To Mr. Xiong Bingsan, Mr. Fan Jingsheng, Mr. Guo Dongbo, and Mr. Liu Aitang in Tianjin; to Mr. Zhang Qiutong, Mr. Peng Yunyi, and Mr. Xu Fusu in Shanghai; to Mr. Tan Zu’an in Chenzhou; to the Hunan Post-War Relief Association in Shanghai, the Hunan Disaster Relief Committee in Beijing, and to the various Hunan Student Associations in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hubei, Tianjin, and Guangdong; as well as to all other federations of local associations and to our fellow provincials everywhere:

It is with deep sorrow that we must report that our province of Hunan has been repeatedly ravaged by war for several years running, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. Since last year, when Zhang Jingyao entered Hunan, his troops have behaved like famished wolves—raping, burning, looting, and murdering—while his administration has resembled a rampaging tiger, extorting contributions under false pretenses and systematically stripping the public treasury bare. Public lands, lakebeds, mines, and textile mills have all been sold off, leaving the state’s assets exhausted; meanwhile, taxes on rice, salt, paper, and land have been steadily increased, draining the very lifeblood of the people. Today, the rich have become poor, and the poor are dying. The misery and displacement are so overwhelming that one can scarcely bear to hear of them. Yet the Zhang brothers, already amassing fortunes of tens of millions, remain insatiable. Even this last remaining fund of rice and salt revenues they now seek to seize for their own private gain, seemingly content only when they have consumed every last resource of Hunan.

Last year, Zhang incited local thugs such as Li Mingjiu to send telegrams to the capital demanding an investigation into these funds, and he established a “Rice and Salt Public Funds Clearance Office” in Changsha. More recently, he is said to have bribed Guo Renzhang and others to pose as representatives of the Hunan Affairs Maintenance Society in Beijing and to interrogate Mr. Xiong Bingsan about the same funds—nothing more than a base attempt to stir up trouble. The true purpose behind such actions is clear: to plunder every last asset of Hunan and to devour its people until their insatiable greed is sated.

After suffering such a grievous blow, we, the surviving children of Hunan, earnestly urge that the Rice and Salt Public Funds be safeguarded. These monies were painstakingly saved by our thirty million fellow provincials through privation and frugality; they were not easily acquired, and their proper use is of utmost importance. Should they be swallowed whole, there will be no recovery from this calamity. The brutality and cruelty of the Zhang gang have long been a familiar tactic in their poisoning of the people of Hunan. What remains baffling, however, is how some among us—those who share the same soil and sustenance—can turn against their own homeland, willingly becoming lackeys of their enemies. How can human conscience sink so low? We, the citizens of Hunan, hereby declare that we will never recognize any such despicable conduct on the part of individuals like Guo Renzhang.

In short, until Zhang is driven out of Hunan and order is restored, these funds should be placed temporarily under the custody of Hunan’s leading citizens, where they are to remain untouched. Only after peace has been secured throughout the province shall their ultimate disposition be decided by a province-wide referendum. Anyone who dares to attempt to sabotage this arrangement shall be regarded as an enemy of the public. All our fellow provincials must understand that the time for self-defense is now; let us not delay, lest it slip away!

Signed on behalf of the Citizens of Hunan by Luo Zonghan, Mao Zedong, Peng Huang, Zhang Huai, He Shuheng, Kuang Rishou; by the Teachers’ Representatives Luo Jiaoduo, Zhang Jinyun, Yang Yufu, Jiang Yuhuan, and Xiong Mengfei; and by the Student Representatives Liu Min, Gao Biao, Xiong Kexian, Li Simi, Ouyang Jiaorou, Li Sian, Peng Xianze, Gao Yeru, Li Zhenpian, Li Qihan, Li Guojun, Li Gongjia, Huang Ying, Hu Weiyin, Li Cai Gui, Wang Guolin, He Yuanpei, Zhang Xinmin, Chen Zonghan, Liu Zuozhou, Chen Chunchui, Mao Douwen, Yi Xun, Yi Keshui, Yi Jieyi, Liao Ruixiang, Liang Guoqian, Miao Kunshan, Jiang Zhuru, Xiong Keqi, Xiong Zhuowu, Wei Xianlie, Li Zonglie, Qiu Weiqin, Lin Yunyuan, Xu Qingyu, Zhang Shusheng, Fu Di, Liang Zhongxiu, Xu Ying, Cao Yangli, Wu Junchen, Chen Shiling, and Peng Guangqiu—all humbly submit this petition.  Express mail telegram o