Chapter 78

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With the arrival of December, the temperature in the Afghan mountains dropped even further, reaching as low as minus forty degrees at night. In such conditions, no one would launch an attack; even the native Afghans preferred to stay in their homes, quietly enduring the harsh winter. ☆→

Since the Soviet invasion, the normal life in Afghanistan has been disrupted, with many fields left fallow. This winter, the Afghan people are having a hard time.

In the northern mountains of Jalalabad, where Muhammad's guerrilla forces were based, the villagers in the surrounding areas received food. Not only the Pashtun villages but also the Tajik villages received food.

With this food, they survived the long and cold winter, feeling extremely grateful to Muhammad.

Their gratitude was genuine, and many young men from the villages joined Muhammad's guerrilla forces.

Muhammad did not accept all of them; they were the main labor force, and joining the guerrillas meant their families would lose their laborers. Muhammad only accepted a portion of them, and thus his guerrilla force expanded to 150 people, making it a large-scale guerrilla force.

Such a force was larger than the typical Soviet supply convoys. With advance intelligence, they could set up an ambush and quickly resolve the battle, catching the Soviets off guard.

During this winter, Muhammad did not idle. Despite the severe cold, he continued to train his troops and occasionally raid Soviet outposts. As a result, all the Soviet outposts within a hundred kilometers of the base were eliminated by Muhammad.

Muhammad's method of raiding outposts was very aggressive. He did not use snipers, pretend to be government troops, or disguise as supply convoys. Instead, he used rocket launchers directly.

The 107mm multi-barrel rocket launcher could be assembled as a whole or disassembled for transport, with each person carrying no more than 25 kilograms, allowing for long-distance travel.

Using this winter, Muhammad cleared the Soviet outposts in the northern part of Jalalabad, and the situation in the guerrilla base was very favorable.

The strategy of surrounding the cities from the countryside, as Mao Zedong once used, is also applicable in modern Afghanistan. Soon, the mountains will be under the control of the guerrillas, while the Soviets will be confined to the major cities.

At the same time, Muhammad knew that the road ahead was still long. This was only the third year of the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, and the Soviets had not yet realized that they were in a massive quagmire...

In the mountainous region, a river meandered through, with the high peaks covered in snow year-round. The slopes were difficult to traverse, and only a central valley served as a major transportation route.

This is the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan, located on the southern slopes of the Hindu Kush Mountains, extending from north to south for over a hundred kilometers, with its narrowest point only five kilometers wide. It is about 80 kilometers south of the capital, Kabul. It controls the traffic between Kabul and the northeastern provinces, as well as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. About 20 kilometers south of the valley entrance is the Bagram Air Base.

The Soviet troops stationed in Afghanistan now number in the tens of thousands. If all their supplies were to be transported by air, even with all the Soviet transport planes flying non-stop, it would be impossible to meet the massive logistical needs. Therefore, most of the Soviet supplies are transported by land through the north.

To travel by land, they must pass through the treacherous Panjshir Valley, the only major transportation route.

Unfortunately, since the Soviets arrived, the Panjshir Valley has never been peaceful. The high mountains on both sides are dotted with many caves, and the guerrillas move stealthily, constantly ambushing and destroying Soviet military vehicles, then fleeing before the Soviet forces can react.

Moreover, the most troubling issue for the Soviets is that the guerrillas in the area have grown into a force of several hundred people!

With the arrival of spring, the Panjshir River thawed, and the water, carrying ice chunks, flowed downstream with a gurgling sound. On the slopes, various trees began to sprout, turning a tender green, and the entire valley came alive again.

Under a fruit tree, an Afghan man stood, wearing a grass-green general-purpose field jacket and work pants. Inside the jacket, he wore a Western-style shirt and a symbolic "Panjshir-style" scarf. Just seeing this scarf, one would know it belonged to the famous Panjshir guerrillas. The young man also wore Afghan army boots, a belt, and a pistol on his belt. On his back, he carried an AKS-74 assault rifle, with a BG-15 40mm grenade launcher attached to the barrel.

At that moment, he was looking at a narrow path in the distance, where a group of people slowly approached. The leader was a tall, robust man with a sharp gaze.

"Welcome, my friends," the Afghan man called out, extending his right hand. "I am Masood, and you must be the great Muhammad who has made the Soviets cry out in despair."

Muhammad shook hands with Masood, staring into his eyes with deep sincerity. "Under the guidance of Allah, we Afghan guerrillas must unite to drive out the Soviets!"

Ahmad Shah Masood, Muhammad recalled his knowledge of him from the future. Masood was a famous Afghan combat hero, born into a prominent Panjshir family. His father was a retired brigadier general in the former Afghan army. Masood attended the French school in Kabul and graduated from the engineering department of Kabul University, where he engaged in activities against the Daoud government, forcing him to flee to Pakistan.

After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Masood returned to his hometown of Panjshir and led the Afghan guerrillas in resistance. After several years of fighting, he earned the title of "Lion of Panjshir."

After the war ended, the Afghan civil war broke out again, and Masood's Northern Alliance was driven out of Kabul by the Taliban, retreating into the mountains.

Later, before the September 11 attacks, Masood was assassinated by Al-Qaeda.

One of the main reasons for the Afghan civil war was the division among the various factions, with each guerrilla group fighting independently. Once the Soviets left, they became warlords, fighting for their own interests.

Masood's inability to control the situation in Kabul was due to his own limitations. Masood was not a Pashtun, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, but a Tajik. His background deeply influenced him, and when the various guerrilla groups entered Kabul and overthrew the pro-Soviet regime, they immediately split due to ethnic issues.

Muhammad would not let this happen again. During the war, he would resolve the ethnic conflicts, making all ethnic groups understand that unity is the key to victory, and Afghanistan is a united nation.

Therefore, despite the arduous mountain journey, Muhammad personally came to greet his neighbor.

At this time, Masood had not yet earned the title of "Lion of Panjshir," but the guerrilla force he led was already several hundred strong, far exceeding Muhammad's.

Masood agreed to meet Muhammad not only because of the guerrillas' impressive achievements, including the destruction of a Soviet airbase in northern Jalalabad, but also because of Muhammad's attitude towards the Tajiks.

Muhammad's guerrillas were all Pashtuns, yet he saved the Tajik village of Ramal and distributed food to the Tajik villages during the harsh winter. The Tajiks in those villages were deeply grateful to Muhammad, and Masood's impression of him became particularly favorable.

Just the fact that Muhammad risked his life to save the Tajik villagers and was hit by Soviet gas shells earned him great respect from Masood.

However, Masood was highly cautious about Muhammad's intentions.

"Mr. Masood, last winter, we were grateful for the food Mr. Muhammad provided to our villagers. He is a friend of the Tajik people," Ramal said to Masood behind Muhammad.

Masood nodded. "Mr. Muhammad, you are a friend of the Tajik people," he said, adding, "a friend forever."

"Mr. Masood, we are all friends. All those who stand against the Soviets are friends. We have come together for a common goal. Unity is the key to driving out the Soviets," Muhammad said.

Hearing Muhammad's words, Masood seemed to reflect. His earlier statement that Muhammad was a friend of the Tajik people seemed too narrow.

At that moment, a bearded man behind Masood suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Muhammad, from your tone, it seems you are here to integrate our Panjshir guerrillas?"

The tone was very unfriendly. Muhammad looked up and saw a typical Afghan guerrilla, wearing loose clothing, a headscarf, and leg wraps, barefoot, with a belt of ammunition and an old Eifel rifle on his back, a crude local replica.

"Fahim, do not be rude to our guest!" Masood said angrily upon hearing the man's words.

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