Firmament

Human beauty does not lie in appearance, but in heart.

- Korean proverb

In the eastern part of the West Sea is a river called Huangshui.

Huangshui originates from Baohutu Mountain in Haiyan County, flows through Huangpingxi, Nianbo and other counties, and finally joins the Dajia River in Jincheng, with a total length of 374 kilometers, which is the largest tributary of the upper reaches of the river. Huangshui forms bead-shaped river valleys along the way, including Bayan Gorge, Zamaron Gorge, Xiaoxia, Laoya Gorge and Pingxi Basin, Datong Basin, Nianbo Basin, Minhe Basin.

The area of Huangshui's basin in the West Sea is 16,100 square kilometers, accounting for only 2.4% of the total area of the province, but the population living in this area accounts for 57% of the total population, and the cultivated land area also accounts for 49% of the total cultivated land area of the province. Huangshui is the cradle of generations of plateau people's lives to reproduce and continue, and it is also a commercial passage connecting the mainland and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Ibrahim's family lives in Pingxi, on the banks of the Huangshui River, and lives a comfortable and happy life. In 1932 and 1934, Han Sophie gave birth to two sons. The husband and wife gave birth to a daughter, Zai Naibai, and three sons, Tianshan, Wanshan, Jianshan, and Yinshan. If you add the jade mountain that Manu gave birth to, they have a total of 6 children. The people are thriving more and more. Families are getting bigger.

With his good character and rich knowledge, Ibrahim enjoyed a high prestige in the religious and business circles of Pingxi, and was often asked to mediate disputes between businessmen or parishioners.

In his spare time, Ibrahim took his wife and children on excursions to the countryside. They visited Ta'er Monastery, one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism in Lushar Town, admiring the pagodas, temples, prayer halls, butter flowers, pile embroidery and murals. They also visited the Shixia Qingfeng, Jin'e Dawn, Wenfeng Towering Cui, Fengtai Liuyun, Longchi Moonlit Night, Huangliu Spring Rising, Wufeng Waterfall and Beishan Smoke and Rain, which are known as the "Eight Views of Pingxi". The beautiful and majestic landscapes of the West Sea and the rich and colorful customs have broadened their horizons, increased their knowledge, and deeply imprinted in their minds the concept of loving their hometown and motherland.

Ibrahim is very concerned about his younger brother Niu Zhanchuan, who has lost contact, and has been asking people to inquire about him everywhere. It wasn't until December 1934 that he finally got the exact news of Niu Zhanchuan:

In mid-July of that year, Niu Zhanchuan and about 280 other young officers followed Commander Ga from Kashgar in Tianshan Province. They led a camel team of more than 30 camels, carrying a large amount of gold and silver, along the Kyzylsu River to the west, passing through Ucha, Kangsu, Urukchati, Jigen, into the 3,000-meter-high Kyzyltau and Kirkkungay Suite of the gorge, along the southwest out of the gorge, to the westernmost village - Simhana, where the Kyrgyz people lived.

The Irkeshtan River, which flows north-south, blocked their path. This is the Simhana port on the border between the two countries, and further on is the territory of foreign countries.

Niu Zhanchuan stood at the Simhana port, turned around with a sad face, and looked at the land of the motherland that was about to leave, his heart was surging and emotional. At this moment, he did not know that the land he was about to set foot on was once the homeland of his ancestors, Khorezm.

More than 600 years ago, a large number of Salta craftsmen and Tanma Red Army such as Ali, Abbas, and Ayisha came to the Eastern Land through this checkpoint, and more than 100 Salur people such as Galemang, Ahmang, and Hassan also came to the ancient Eastern Kingdom through this checkpoint, and many officials and businessmen from the Western Regions such as the Saidianchi family also came to the Eastern Shenzhou through this checkpoint. They invariably traveled from here to the north and south of the river, looking for a new home.

This ordinary frontier port is like a large stage that condenses history. Like a talented theater director, the sky staged a strikingly similar moving story on this big stage. Every time the curtain rises and falls, it is stained with the blood and rippled tears of the people who have walked here. The thousands of towering mountains around it are the most loyal spectators, witnessing the changes, joys and sorrows of the world over the past thousands of years.

When Ibrahim received the news of his brother, he was very curious: did Commander Ga's warlord relatives not like this, why didn't he return to his hometown of Hezhou, and why did he go to a foreign land?

A provincial government official told Ibrahim that Commander Ga was stubborn and refused to compromise with his relatives of the warlords. He attacked the north of the Tianshan Mountains many times and occupied ancient cities, Tingzhou, ancient pastures and other places. Later, pursued by the troops of the provincial government of the Tianshan Mountains, they withdrew to the area south of the Tianshan Mountains. Although they eliminated the local separatist regime, they still did not receive appeasement from the Nationalist Government. In the end, with the mediation and mediation of the Soviet Union, they voluntarily laid down their arms and went to the Soviet Union to visit and study.

Ibrahim sincerely hopes that his brother will be safe and sound abroad and return to his hometown as soon as possible.

After Niu Zhanchuan and others entered the Soviet Union, they soon lost contact with China. Since then, they have quietly disappeared in the vast northern land like meteors in the night sky. No one in the country knows their whereabouts anymore......

Ibrahim was unable to reach his brother and was anxious. However, the world is experiencing World War II. The two countries have a vast territory, a large population, and underdeveloped communications. There was nothing he could do but wait helplessly for a miracle to happen.

In his letters to Niu Ersa and Mai Liyan, Ibrahim repeated the following sentence every time: Zhan Chuan was stationed with his troops in the city of Yamalik in Tien Shan Province, and everything was fine, and there was no need to worry.