Letter from Zhu De and Mao Zedong
to Regimental Commander Chu' and Political
Commissar Liu'
(July 12,1931,6:00 A.M., atjianfeng)
Regimental Commander Zhu and Political Commissar Liu:
I. Your letters of the 10th and 11th and one squad of messengers have all
arrived.
2. You should wait until the enemy has entered the city of Jianning and find
out the strength of their forces and to which division they belong before slowly
withdrawing in the direction of Tangfang. At all times seek out detailed information about the enemy and report it to General Headquarters as well as Division
Headquarters. The 104th Regiment in Anyuansi should also be notified so that
they know what is going on in Jiann.ing.
3. Today (the 12th), the Twelfth Division is engaged in guerrilla fighting
from the Shuinan-Changqiao-Guangchang line toward Qianshan and Shizui.
4. Already yesterday (the 11th), enemy forces arrived in Qianshan and
Shizui, and a small number of enemy troops arrived at Shuangjiangkou, IS li
from Jing'an.
5. On the 12th and the 13th, letters can be transmitted by way of Jianfeng,
and on the 14th and 16th by way of Baishui.
6. The enemy is still advancing very slowly. You should sabotage the
enemy's movements, cover the concentration of the main forces, and obtain
more information.
Zhu De
Mao Zedong
Our source for this letter is Jiangxi dangshi ziliao, Vol 19, pp. 51-52.
I. We have not determined the identity of this individual.
2. The reference is to Liu Yalou (1911-1965), a native of Fujian who joined the
Chinese Communist Party in 1929. He had been political commissar of the Thirty-fifth
Regiment of the Fourth Red Army since late 1930.
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