Order No. V6 of the
First Front Army of the Red Army
to Continue to Move Eastward and Intensify
Efforts at Fund-raising
(Xiaobu, February 21, 1931)
1. According to recent newspaper accounts, since He Yingqin's arrival in
Jiangxi, his troops have not yet moved, and the so-called conference for "suppressing bandits" will not be held until Sun Lianzhong arrives in Jiangxi.1 At
present Liao [Guangnai]'s division and Cai [Tingkai]'s division remain near
Xingguo. According to a secret report, the headquarters of Dai Ji's division is in
Tiancun (a small passageway leading from Xingguo into Jiangxi, about 60 li
from Xingguo). and Qu Shounian's brigade has moved into the area near the
town of Kuidu.2
Gong [Bingfan]'s division and Luo [Lin]'s division remain near the town of
Ji'an. and the First Brigade is in Shuidong.
Mao [Bingweo]'s division and Xu [Kexiang]'s division remain near Nanfeng,
Hu Zuyu is in Yihuang, and Lu Xiaochen is in Chongren, with one of his
battalions in Le'an. Tan Daoyuan's division has retreated to Zhangshu; most of
Han Deqin's troops are in Nanchang; Hao Mengling's division is in Xiushui and
Wuning; Guo Huazong's division is in Wanzai.4
One section of Xu Tingyao's forces is in the vicinity of Yiyang and Shangrao,
and Ruan Zhaochang remains in Leping. 5

2. Judging from present circumstances, it looks as if the enemy troops of
Zhou Zhiqun' in Ninghua and their outpost in Yikou are waiting for Sun
Lianzhong's troops to arrive before they can slowly move against us. In order, on
the one hand, to lure the enemy to advance rashly and strive to consolidate a
supply of two months' provisions, and, on the other hand, to tum the tide by
seizing this opportunity to wipe out the invading enemy troops quickly, we have
decided to move our main forces eastward for a period of fifteen days, starting
tomorrow (the 22nd).
3. The Third Army Group should begin to move tomorrow (the 22nd), with
one division occupying Huangpi and pushing forward into Yihuang while raising
money at the same time, and one division moving near Baishe, north of Ganzhu
Market, to keep a close watch over Nanfeng and to shield the fund-raising
efforts. In addition, the existing power lines between Baishe and Toupi should be
used to communicate with the Fourth Army troops in Toupi. The rest of the
troops are to be located in the vicinity of Luokou and Kuzhu,7 with Luokou as
the command center. Work there should continue until March 6, and at least
20,000 yuan is to be raised.
The Fourth Army, with its command center in Guangchang, should send one
division to the vicinity of Kangdu Market, on the Fujian border, making fundraising efforts in the zone along the highway, for 30 li on either side of the road
(within a 120-li radius of Guangchang). Another division should be sent via the
highway to Shuinan Market, and by boat across the narrows toward Jianning,
selecting an appropriate place within a 120-li radius of Guangchang as its command center, and raising funds within 30 li on either side of the road. The rest
may be stationed in the vicinity of Guangchang and Toupi. The move must be
made on the 24th, the work must be carried out until March 6. and at least
120,000 yuan must be raised.
Keeping the town of Ningdu as its command center, the Twelfth Army should
station the Thirty-fourth Division at the xian town of Shicheng and the Sixtyfourth Division at Gucun, working toward Dayouping, [X]pi, Pingshan, and
Huangcun. The move is to be made on the 24th, the work is to be continued until

March 6, and 20,000 yuan is to be raised. In addition, the work teams in
Shicheng are to send people to keep a close watch on Ninghua.
The Third Army (minus the Seventh and Eighth divisions) is to move
toward Dajinzhu on the 23rd, join with the Eighth Division in Zhaoxie on the
24th, and attack Le'an, seizing the opportunity to wipe out the enemy in
Le'an and take the town of Le'an. After this task is accomplished, one section should work toward Niutian and raise money. At least 40,000 yuan must
be raised by March 6.
4. The West Route Army (the Seventh Division and the Thirty-fifth Division) should continue to work on its original task and cooperate with the Red
Guard Army in wiping out the reactionary landlord armed forces in the vicinity and striking blows against the enemy's policy of maintaining guards to
keep watch.
5. The Red Guards Regiment is to begin its move on the 23rd, station itself at
Shima, wage guerrilla warfare toward Xingtian,10 assist in the work of that area.
and make efforts to wipe out the landlord armed forces in the vicinity.
6. After this period of work is over in each section, all forces should assemble in their original location and await further orders.
7. On arrival at its assigned destination, each section should immediately prepare a seven-day work schedule and send a detailed report. The work of fund-raising is the first priority, followed by wiping out the reactionary armed forces,
organizing Red guerrilla forces, distributing grain, and making propaganda.
8. Along with the Revolutionary Military Commission, General Headquarters
will move to Huangpi on the 22nd.
Supplementary notes:
1. When each section assembles, enough salt for one month and enough rice
for seven days should be carried for future use.
2. The power lines between Xiaobu and Dongshao should be removed immediately, and another line between Huangpi and Luokou should be installed.
The Liaison Team of the General Corps is responsible for installing the line from
Huangpi to Matian, and the Liaison Team of the Third Army Group is responsible for installing the line from Luokou to Malian. The existing telegraph cables
should be used to set up the line going from Fourth Army Headquarters in Toupi
to Baishe Market (the First Division of the Third Army Group).
3. Upon arrival at its destination, each work unit should conduct a survey of
routes in the vicinity (roads, houses, transportation, rivers, bridges, etc.) and
draw route maps, copies of which should be sent to this headquarters.
4. During this period of work, if there is an advance by a certain enemy unit,
the troops facing that enemy unit should offer steady resistance to hamper its advance and to shield the concentration of our main forces, and must immediately notify the neighboring forces.
5. The troops going to Shicheng should be sure to buy as much Western
medicine as possible (especially iodine tincture and tablets, alcohol, gauze, etc.)
and telephone lines as well. The troops going to Le'an should pay attention to
collecting enemy documents and classified books and maps, cipher codes, and
so on.

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Notes

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 3, pp. 213-15, where it is
reproduced from a documentary collection published in China in 1981.
1. He Yingqin was a close associate of Chiang Kaishek, who had sent He to Jiangxi in
February 1931 to take over anti-Communist military operations following defeat in the
First Encirclement Campaign. Sun Lianzhong commanded the Nationalist Twenty-sixth
Army.
2. Dai Ji (1895-1973), a native of Anhui, was at this time commander of the Sixtyfirst Division of the Nineteenth Route Army. Qu Shounian (1902-1957), a native of
Guangdong, had been commander of the 120th Brigade of the Guomindang Sixtieth
Division since 1929. Later in 1931 he became commander of the Seventy-eighth Division
of the Nineteenth Route Army.
3. Hu Zuyu commanded the Nationalist army's Fifth Division.
4. Han Delin, Hao Mengling, and Guo Huazong commanded the Nationalist army's
Fifty-second, Fifty-fourth, and Forty-third divisions, respectively.
5. Ruan Zhaochang commanded the Nationalist army's Fifty-fifth Division.
6. Zhou Zhiqun commanded the Nationalist army's Fourteenth Independent Brigade.
7. This and other texts of 1931 consistently refer to Kuzhu ("bitter bamboo"), though
there is also a locality called Guzhu ("ancient bamboo") near Luokou.
8. Taking dadao ("great road") to mean simply one of the few passable roads in this
area of Jiangxi at the time. Kangdu was a small market town located not far from a pass
across the Wuyi Mountains separating Jiangxi and Fujian. Though not located near any
main road marked on current maps. the frequent comings and goings of Red Army troops
through this region suggest that there was some sort of significant local transport route
running through Kangdu during this period.
9. A road now leads from Guangchang to Shuinan, on the Jiangxi-Fujian border, and
then continues across the mountains into Fujian, toward Jianning. During the 1930s, the
main road may have stopped at Shuinan.
10. This is probably a misprint for Tengtian, a major town northwest of Shima in
Yongfeng xian.