Chapter 6 3.to baghdad

I live in constant dreams. — Suvorov Two days before departure, I finally had time to rush to the doctoral student dormitory on the 25th floor of Peking University wearing the red sportswear issued by the Asian Games, and describe my military thinking to my girls.She lowered her eyebrows and listened to me bluffing for a long time, and then said: "Why are you always dreaming?" Indeed, I have always been like the Russian Marshal Suvorov said: "I live in constant dreams." December 20, 1990.Beijing International Airport. There is nothing more glamorous than flying to Baghdad at this time.

I really don't understand why my mother hugged me and cried.Maybe women lose more than men in war, we only lose life and limbs, women lose soul and heart.I am fully prepared mentally for possible accidents.I know very well that unless you are willing to sacrifice everything, don't take risks.There is such a passage in Hemingway: "We are all ready to give our lives, but only a few people are selected, and there is no need to give honor to these few people who are chosen to give their lives, because they are the lucky ones. Those who died for the motherland My mother is the proudest and happiest person in the world.” In my heart, not being afraid of death has two meanings: one is not to be afraid when you know the danger; the other is not to be driven by material desires such as money and power.My adventure belongs to this kind, the heart is free and the mouth is free, and the action has vitality.Before leaving, I distributed my belongings—from the "Simplified Weapons Yearbook" to various military uniforms—to the sons of four colleagues.Like the expedition to Hoh Xil, Lin Chuan, the deputy director of the photography department, and Master Liang took the buddies to the airport. Xiao Jin from the Foreign Affairs Bureau squeezed my right hand hard: "Duck, you must come back. I will wait for you here in three months. .”

Due to the international blockade, the only way to enter Baghdad is about 10 minutes. I have to fly to Istanbul by China Civil Aviation Company. As for the future, only God knows. It took off at 8:10, and Captain Cai of China Civil Aviation Flight CA-943 grabbed me with both hands. He said, "Young man, if you have any request, please tell me directly while you are still on the plane in the motherland." Seeing that I was carrying so much luggage by myself, he wrote a letter to the director of the Civil Aviation Istanbul Station: "Old classmate, try to help this reporter." , he is going to Baghdad..." The Urumqi border armed police waived my exit fee and gave me a voucher for the payment of the entry fee: "I hope you will enter the country through me, and I will pay the entry fee for you first."

Passing through Sharjah at 19:20, you can see oil tankers cruising in the Indian Ocean outside the Strait of Hormuz before landing. Near the Persian Gulf, where the misty waves are vast and the battle clouds are floating, a sense of loneliness of a generous farewell to Yan Ji arises spontaneously.My mother's gray hair fluttering in the wind always appeared in the sea. The night before departure, she turned her back to me and desperately washed a large pile of dirty clothes I had changed. After 17 hours of non-stop flying, I landed in Istanbul.On a hazy rainy night, a comrade from the branch office had already been waiting at the airport. The Istanbul office of CAAC helped me store an amplifier, a fax machine, and two large boxes with helmets and bulletproof vests.

Turkey, an ancient civilization spanning Eurasia, has a long history dating back to 700 BC. It has experienced the great empires of Eastern Rome, Byzantium and Ottoman. With the decline of the military fiefdom system, it has become Britain, The land of disputes between France, Germany, Russia, and Austria. This time, the city where I stayed in a hurry and transited there - Istanbul, was once the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire.This ancient city, formerly known as Constantinople, has a layout similar to that of Wuhan, an important city on the Yangtze River in my country. The Bosporus Strait and the Golden Horn that separate Europe and Asia divide it into three parts, forming a tripod. Potential.The Bosporus Strait leads to the Black Sea in the north, and the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in the south. The terrain is quite dangerous and has always been a battleground for military strategists.According to the Treaties of Lausanne and Montrecht in 1923 and 1936, the Bosporus Strait is under the jurisdiction of Turkey, but foreign countries, including the countries along the Black Sea such as the Soviet Union, Romania, and Bulgaria, are free to enter and exit.Once the strait is blocked, the Black Sea suddenly becomes the "Dead Sea", which shows its importance.

It is six hours later than Beijing time. When I wake up in the morning and check my watch, black coal smoke curls up, and the air is filled with the sound of Muslim prayers. Unexpectedly, this important port city in Turkey is still short of water. Everyone uses containers to store water. , There is also water in the bath, drinking water has to be bought.Next to the Istanbul Bridge, there is a 300,000-ton Istanbul Water Company's big ship, which is an oil tanker specially used to transport water. Several brown-headed gulls circled and landed on the small building, and the light rain continued.The sound of prayer came from the loudspeaker, which was solemn and sacred.

Turkey is a Muslim country, and there are countless mosques in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey.I was fortunate enough to walk into the famous monuments - the "Blue Mosque" and the "Hagia Sophia Church" facing it across the street.Built in the 17th century, the Blue Mosque is 43 meters high. There are 260 windows and doors in the whole mosque. mosque.Facing it is the fake Sophia Cathedral, known as one of the "Seven Architectural Wonders of the World".This church, which represents the peak of Eastern Roman Empire architectural art, has a magnificent appearance and exquisite and rich interior decoration. It is the largest church in Istanbul.I am amazed at the harmony between the Islamic mosque and the Christian church on the same square.

Topkalang Palace is a building left over from the Ottoman Empire, with a history of more than 500 years.It is said that there are many rooms in the palace, which can accommodate more than 4,000 people.Like the Forbidden City in Beijing, Topkapofu also has a "treasure hall", which displays antiques and treasures collected by successive emperors.There, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were also porcelains given to successive sultans during the Ming and Qing dynasties of China. The next day, I flew to Amman on a Jordan Air Boeing-727.The police at the Amman airport unpacked all my six packs of luggage, until the white smoke from the talc powder on the chemical protective suit was released, and then they left.

If the joy of life lies in not knowing what will happen in the next second for two seconds, my trip to Baghdad was full of this kind of suspenseful fun.After a day in Amman, I boarded an Iraqi flight to Baghdad.The security checks encountered are more stringent.Although I have left the chemical protective suit and fax machine at the Amman branch, my checked luggage still weighs 48 kg. According to regulations, Iraqi Airways only allows 20 kg.I saw the Japanese NHK reporter in front of me waving stacks of green bills from the pockets of his suit jacket to pay the overweight consignment fee, but I didn't have any money.I patiently explained to the staff why I have no money now. The embarrassment is no less than that of Li Hongzhang signing the "Treaty of Shimonoseki". He sympathetically changed the 48 kg to 30 kg, and then accepted me a handful of cooling oil Later, it was changed to 20 kg.

Since UN Security Council resolutions 660 and 661, (On August 3, the Security Council passed Resolution 660, condemning Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and demanding Iraq’s immediate and unconditional withdrawal; on August 6, it passed Resolution 661, ordering the implementation of Since the trade embargo and freeze of foreign assets - author's note) came into force, Amman has become the only channel for Iraq to communicate with the outside world.In order to keep this lifeline, Iraqi Airways ingeniously requires passengers to carry their luggage into the cargo compartment of the plane by hand to avoid bombs from mixing in, which made me busy again.El Sadie, a Canadian electrical engineer sitting next to him, came back to clean up his property in Kuwait.Hearing that I was going to stay in Baghdad for three months, he blew his whistle and said that Baghdad would cease to exist after January 15th.On the plane, I got a white instruction like other passengers: "According to Order No. 229 of the Revolutionary Command Committee, within five days of your arrival in Baghdad, you must go to the designated place for a blood test." It is by no means an easy task to enter Baghdad against the flow of fleeing people.

When we got off the plane, I, NHK reporter Marugo Enoki and an AFP reporter were taken to a corner of the waiting room to fill in various forms and handed over a standard portrait.We were told that all journalists had to stay at the designated Rashid Hotel, which cost $180 a day.The Japanese nodded "hehe", but I only had $300 all over my body.Because of the usual practice, the Foreign Affairs Bureau of Xinhua News Agency only gave me 300 US dollars in cash.Maybe it would stop corruption, but it would be death for a war thug like me.Embarrassed and helpless, I walked forward with a straight chest: "I am Chinese, and I don't have so many dollars. My colleague is waiting for me outside the airport." A man in a suit turned around and asked Japanese reporter Enoki to take the opportunity to say to me: " we are controlled (We are under house arrest). "I hurriedly squeezed my right eye at him: "Help each other (Helping each other). " With the help of the Chinese embassy, ​​I was finally allowed to temporarily live in the Baghdad branch of Xinhua News Agency, a British-style three-story house.The winter night in Baghdad is bitterly cold, but the small living room of the Chinese embassy in Baghdad is as warm as spring.Ambassador Zheng Dayong is an alumnus of the Department of Eastern Languages ​​of Peking University. He warmly expressed "welcome the juniors", and naturally took special care of me, a bold and troublesome junior.Military officer Cao Pengling also graduated from Peking University, and his father Cao Jinghua was the head of the Russian Department of Peking University.The military officer himself has a Confucian style, so he doesn't look like a military officer, but more like a cultural counselor.On the carpet of Military Officer Cao's dormitory.Using teacups, coffee cans, and belts, he laid out situation maps and introduced me to the imminent war.In the last 140 days, Iraq has built 2,200 kilometers of Class A roads in the south.All its armored units were concentrated at the 31st parallel north latitude, such as the famous Medina Illumination Division and the Great Han Murabi Division; the Allah Division was stationed in Kut, posing for a decisive battle.Only one light armored division has been deployed in the Kurdish-inhabited areas of the three northern provinces.I can't help expressing surprise at this kind of defense that faces an attack but disperses its forces, and doubts this tactical principle of relying on three longitudinal roads.Military Attache Cao nodded in agreement, because just judging from the homework on the map, Iraq would be defeated in one battle. Breathing the cold night phoenix, I remembered a poem by a Japanese naval officer during the Second World War: "The war is not over, and the depressing sky of the rainy season is still above my head."