You were asked to repeat your senior year of high school, and you took advantage of the opportunity

Chapter 766 The Open and Covert Struggles of the Wakhan Corridor

The Northwest has no shortage of deserts.

There are also towering snow-capped mountains.

The Pamir Plateau is located more than a thousand kilometers away from the Tianshan Mountains.

A long canyon divides the Pamir Plateau and the Hindu Kush Mountains in two.

This canyon, stretching for three to four hundred kilometers, is the famous Wakhan Corridor.

The Wakhan Corridor has been mentioned in Chinese historical records for a long time.

As early as 399 AD, the Eastern Jin Dynasty monk Faxian traveled west to India to seek Buddhist scriptures, entering India through the Wakhan Corridor.

Faxian, in his book *A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms*, described the Wakhan Corridor as "a place where 'no birds fly above, no beasts roam below, a vast expanse in all directions, impossible to navigate, with only the sun for reference and human bones for marking the way.'"

This is sufficient proof of the harsh environment of the Wakhan Corridor.

Tang Xuanzang also traveled through the Wakhan Corridor on his journey to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

However, when Xuanzang traveled from the Western Regions to India, the Wakhan Corridor was not yet part of the Tang Dynasty's territory.

However, by the time he returned to Tang Dynasty from India, the Wakhan Corridor had already been ruled by Tang.

In 661, the Tang Dynasty established the Niaofei Prefecture Protectorate, which governed the Wakhan Corridor. Its capital was in Sarhad City, and it was under the jurisdiction of the Da'anxi Protectorate.

later.

The Tang Dynasty repeatedly contested sovereignty over the Wakhan Corridor with Tibet and the Abbasid Caliphate.

Although the Wakhan Corridor has a harsh environment, it is one of the passages from Central Asia to the Central Plains, and one of only two passages on the overland Silk Road.

Its strategic value is self-evident.

From 661 AD onwards, sovereignty over the Wakhan Corridor changed hands multiple times.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Tsarist Russia and the British Empire successively expanded their influence in Central and South Asia. In order to avoid direct war, the two countries signed an agreement on the sphere of influence in the Pamir region behind the back of the United Kingdom. This agreement not only delineated the boundary line for the division of the Pamirs between the two countries, but also designated the narrow strip of land between the northern foothills of the Hindu Kush Mountains and the southern edge of the Pamirs as a "buffer zone" between the two countries, which is today's Wakhan Corridor.

That is, from the late 18th century to the early 19th century.

The Wakhan Corridor, which has been part of the East University's territory since ancient times, was completely occupied by the invaders.

It wasn't until the 1960s that this continued.

The University of Tokyo and the then-Afghan government went through multiple rounds of negotiations and friendly consultations.

The border between the two countries was officially demarcated in 1963.

Of the 400-kilometer-long Wakhan Corridor, the East University reclaimed 100 kilometers.

Although the entire Wakhan Corridor has not been fully recovered, East University still occupies a quarter of this major land transportation route, which is already quite an achievement.

After the Wakhan Corridor was reclaimed.

The University of Tokyo has extended its road network here.

And border crossings were built.

All vehicles and personnel entering and leaving ports must undergo the strictest checks.

Originally, the highway network of the Eastern University extended all the way to the Wakhan Corridor.

However, since 1979, the entire territory of Afghanistan has been engulfed in war year after year.

First, in 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

This war of aggression lasted until 1989.

After the expulsion of the Soviet Union, Afghanistan was plunged into a power vacuum, which led to a civil war.

Although the Taliban ended the country’s civil war and warlordism in 1994, just seven years later, the United States invaded Afghanistan under the pretext of counterterrorism.

From 2001 to now.

Afghanistan has been under military occupation by Western countries led by the United States.

Starting in 2001, Afghanistan once again descended into war.

War is the perfect breeding ground for terrorism and crimes against humanity.

Therefore, the University of Tokyo had already closed the Wakhan Corridor border crossing as early as 2001.

In other words.

Leaving the University of Tokyo via the Wakhan Corridor is virtually impossible.

However, in the early hours of this morning, an off-road vehicle took advantage of the darkness and quietly crossed the border through the Wakhan Corridor.

They entered Afghan territory.

"Axi!"

In the passenger seat of the SUV, a middle-aged man with a Korean-style comma-shaped fringe wore a relieved expression. "Finally out, finally out of this damn country."

"Assi."

"Thanks to the protection of Amaterasu."

"God knows what I went through on this journey."

In the driver's seat.

A bearded man with a solemn expression said to the tough-looking man, "It's not time to celebrate yet. We still have more than 200 kilometers to go. The next 200 kilometers will not only be in terrible condition, but also very dangerous."

"Who knows how many eyes are watching us?"

"Moreover, the Wakhan Corridor is currently a no-man's-land, and the Americans' reach isn't long enough to extend here."

But the Korean man still didn't take it seriously.

Instead, he said calmly, "Don't worry, Azashi. As long as we leave Dongda, it means we are completely safe."

"If we go another ten kilometers or so, someone will come to meet us."

"Then we can just take a helicopter and leave this godforsaken place."

"I'm not stupid enough to just obediently get in the car and leave."

"Who doesn't know that several armed groups in this area are secretly supported by the Chinese?"

The bearded man driving saw this.

She glanced at the Korean man with some surprise.

He thought this man with the exaggerated expression was just for show, but he didn't expect him to have a trick up his sleeve.

But that didn't matter to him.

The reason I partnered with him was to make money.

Since the other party has made arrangements in advance, it saves me some trouble.

However, in order to prevent the other party from double-crossing them.

Therefore, I need to be on guard in the future.

"Azashi, I didn't expect you to have so much influence that you could cross the border through the Wakhan Corridor?" The Korean man looked at the bearded man and asked, seemingly casually. "This border crossing has been closed for fifteen years. I can't believe we were able to cross the border so openly and legitimately."

The bearded man seemed not to have heard the other party's probing.

Instead, he stared intently ahead with bright eyes.

Just then, the Korean man suddenly noticed that there seemed to be several more cars behind his vehicle.

I was immediately startled.

He quickly asked, "Why are there more cars behind us? Are we being watched?"

The bearded man explained casually, "No, those are just my men."

The Korean man was taken aback at first.

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he said, "Azashi, everyone says we're friends, but you still don't seem to trust me."

The bearded man spoke coldly, "I only believe in Allah."

The Korean man paused.

Suddenly, I lost all desire to continue the conversation.

But he quietly slipped one hand into the briefcase on his lap.

In this briefcase.

Hidden inside was a replica handgun and a USB drive worth a fortune.

The Korean man glanced at the bearded man again.

He thought to himself, "What if this guy finds out the value of the USB drive? Will he try to steal it from me?"

"But it doesn't matter, I'll meet my backup in a few kilometers anyway."

"At that time, it's still uncertain who will eat whom."

Think of this.

A smug smile appeared on his face.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Ahhh, this chapter was already written a long time ago, but the timing was wrong.

(End of this chapter)