take him away." Professor Zheng looked at Yan Fenghuo who turned into a snowman, sighed and said: "This soldier is different from others, really different. His thinking is very unique.
It’s just difficult to manage.”
Tang Jingzhong shook his head, took out two photos from his pocket and put them on the table and said: "I am here in a private capacity. Give these three photos to him. They are the most important people in his life."
There are three photos, one is of Tangtang, one is of Yan Fenghuo and his parents, and the other is...