Heading northwest from Pakistan, we reached the Pakahan border region in just over an hour......

This area is a veritable danger zone near Afghanistan, with the threat of war and the twists and turns of the roads, along which there are military camps, and the commanding heights near the barracks are full of sandbag-made machine-gun and artillery positions...... The soldiers in charge of guarding the roadside are also ready to fight with loaded guns and ammunition!

This was a bit of a surprise to me...... I thought there should be no troops on this border, otherwise how could armed Afghan guerrillas come and go here?

I found out later...... These troops were actually defending against the Soviets rather than the Afghan guerrillas, and they feared that the Soviets sometimes accidentally or intentionally crossed the line when chasing the Afghan guerrillas...... Of course, such a thing is very likely to happen, because everyone knows that if the Soviet Union wants to open up the passage of the Arabian Sea, Pakistan is the best choice, so the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan made the Pakistani government very nervous, which is why the Pakistani government firmly supports the Afghan guerrillas.

In order to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, we all wore headscarves and did not let the Pakistani soldiers stationed at the border recognize us as Chinese...... We soon felt the wary gaze of the Pakistani soldiers on us...... They regard us as Afghan guerrillas, and many Afghan guerrillas have a bad reputation in Pakistan, as I said before, there are several Afghan guerrillas who have been converted from drug dealers, and they also can't change their bad habit of being traitors in Pakistan, so Pakistani soldiers naturally don't have a good impression of Afghan guerrillas. It's just that they have to be helped from the national strategy.

Let's be honest...... This change in the eyes of the Pakistani soldiers made us feel a sense of loss for some reason. Before, they were still full of respect for us. But that's it in the blink of an eye...... Although we know that this is because our "identity" is different at this time, we are a little uncomfortable with this shift.

Hassan stepped forward and handed the sentry a pass...... Of course, you have to have a pass, otherwise anyone can cross the border with weapons like us, and then the border will be in name only.

Then the railing in front of us was quickly raised...... Our group continued on with the mules and donkeys.

The mountains here are gray and yellow, and the roads are all dirt roads, with cliffs on one side and cliffs on the other. Then I saw something like the Qinghai-Tibet Highway...... The road zigzags to the top of the mountain. Then go down from the top to the bottom of the mountain...... The cycle goes on and on.

Later I learned that this is the famous "Khambor" pass, which is also the largest and most important pass in the Hindu Kush Mountains...... This is the most important passage between South Asia and West Asia and Central Asia, with a total length of 53 kilometers, and the road in front of me is the road connecting Peshawar to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. It is said that the Tang monk learned scriptures back then...... It is also from this road to the Tianzhu Kingdom.

If the legend is true, then I believe that the Flaming Mountain written in Journey to the West is in this area...... As soon as I walked into the pass, I felt a heat wave rolling in, as if a fire was burning next to me, as if everything around me would burn if I touched it. This heat is a little different from what we feel in China...... There are also many hot places in China, such as Chongqing and Fuzhou, which are known as the four major furnaces...... I've been there a lot in modern times.

Although the four furnaces are hot, you can still feel the humidity in the air...... The heat here is exactly that dry heat. The surrounding air, the loess, and the hot wind blowing in your face are like greedy monsters trying to bring heat to you. Take the moisture away from you.

It makes people feel like they are in a furnace to dry, with a mouth open as if they are about to spit fire, and the sweat will soon dry, and then continue to sweat, continue to dry, sweat again, and dry again...... White spots of sweat soon appear on the clothes.

"Talk less!" Hassan said to me, "Try not to open your mouth and breathe more carefully...... This prevents water evaporation! ”

I couldn't help but smile wryly when I heard this...... Since I came to this shijie, I have lived a lot of hard lives, but I have never been to the point where I don't talk or open my mouth in order to avoid water evaporation.

So everyone remained silent along the way...... Each led the mule and walked silently along the road.

But that's not the worst of it...... Within half an hour of walking on the road, we turned into a mountain road...... The Soviet forces already controlled major cities and highways, so the direct road to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, was no exception...... The reason why we have not yet encountered Soviet troops or Afghan government forces is simply because there are no troops stationed at each other a few kilometers close to the border.

It's even worse after walking up the mountain...... The scorching heat and difficult mountain trails quickly made us sweat and rain, which made the fighters reach for the kettle before they could climb for a while...... But this action made Hassan stop: "Save water and drink it...... The next time there is a water source, it will be two days and two nights......"

"What? Two days and two nights?! "That's when we noticed that the mule had only a pitiful few water bags...... There are hundreds of us, and we have to rely on the water in the kettle and these water bags for two days and two nights? Poor me...... I was wondering if I could take a shower at night!

When walking this kind of mountain road, the mule plays a big role...... On the one hand, because the mule is relatively small, it is very suitable for walking narrow mountain roads, and if you take the lead and come immediately, I am afraid that there will be many places that you will not be able to pass and climb. On the other hand, mules have the characteristics of good endurance, low water intake, and strong climbing ability, which are very suitable for use as a means of transportation in mountainous areas.

Not all mules have these strengths, though...... It should be said that the mules in this part of Afghanistan are like this...... In modern times, I heard a story about the Yankees who were in dire need of mule transport on the battlefield in Afghanistan, so they planned to airlift a large number of mules to Afghanistan to support the guerrillas. But I gave up after only one time by air......

The reason is that American mules can't stand the environment in Afghanistan, but the mules in Afghanistan have grown up in such an environment since childhood, and they have also developed the skills of carrying heavy loads and walking mountain roads since childhood, how can American mules be the same? Lead the way to this mountain road...... It didn't take two hits before he fell to the ground.

Therefore, the mules brought in by the United States could only be used to fill the stomach of the guerrillas at best. (To be continued......)