Paju City is located at the northwest end of Gyeonggi Province, about 40 kilometers away from Seoul and adjacent to the 38th Line. The city has a road running through it, called Unification Road, which is an important transportation line connecting Seoul and Panmunjeom.
The destination of Zhou Jing and his group was there today. Three buses were driving smoothly on Tongtong Road, while Zhou Jing was sitting in the car and silently watching the scenery passing by outside the window.
It wasn't just him, the atmosphere in the car became more and more depressing the closer he got to Paju. It could be said that it was completely silent, and everyone invariably maintained an extremely solemn expression on their faces.
This is an event organized by the embassy. On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the motherland, we went to the Volunteer Army Martyrs Cemetery to pay homage to the martyrs to comfort the heroes and the people of the motherland have not forgotten them.
Some people may wonder how there are tombs of volunteer martyrs in South Korea. Yes, Zhou Jinggang was also shocked when he learned about it. In the end, it was Zheng Xiaojun who told him the whole story.
In the early 1980s, the remains of volunteer soldiers and People's Army soldiers were unearthed in various places in South Korea. However, due to various reasons, they could not be transferred at that time. The Korean government established this cemetery in Paju City in June 1996 to bury the remains.
The cemetery has a total area of about 6,000 square meters and is divided into two cemetery areas. The first cemetery is for the martyrs of the People's Army, while the second cemetery is mainly for the volunteer army martyrs.
It is said that the early cemetery was very simple. All the tombstones were made of wood, and the directions were unclear, so few people visited the cemetery. In addition, due to neglect of management, the cemetery was overgrown with weeds.
Later, due to strong protests from Korean citizens, the South Korean government had to allocate 500 million won to renovate the cemetery, replace all the wooden tombstones with marble, and send specialized personnel to take care of it.
As more and more people know about this place, a large number of Chinese in Korea and overseas students come to pay their respects every year during the Qingming Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.
In the past, it was a spontaneous act among the people, but this is the first time such a large-scale event has taken place today. Almost all Chinese-funded companies and institutions in South Korea sent personnel to participate in the event.
Because the situation has changed this year, South Korea originally handed over the remains of 48 volunteer soldiers one after another through Panmunjom, but there were many inconveniences.
In order to welcome the heroes home, my country began to formally contact South Korea last year and finally reached an agreement on relevant matters, and took back the first batch of remains of volunteer martyrs before this year's Tomb Sweeping Day.
So what if we pay homage in public like this? Besides, this year is the 65th anniversary of the National Day, and today is the 65th anniversary of the foundation laying of the "Monument to the People's Heroes".
Both emotionally and logically, while the people across the country are celebrating, we should pay our highest respect to the heroes who fought bloody battles and sacrificed their lives to defend New China. The people's heroes will be immortalized forever.
Perhaps because he got the news in advance, when the bus drove into the cemetery parking lot, Zhou Jing found that many media reporters had gathered at the gate.
Among them were domestic media, but most of them were local media from South Korea. Upon seeing this, they all aimed their long guns and cannons at the bus, not letting go of anyone who could be photographed.
The people participating in the event got out of the car one after another and began to gather. At this time, a unique landscape suddenly broke into the reporters' sight.
"Take a break and stand at attention..."
Although the voice shouting the password was old, it was strong and powerful. Zhou Jing had just met the founder of Red Star Company, Park Yongsheng, today. Although he was over seventy years old, he was still in good spirits.
"Turn right...and walk...in unison."
The sound of neat steps followed. The vast majority of people in this team were from Red Star Company. In addition to Park Yongsheng, Cui Zhiyong, Jiang Chenglong and other cadres above the squad leader level were all present.
Lin Yuzhe did not come because there was an event at the embassy today. Envoys from friendly countries and dignitaries from South Korea's political and business circles would be present. The Snow Wolf team was responsible for peripheral security and rushed to the scene early in the morning to accept the task.
However, when everyone gathered together, Zhou Jing unexpectedly discovered that Su Xia, who was in Rongjin, was also a veteran. The two were confused when they met because neither of them had mentioned their experiences before.
No wonder the two hit it off immediately, and Zhou Jing didn't think it was surprising after thinking about it. After all, Rongjin's chairman Zhou Guodong also started his business after resigning from the army.
It's just that the military uniform Su Xia wears is a bit interesting, it's Type 97. In Zhou Jing's memory, this military uniform was not distributed to the entire army, only...
Facing Zhou Jing's confused look, Su Xia laughed and told him that she had personally witnessed the return of Hong Kong Island as a member of the first batch of troops stationed in Hong Kong, and her pride was palpable after she finished speaking.
This special team walked towards the entrance of the cemetery. Although the military uniforms in the team were not uniform, the uniform movements and steps still deeply shocked everyone, and a chilling air came to their faces.
"1,2,3,4..."
The unique slogans soared into the sky, and the South Korean reporters' hands suddenly trembled and they almost couldn't hold the cameras in their hands, while the domestic reporters all showed proud expressions unconsciously.
These are our former people's soldiers. How come, even if they have left the army, their spirit and energy alone are enough to defeat your army. Many Chinese people present secretly gave Zhou Jing and the others a thumbs up.
At this time, a sharp-eyed reporter spotted a familiar figure in the queue. Wasn't that Zhou Jingxi? He subconsciously focused his camera on Zhou Jing in the queue.
Compared to China, Zhou Jing's popularity in South Korea is extraordinary. After a while, many South Korean reporters recognized him and immediately became collectively excited.
Who makes Zhou Jing so topical? It was still on the hot search list two days ago, so they focused their attention on Zhou Jing one after another, and some even wanted to stop Zhou Jing for an on-site interview.
What a joke, no matter what the occasion, Zhou Jing ignored the group of reporters without squinting his eyes, and then followed the team directly into the entrance under the gaze of disappointed eyes.
The reporters could only wait outside the gate. This was a rule during the event. All media reporters were not allowed to enter.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The cemetery is quiet and solemn, and the neat rows of marble tombstones on the ground are all facing the same direction, which is where the motherland is.
Not long after the Mid-Autumn Festival, there were traces of people sweeping the tomb in front of the tomb. However, Zhou Jing felt a sore nose when he saw the tombstone for the first time, because it was engraved with six characters in Korean and Chinese characters, "Chinese Army, Unknown."
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The time and place where the remains were found are also marked next to them. Some tombstones have one more line than others, "March 28, 2014."
That was the date when the remains of the first batch of volunteer martyrs returned to the motherland, which also meant that the tombstones were actually empty.
But Zhou Jing didn't care, he still wiped the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier meticulously with a towel, and finally solemnly presented a bouquet of white chrysanthemums in front of the tomb.
More than sixty years ago, our ancestors left their families behind and went to the front line to spread their blood over the three thousand miles. Zhou Jing's second uncle was also one of them.
When Zhou Jing's hometown was liberated, his second uncle, who had just turned eighteen years old, signed up to join the army and followed the troops south. His last letter to his family said that their troops were going to join the war in North Korea.
As a result, what the family had been waiting for was a certificate of sacrifice. Before she died, Grandma Zhou Jing was still talking about wanting to visit her second son at the Martyrs Cemetery in the north, but unfortunately she was unable to do so.
This is also the reason why Zhou Jing is in a particularly heavy mood at this moment. Of course, he still has many things in his heart that he wants to say to the martyrs who are sleeping here.
"The enemy has more steel and less air, but we have less steel and more air." This is the best praise a great man can give to our heroic People's Volunteer Army.
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But it also reflects a kind of helplessness. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was a lot of waste and the industrial base was too weak. Therefore, our ancestors could only use their flesh and blood to fight to the death against the U.S. imperialism and its lackeys who were armed to the teeth.
Time flies, more than sixty years have passed, and the industry of the motherland has long been different from what it used to be. Zhou Jing can proudly tell his ancestors that we will never be short of steel again.
Today, our steel production has exceeded 50% of global production, which means that all other countries produce less steel than ours alone.
Although a large part of these are crude and backward products, we continue to make progress, and in some high-end fields we have caught up with or even surpassed the West.
Moreover, we can also go abroad to invest and build steel plants overseas. You must know that in the past, this was the patent of European and American steel companies, but now we have done it.
Zhou Jing always believed that instead of feeling sad, it was better to inform the martyrs of the current prosperity of the motherland, because this was exactly the goal they pursued with their lives and blood.
Peace and happiness, everyone can have enough food, clothing and education, and no longer be laughed at by others as the "sick man of East Asia" when going out.
"Martyrs, rest in peace. Please rest assured that we will definitely take over the mission and responsibility. The mountains and rivers will be fine. This prosperous age will be as you wish..."
"Salute..." Zhou Jingsu stood in front of the tombstone and gave a solemn military salute.