It has been ten days since the Soviet army occupied northern Xinjiang.
In the underground chamber of the mosque, the flame of an oil lamp trembled feebly. A huge figure was projected on the dim stone wall.
Xiang Xiaoqiang's injuries were in good and bad condition. The initial danger to his life seemed to have passed. However, in the underground secret room, there was almost no nursing care. The sanitary conditions were also very poor.
Fortunately, his gunshot wound was a penetrating wound, entering from the chest and exiting from the back. Fortunately, the internal organs were not injured, and the bullet was not left inside. Otherwise, complex surgery would be required. Under such conditions, Xi Jinping
Xiaoqiang is finished.
When the wound suppurates, the pus can flow out and will not accumulate in the chest cavity. This is very good for the injury. But Xiang Xiaoqiang still has fevers from time to time.
There are no antibiotics now, and quinine, aspirin, etc. are only available to Soviet military doctors. The control is very strict and even the imams cannot get them. We can only go to the traditional Chinese medicine shop in Dihua City to buy bezoar pills to reduce fever.
Niuhuang pills have a good effect in reducing fever, but the main ingredient is bezoar, which is expensive. Shi Shigege has already taken out a few gold coins and a gem brooch he had on his body and asked the imam to pawn them to maintain the expensive cost of medication.
The old imam completed his "reform" this morning and was allowed to move freely in the afternoon. When he came back from the city, he bought back a large bag of various medicines at once. Because he heard someone said that the Soviet army was about to
All private capital in the city was restructured, and soon all food and clothing, even the most basic items, could no longer be bought and sold freely. The abbots of several mosques in the city, because of their "unrepentance", refused to
Accept the transformation, and they will all be shot together tomorrow.
Now, the world is in chaos outside. The Soviet army is confiscating land, food, farm tools, livestock, confiscating the Koran, and prohibiting people from praying five times a day. There are resistance forces everywhere in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. The Soviet army needs large groups of troops every day
Only by going out for raids can we maintain basic security around Dihua. But in remote places, I heard that one or two villages were burned down by Soviet Cossack cavalry every day, and everyone was killed.
The old imam said that God has decreed that everyone must take up arms. The "holy war" against the invaders has begun.
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang was lying on the bed, clenching his teeth, shivering all over, and making indistinct sounds in his throat. Fourteen Gege knelt beside him, clasped his hands, put them to his mouth, and looked at the bed
The imam in front of me had tears in his eyes and was chanting along with him.
Praying. Now, not only Xiang Xiaoqiang's condition, but even the hope of escaping back is getting slimmer and slimmer. Fourteen Gege has almost cut off all other hopes, and this strange belief seems to have become all her hope.
, became the spiritual support for her to persevere.
The imam stood beside the bed, folded his arms, lowered his head and closed his eyes slightly, using a low and soft voice, and softly recited in Arabic like singing:
“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Merciful—
“All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds, Lord of the Merciful, Lord of the Day of Retribution.
"We only worship you, we only ask for your help, and we ask you to guide us to the right path.
“The path of those whom You protect and help is not the path of those who are condemned and angered, nor the path of those who are misguided…
…
“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Merciful—
“The evil they have done will be revealed to them;
"The punishment they laughed at will befall them.
"Or you may say to them: Today, I ignore you, just as you ignored today's meeting before. Your destination is Hell, and you will have no helper.
“That is because you have made a mockery of God’s signs and your worldly life has deceived you.
"Today, they will not be released from the Fire, nor will they be invited to receive any favor.
“All praise belongs only to Allah—the Lord of the heavens, the Lord of the earth, and the Lord of the whole world!
"The greatness in heaven and earth belongs only to him; he is omnipotent and wise..."
…
“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Merciful—
"I swear by the poor and the morning star.
"How can you know what the morning star is? It's that brilliant star.
"Everyone has a protector.
“A man should think about what he is made of…
…
Although Xiang Xiaoqiang had a fever, his mind was unusually active. Every time he had a fever, as long as the fever was not too high and he was confused, he felt that his mind was very clear and running faster than usual. He opened his hot eyes and looked Looking at Shi Shige Ge who was praying beside the bed, and looking at the imam standing by the lamp chanting sutras, I felt a very satisfied feeling. When a person is sick, as long as there is the person closest to him and the one he loves most who is beside the bed to pray for him. You cry and sigh for you, no matter how uncomfortable your body is, your heart is satisfied.
The imam recited the scriptures in Arabic, which Xiang Xiaoqiang couldn't understand. But he just felt that the voice was very pleasant, with ups and downs. It seemed that every word and sentence could go straight to his heart, and its appeal was no less than that of the Holy Mass he had heard in church. Song.
Every time the imam recited scriptures like this, Xiang Xiaoqiang's tense nerves gradually relaxed, and his anxiety became much better.
Although this is northern Xinjiang, although it is poor, backward and closed, what amazes Xiang Xiaoqiang is that every imam in every mosque here can recite the full text of the Quran in the original Arabic language, even though they are also locals. Some of them have never even traveled dozens of miles around in their lives. She had to sigh at the powerful power of this belief. A "Quran" and a simple word: Allah, over the years, can make countless people go through fire and water for it. They dedicated their lives to it and fought for it everywhere. Now, when the sacred Quran in their hearts was tarnished, they even dared to use their flesh and blood to fight against the Soviet machine guns, artillery, planes, and tanks, and went forward without hesitation.
There is no other faith in the world that can unite believers so firmly, regardless of nationality, race, color, rich or poor, they can stand together resolutely. There is no other faith in the world that can make believers believe so deeply, so Piety, in order to defend the faith and promote the faith, do not hesitate to risk everything. Not Christianity, not the Bolsheviks, not the Nazis, and not the fascists.
This is a great faith, but also a terrible faith. It can bravely resist oppression that is dozens of times more powerful. At the same time, Xiang Xiaoqiang knows that once it becomes extreme, it can be enough to stain the whole world with blood.
Such a powerful force should be put to good use even if it cannot be grasped in hand.
Xiang Xiaoqiang chose the Grand Mosque as the final defensive stronghold at that time, largely based on this consideration. This is very symbolic: the Soviet army was desperately attacking the mosque, and the Ming army was desperately defending the mosque. And the local Muslims were watching. Inside.
Even if you couldn't see anything at the time and couldn't tell who was good and who was bad, now the locals should understand. What did the Ming army do when they were here? What did the Soviet army do here? Think about it again.
In the symbolic "Mosque Defense Battle", local people's hearts completely turned to the side of the Ming army. And Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that under the rule of
During the First World War, although the people's hearts were completely on the side of the Ming army, the Ming army and the Qing army were basically fighting. The people in the Northern Qing Dynasty were all obedient and would only be spectators. But it is different now. The people here, especially
They are Muslims, and they are not obedient people. Once you win the hearts and minds of the people here, it means that someone will really fight alongside you.
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang and Shi Shigege listened to the imam talking about the above situation every day, listening to how Soviet soldiers were assassinated, bombed to death, and poisoned in large numbers... Now, the Soviet army has issued an order that every Soviet soldier
If they were killed, ten local civilians would be shot. But even so, the lives of Soviet soldiers were still
There is no guarantee. Xiang Xiaoqiang knows that on this special battlefield, it will not be long before this Soviet Red Army, which is highly disciplined and full of a sense of justice and honor, will become an army that does no evil. Now the Soviet Army
They have begun to deal with resistance by doubling the execution of hostages and massacring entire villages indiscriminately.
It is said that the US troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan in later generations were bombed all day long, and they were so cautious for fear of accidentally injuring civilians. It has been several years and they still haven't solved it. The Soviet army is doing this now, just like the Japanese devils. Xiang Xiaoqiang has dared to bet with his head:
This land will never belong to the Soviet Union.
"Master, thank you very much..." Xiang Xiaoqiang lay on the bed and said weakly, "Our army is only retreating temporarily and will fight back... Please tell everyone, don't worry, they won't grow up... Then I will
I will donate money privately to build a mosque in northern Xinjiang. You choose the place and ask you to be the host... to repay your life-saving grace..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang would say this sentence almost every day. He was afraid that the old imam would be unable to bear the pressure and sell him out. Every day, the old imam would not talk to him. But today, he seemed to be finally unhappy and frowned and said:
"You Han people speak too hypocritically, always as if you are making a deal. You are not a believer. How can a non-believer donate to build a mosque out of sincerity? God does not lack those things built with stones. Everything in heaven and earth is.
Return to Allah, and He is only willing to save the world. Allah does not like such transactions. Either you truly believe. That is a much greater merit than using money to build a mosque..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang and Shi Shigege looked at each other and said in their hearts: Yes, there are still people who are so ungrateful. If you were to live with us, if you went to the temple to donate money to build the Golden Buddha, the abbot would treat you as an elder.
Xindao, the price was a bit high, so Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't answer. But he knew that he couldn't say such nonsense in the future.
…
The next day, the old imam brought back a piece of news. I don’t know whether it was good or bad. The cooking team above had been withdrawn and no longer cooked here. However, there were Soviet soldiers watching the Ming prisoners of war working all day long.
, to sort out the ruins. As for why the ruins were sorted out, I heard that it was to be turned into a museum, specifically to exhibit some texts, photos, and objects, to reveal how the old local aristocrats, landlords, and capitalists used it before the Soviet army came to liberate it.
Religious superstition oppresses the people. It is estimated that many people will come to visit.
Xiang Xiaoqiang is very worried. If this happens, the ruins will inevitably be completely cleaned up. Then the ground will also need to be repaired. Then, it is very likely that the entrance to the secret room will be found.
But on the other hand, after it is converted into a museum, there will not be a 24-hour garrison like now. It may be deserted at night, making it easier to escape.
"Fourteen," Xiang Xiaoqiang, who was running a fever, hesitated, but still muttered, "in a few days... you go out at night... steal a radio station for me first..."
Fourteen Gege wiped his forehead and sighed:
"Oh, the temperature has come up again... I'm talking nonsense again. You think it's so easy to steal. It's so easy to steal."
"Damn it..." Xiang Xiaoqiang said in a trembling voice with his teeth chattering, "Then how do we... go back... how do we know where the battle line is... how do we know which way to run..."
At this time, Fourteen Gege suddenly let out a "shush" and whispered:
"Quiet……"
Xiang Xiaoqiang stopped talking and listened with open ears. Maybe the old imam had something to do and came down again.
The sound was wrong. There seemed to be a sputtering sound just above my head. There seemed to be shouts of "one, two, three".
"They are... cleaning up the ruins..." Xiang Xiaoqiang said tremblingly, "They have... cleaned up... above our heads... We are finished... and were discovered..."
Fourteen Gege whispered:
"Shh! Don't talk!"
Xiang Xiaoqiang slowly grabbed one of Shi Shigege's hands and said weakly:
"Fourteen... we are about to be separated... we are going to Siberia... to do labor camps... I am in the men's camp... you are in the women's camp..."
"Shh!"
"I love you……"
"I see."
"Love you forever..."
"Uh-huh."
"I'm so..."
"Shut up!"
Shi Shigege pressed Xiang Xiaoqiang's mouth, put her ears against the stone wall, held her breath and listened carefully.
There were faint voices coming from the stone wall, first in Russian, and then in stiff Chinese, probably the translator of the Soviet army. Then, there was another burst of Chinese voices, and they all seemed to have southern accents.
"They are Ming army prisoners of war!"
Fourteen Gege whispered.
He nodded to Xiaoqiang, closed his eyes feebly, and started to shiver again.
After a while, it was obvious that the prisoners of war above had started working. At the same time, the sound of Chinese conversations kept coming through the stones.
A voice said:
"Brother, why were you beaten like this by them?"
Another voice said:
"Hey, they said I insulted Stalin. A dozen soldiers almost beat me to death. Pointing a gun at me and beating me, what kind of skill is that? If you have the guts, take the gun away, and I will let them go together..."
Another voice said:
"Hey, you can just blow it. But keep it quiet, otherwise the old man will beat you if he hears it."
The voice said:
"Why did I brag? As long as I didn't use a gun, I would have beaten more than a dozen of them each. Back then at Dadonggou Port, I and two other brothers knocked a whole shipload of little Japanese into the sea..."