Chapter 9: After Returning Home

"I never thought they would let me go back home. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info For the death of those three comrades-in-arms, I have always believed that the Soviet army deliberately killed them. If they didn't want them to die, there was a way, but they didn't want them to live. So, I kept thinking that one day they would kill me, and even if they didn't, they would drag me to shoot me. So, I never had any hope of surviving.

But ever since they said they were going to let me go back to China, I've been looking forward to it. However, after several days, there was no movement at all. I wondered if they were cheating on me.

Later, they said several times that they would let me go back to China, but when they were done, they said that they were done, and there was still no movement at all. So, later, when they said they wanted to let me go back to China, I didn't believe it very much.

On that day, the little guard opened the window to let the afternoon sun into the house. I got out of bed and onto the floor, poking my head out to look outside. Although the sun outside is bright, the wind blowing from afar has already cooled a little, and you can even see signs of the wind blowing and the leaves falling. I thought about it, it's been almost a month since I was captured. It should be early autumn at least.

I think if I'm at home, I'm about to harvest the grain. Every time the buds are harvested, the production team will divide us students together. The girls break the buds, and the boys cut the buds with their heads. Xiaoqing was always not far from me, and kept looking back at me while breaking the bud valley. If she sees me left behind by her, she will stop and wait for me for a while, by the way, I haven't seen her for almost half a year, I wonder if she is okay now? She's supposed to be in her second year of junior high school by now, right? Yes, it should be the second year of junior high school. I can't imagine what she would think of me if she knew that I had been captured by the Soviets. And my classmates, my teachers, my parents and the people in the village, even my comrades-in-arms and chiefs, what will they think of me? This thought made me anxious to go home, but also afraid to go home and face them.

That morning, after dinner, some doctors came and said that my injuries were healed, and then they took off the gauze on my face and mouth, and also removed the gauze on my right breast. As soon as the doctors left, a few Soviet servicemen came, the same people who usually took me out for interrogation. The middle-aged officer came up to me and read it to me with a manuscript. I didn't understand it, but I felt unusual about the solemnity. I just sat on the bed and watched him. After he read it, the Soviet interpreter said to me, 'Lee, this is the order of the Soviet army to release you. You can go back home. ’

So saying, one of the soldiers put a new set of clothes, leather shoes, and a cap in front of me, and said, 'Pack up well and get ready to go home.' I was very happy when I saw that they were really going to let me go home. So he took off his hospital gown and put on the clothes and leather shoes they had sent. The clothes were a suit and trousers, as well as a shirt and tie. The shoes are shiny and the socks are new. I put on my shirt and shoes and socks, but I didn't want to wear a tie and a cap. I think this makes my comrades-in-arms feel very strange when they see it. But the soldier would not let me say more, so he put his tie around my neck and fastened my hat to my head.

As soon as I changed my clothes, they took me out of the hospital and took me in a jeep to the front of the building where I had been interrogated. By this time, a helicopter was ready to take off. The soldiers let me get out of the jeep, and after handing over to the soldiers on the plane, they let me get on the plane.

The plane kept flying, for about two hours, and came to a border post of the Soviet army. I got off the plane and got into a jeep. There was a blanket hanging in the jeep that blocked my view. A young Soviet soldier sat next to me. The jeep drove fast all the way, but I couldn't see anything in front of me.

The car came to a building and stopped, and later I learned that this place is called Bakhtu, which is the gate of our country on the border with the Soviet Union, and it is also the place where our army and the Soviet army meet. I was thinking, I'm not dreaming, am I? Are they really going to let me go back to China? I wiped my eyes and felt that what was in front of me was real, real. Ah, I'm really alive again!

The Soviet soldiers asked me to get out of the car and escorted me to the front of the country. At this time, I saw a dividing line on the ground, written in Russian on one side and Chinese on the other. And the Chinese word is 'China'. This word made me feel extremely cordial and excited.

On the Chinese side of the demarcation line, I saw a lot of people greeting me. There were my comrades-in-arms and chiefs, who wore grass-green military uniforms with red collar badges and cockades. I was so excited that I shouted, 'Long live Chairman Mao, long live!' He ran towards China.

However, before I could run into the Chinese side of the demarcation line, the chief of staff of the Tacheng Military Sub-district was already waving his hand at me and said to me in a loud voice, 'Xiao Yuan, take off their clothes.' It dawned on me that they had made me wear a fresh, crisp suit in order to deceive me and show that I had been treated favorably after I had been captured. So, I can't go back to China in their clothes. So, I stepped on the Soviet Union with one foot and the other in China, and stripped off all my clothes, including leather shoes, socks, and caps, and threw them all on the side of the Soviet Union, because the Soviets could no longer control me at this time.

I wore only a pair of shorts and went into China. The chief of staff of the Tacheng Military Sub-district, named Li Xiaozhi, who had drawn up the Tielekti action plan, suddenly hugged me tightly in his arms, making me feel as if I had returned to the arms of my motherland. A reporter from the People's Liberation Army Pictorial named Liu Zhibin also rushed over and draped his military coat over me. I don't know if it's because I'm weak or can't bear this excitement. I fainted instantly. When I got into the ambulance, I slowly woke up, and the comrades next to me began to change me into a brand new grass green military uniform.

In fact, when I learned that I was going to return home, I always had a sense of anxiety and uneasiness in my heart, because I thought that anyone who was captured by the enemy would not end well. I don't know what the chiefs and comrades-in-arms will think of me, a man who was captured by the Soviet army. Will they believe in my struggle and performance in the Soviet Union, which will never betray my national character and personality? However, all this made me feel that my worries and insecurities were unnecessary. I couldn't be happier.

At this time, someone asked me what my name was. I said my name was Yuan Guoxiao. However, the people in the ambulance told me that the military sub-district had built a martyr's cemetery in Tuoli County, and that one of the graves belonged to Yuan Guoxiao. Because the Soviets took away the bodies of our sacrifices and later sent them back. But because the temperature is very high and the body is decomposing, it is difficult to identify. Later, I heard from the Soviet side that there was a person surnamed Li who was still alive, so people thought it was Li Guozhen. For this reason, the head of the military sub-district quickly asked people to change the tombstone with Yuan Guoxiao written on it to Li Guozhen.

On the way back to China, it was only 8 kilometers from Baktu to Tacheng, but on both sides of the 8-kilometer road, thousands of people lined up, waving colorful flags, pulling banners, and shouting slogans to warmly welcome my return to China. The car came to the Tacheng Military Sub-district Health Center, where a grand welcome ceremony was held, and the leaders of the Tacheng Military Sub-district were present to greet me, and my comrades-in-arms rushed to shake hands with me. This makes me really feel like a hero, a big hero like Sun Yuguo. I excitedly kept shouting, 'Long live Chairman Mao, long live, long live!' ’

The military sub-district clinic also arranged a ward for me to treat the wounded. It's a single room, it's quite big, with two beds and a bathroom. The area around the room is very secluded and some flowers are planted. The meals in the cafeteria are small stoves made exclusively for the sick number. Moreover, the doctor who gave me a physical examination was also specially sent from the Xinjiang Military Region. This is the treatment given to the most senior head by the Tacheng Military Sub-district Health Center.

The next day, just after lunch, Xu Guoxian, the first deputy commander of the Xinjiang Military Region, came to visit me in the ward, which flattered me so much. Because I know that he was the last brigade commander of the 359th Brigade, the acting commander of the 1st Army of the Chinese People's Volunteers, and was awarded the rank of major general in 1955. I couldn't even think of getting his care and visit.

Deputy Commander Xu asked me to report on the situation in the Soviet Union. Although his attitude was very kind and his words were very kind, because a reporter from the "People's Liberation Army Daily" named Liu Dongsheng was taking notes next to him, it made me feel very nervous. Because every word I say will be recorded by him. However, I can assure you that I have never committed any degrading or nationally degrading act during my time in captivity, so I will tell the deputy commander everything about my performance in the Soviet Union.

However, the deputy commander did not seem to believe what I said, and while he listened attentively, he kept asking me all kinds of questions.

'What questions did the Soviets ask you during their interrogations?' ’

'Why didn't they torture you?' ’

'How could they let you go so easily?' ’

These words should have been asked of the Soviets, but he asked me to answer them. I couldn't help but answer, but he didn't believe me when I said it. I was a little anxious, so I threw up my body lying on the bed and explained it to him as hard as I could. But the deputy commander immediately patted me gently with his hand, told me to lie down, and asked me to speak slowly.

'Didn't they ask you about the country's military secrets?' ’

'What did you say to the reporters?' ’

'What did that translator talk to you about?' What did you say to him? ’

To convince him, I had to say almost everything two or three times. Because my body is still very weak, I feel dizzy when I talk too much. The deputy commander patted me again with his hand and told me to lie down and not move.

I had said everything that needed to be said, but the deputy commander was still guiding me and saying, 'You have been in the Soviet Union for so long, you must have experienced a lot of things, and you have slowly and carefully talked about it.' ’

Think again, and see what is not yet said. ’

'You are an honest soldier, if you say anything, the party will believe you, and the people will believe you. ’

I know he's trying to find out if I've been treacherous or derelict in my duties, but I can't tell you a paragraph about something I haven't done. I felt that the deputy commander's interrogation of me was more detailed and strict than that of the Soviet army, and it made my heart beat and uncomfortable. I really didn't have anything to say, so I said, 'My grandfather was very pitiful, and he worked long hours for the landlord, and every day before dawn he went down to the land to farm for the landlord, but the landlord still didn't let him have enough to eat.' That day, my grandfather was sick, and the landlord wouldn't let him do it. ’

The deputy commander immediately corrected me and said, 'Don't talk about your grandfather, or about the Soviet side when you were captured.' ’

I said, 'The rice in the Soviet Union is unpalatable, the potatoes have to be boiled and eaten, and there is no oil in the onions, there is no taste at all, how can the rice in our border station be delicious, and at that time, I thought how good it would be to be able to eat a bowl of noodles from our border station.' ’

In the end, Deputy Commander Xu himself felt that he had nothing to ask. He was silent for a while, and then, in a very serious tone, said to me, 'Can you guarantee that you did not do anything that would damage the image of a soldier during your time in captivity, and that you did not say anything that would be detrimental to your national dignity?' ’

I said, 'I can assure Chairman Mao and his old man.' ’

Only then did the deputy commander nod his head with satisfaction and said, 'Very good, young man, you have worked hard and suffered, and the party and the people trust you. At this point, he got up from his chair, shook my hand very cordially and kindly, and said, 'Take good care of your wounds, take good care of your wounds, and continue to serve the people and the party.' I said, 'Thank you for your care and love.' ’

When Deputy Commander Xu left with the reporter who was making the record, I felt as if I had collapsed, and I felt weak. At this time, I realized that I was covered in sweat and had soaked the quilt. It can be said that the three hours that Deputy Commander Xu came to visit me were the most nervous, depressed, and helpless moments in my life, and they were also the saddest juncture in my life. His questioning was gentle and gentle, but it was a hidden needle, and every sentence stung my dignity and personality.

At that time, I felt very bad, even very depressed, very pessimistic. The pride and good feeling that had accumulated over the past two days suddenly vanished. This was followed by a feeling of extreme helplessness and helplessness, which was worse and more uncomfortable than when I was captured in the Soviet Union. I can't figure it out: I have done everything I should have done for the country, I have suffered so much, why I am not believed and understood. I really don't know what the meaning of my life is, what else is the meaning? I don't think I'm a hero, I'm just a prisoner of war captured by the Soviet army. The scene of the thin old man who was criticized by the Red Guards and the old man Wang who no one cared about appeared in front of my eyes again. I think my fate is a copy of theirs.

At dinner, the canteen brought me stewed old hens, saying that they had made them for me by Deputy Commander Xu. However, because I was in a very bad mood, I really wanted to pour this pot of soup. I said I don't like chicken and asked the chef to take the chicken away. However, the chef said that this was Deputy Commander Xu's care and love for me, and others could not enjoy it casually. ”