The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 1095 Wakhan Corridor
Wakhan Corridor.

Liu Tao was holding a telescope and looking at the terrain here.

The entire Wakhan Corridor is about 300 kilometers long from east to west, only 15 kilometers at its narrowest point from north to south, and only 75 kilometers at its widest point. It is the shortest road from East Asia to West Asia.

The border between China and Afghanistan is only 22 kilometers, which makes Afghanistan the country with the shortest border among all countries bordering China.

The entire Wakhan Corridor covers an area of ​​6 square kilometers, with an average altitude of more than 4000 meters. It is located between the Pamir Plateau and the Hindu Kush Mountains.

This 300-kilometer-long narrow valley from east to west is the shortest road from East Asia to West Asia and is also known as the "crossroads of Eastern and Western civilizations."

In ancient times, since Zhang Qian opened up the Western Regions, due to the threat of the powerful Xiongnu tribe in the north, the exchange of Eastern and Western civilizations had to be achieved by crossing the Pamir Plateau. The Wakhan Corridor was flatter than other places, so it became an important part of the Silk Road.

Today, the Wakhan Corridor has barren land and is prone to blizzards. It has been deserted for thousands of years and is still one of the most difficult and poorest areas to survive on Earth!

This is also a strategic location, and for the sake of its safety, troops have also been deployed here.

This is truly a place where one man can block the passage of ten thousand. Unless both ends are conquered, it is impossible to conquer here, even at the cost of one's life!
Liu Tao naturally knew the importance of Afghanistan!
From a geopolitical perspective, if any major power controls Afghanistan, it can control Central Asia to the north and thus contain the polar bear, blackmail it to the east, threaten Persia and control India and Pakistan to the south, reach the Middle East to the west to control the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, and go directly to Europe via the Black Sea, thus strangling the transportation chokepoints of Europe, Asia and Africa.

It is for this reason that Zbigniew Brzezinski, a contemporary American geopolitical strategist, calls Central Asia the "Balkans of Eurasia".
Liu Tao was actually gambling, betting that the United States and its allies would not be able to conquer Afghanistan in 10 or even 20 years, and would continue to burn dollars and bleed in Afghanistan, while many areas of Afghanistan would not be under the control of the coalition forces.

Just like now, the coalition forces have actually taken Kabul, but the war is still far away from here, and the war is more about the coalition forces' air strikes.

As for the coalition forces, they have never carried out air strikes within 50 kilometers of the border, and an air defense battalion deployed in the Wakhan Corridor has not launched a single air defense missile so far.

"You are here. How are the supplies and medical support?" Liu Tao put down the binoculars in his hand and asked a middle-aged man next to him.

"Leader, the supplies and medical support are improving. The conditions now are much better than before. We have built a health care center here. If the soldiers get sick, they can go directly to the health care center for treatment." Zhang Feng said with a grin.

Being stationed in the Wakhan Corridor for many years has made Zhang Feng's face look very weathered.

Zhang Feng also participated in the war and made great contributions. He was later promoted many times. Five years ago, he was transferred to the position of brigade commander of the mountain brigade stationed in the Wakhan Corridor.

Zhang Feng looks like he is almost 45 years old, but in fact he is only years old, which is the prime of his life.

"If it weren't for the humanitarian assistance to Afghan refugees, we could be self-sufficient on our own and there would be no need to transport supplies from the rear!" Zhang Feng said proudly.

The Wakhan Corridor spans the center of the Eurasian continent, close to the roof of the world, and is sandwiched between tall mountains and snowy plateau glaciers on both sides. The Wakhan Corridor has a plateau continental climate, and the high altitude leads to low temperatures. The high altitude places reach sub-zero temperatures all year round, and the annual average temperature is only 6 degrees to minus 8 degrees. The mountains in the Wakhan Corridor are covered with heavy snow for more than eight months each year, and the temperature is relatively high only in summer.

The snow and ice in the Pamir Plateau in the north have melted, and the Wakhan Corridor has sufficient water resources. In addition, the river valley terrain is densely covered with rivers, and the famous Wakhan River is here. It merges with the Pamir River in the north to form the main trunk of the Panj River in Afghanistan. To the west of the Wakhan Corridor is the Tarkush River, which is one of the tributaries of the Tarim River in China.

The Wakhan Corridor is a special river valley with some fertile alpine pastures at the foot of the mountains. The Wakhan Corridor, which is close to the Pamir Plateau, has a relatively flat river valley formed by the plate action, glacier action and water flow in the rugged alpine terrain. The flattest area is Mingtiega Pass. The people active here are the Tajiks, who generally live in groups around the foot of the Wakhan Corridor.

There are about 10 people in the entire Wakhan Corridor. In recent years, the land has been cultivated to grow food and raise livestock. The output here can feed everyone. It has to be said that Chinese people are born to be farmers. Even in a harsh environment like the Wakhan Corridor, they can do it themselves and have enough food and clothing.

Liu Tao nodded slightly. Just last year, the Wakhan Corridor was announced to have officially escaped poverty.

The cattle and sheep raised on the alpine pastures here are very popular and there is no shortage of buyers.

The national highway, which was built with great effort, also allows things from here to be transported out and things from outside to be transported in.

"Has the coalition forces shown any provocation?" Liu Tao asked.

Outside the border, within a radius of 50 kilometers, there are 40 refugees gathered. If the Americans launch an air strike, it will inevitably cause huge casualties to the refugees.

Zhang Feng said: "No, the coalition aircraft did not appear over the Wakhan Corridor."

"But last month they contacted us and asked us to expel those refugees or stop providing humanitarian assistance to them," said Zhang Feng.

Liu Tao said: "Don't worry about them."

Liu Tao showed disdain. Why did they think they had to do it just because they said so?

This is an important passage, and most of the weapons, equipment and supplies are transported along this route.

"A batch of supplies will pass through here in the evening. You must ensure the safety of these supplies!" Liu Tao reminded.

Zhang Feng quickly said, "Understood, Leader!"

At night, dozens of transport trucks passed through the checkpoint and entered Afghanistan.

This batch of materials is worth about 3 million yuan.

But the impact they produce may be RMB 30 billion or even RMB 100 billion.

That night, Liu Tao returned to ATS City, which is close to Kashgar City and borders Kyrgyzstan. It is rich in fruits and vegetables, especially figs, and is known as the "Hometown of Figs".

This is also where a large number of arms and supplies of the Panshan Group are concentrated. They are first transported here by rail from other places, and then shipped from here to Afghanistan.

This is similar to HT City, except that more of the goods in HT City are shipped to Islamabad and sold to the US military.

The largest number of orders transported on the China-Pakistan Railway now are from the coalition forces, all of which are orders for various materials.

(End of this chapter)