Order to Shift Positions and Intercept
the Enemy Forces
(September 11, 1931)
1. It has been reported that the enemy troops of Han Deqin again retreated to
Xing[guo] City during the night of the 9th; the main force, consisting of Jiang
[Guangnai]'s and Cai [Tingkai]'s two divisions, is still in the vicinity of
Gaoxingxu; the remnant forces of Jiang Dingwen are in Changjingkou; the
enemy guerrilla troops arrived in Qigang and Longping on the 10th and withdrew the same night; and the enemy guerrilla forces that entered Liuke that day
also retreated in the afternoon. Near Laoyingpan there is our Fourth Independent
Division, and in Laoyingpan is our Provincial Soviet Government and one company of the Fourth Army that collects bullets. The Ninth Division of the Third
Army is occupying positions near Liuke and will retreat to Chenggong'ao at 2:00
P.M. tomorrow (the 12th) to occupy {other) positions successfully.
2. The Front Army has decided to shift positions to intercept the enemy
forces and to start the maneuver tomorrow (the 12th), dispatching the Third
Army as a covering unit to provide cover in the vicinity of Laoyingpan. The
Third Army Group and the Seventh Army should set out from their present
position (around Juncun) tomorrow morning at 4:00 A.M. and go through
Gaowan, Xiapingxi, Shangpingxi, Dongkeng, Shibapai, and Huanglongping
to Langchuan2 (45 U), and arrange quarters in the areas of Chayuan in
Langchuan (half of the lodgings should be appropriately allocated [here]) and
Xiayuan.
The Fourth Army and the Thirty-fifth Army will depart from their present
locations (Xiaozhanggong. Changyao, Lixi, etc.) tomorrow morning at 4:00A.M.
for Fuzu by way of Xiaozhanggong. They may split into two routes, one to go
via Tianziyin and the other via Diaoyutai, both arriving in Shihuiwei1 and
Chayuan in Langchuan (half of the lodgings should be appropriately allocated
[here]) and arrange quarters there. If the General Attached Unit has excess lodging places, some of them should be allocated to the Fourth Army.
o;;;;;-ree for this onler is Mao Zedtmgjunshi werrji, Vol. I, pp. 250-SI.
I. Places mentioned in this docwnent are moslly in western Xingguo and eastern Taihe
.tiwr.
2. Langchuan is the name of a township (.tiG'ng) in southwestern Taihe :Jian.
3. A note to the text in Mao Zedongjunshi wenji states that Shihuiwei is a misprint for
Shifengwe.i. This is the name of a village in Taihe rian near the border with Xingguo.

J46
The General Attached Unit is commanded by Yang, the chief of the
Adjutants' Section; it will set out from its present location (Fuzu) tomorrow
morning at 5:00 A.M. and go through Longshang and Diaoyutai to Shihuiyao in
Langchuan and arrange quarters. (Lodgings in Shihuiyao will be allocated by
Yang, the chief of the Adjutants' Section of General Headquarters. After the
General Attached Unit has been provided for, the rest will belong to the Fourth
Army.)
The Third Army's regiment of new recruits will transfer tomorrow to
Baikeshu in Langchuan.
3. Upon arriving at its place of encampment, the Third Army Group must
send people to Xiaozhuang to reconnoiter points for crossing the river and to
build bridges, and prepare to proceed the day after tomorrow to Tianduan
through Xiaozhuang.
4. General Headquarters will be at Shihuiyao tomorrow night. All units upon
arrival at their places of encampment must immediately send dispatchers to the
General Headquarters to take orders.
5. All armies should temporarily leave their political departments behind to
take care of the wounded and wait to rejoin their units in the area of
Longgangtou as soon as transport conditions have been restored.
Commander-in-Chief
Zhu De
Political Commissar
Mao Zedong