Eight Conditions for a Great Victory
in the Second Campaign

Work Yet More Energetically to Prepare for
an Even Greater Victory in the Second Campaign¹

(1931)

I. Chaotic Warfare among the Warlords Is Bound to Break Out

A. No sooner had the warfare among Chiang, Yan [Xishan], and Feng
[Yuxiang] come to an end than Zhang Xueliang rushed to Nanjing to find out
what had actually happened. After returning to Tianjin, he redesignated the
remnants of Yan Xishan's routed troops as the Fifth Army and organized Feng
Yuxiang's troops into several divisions. He forced the National Government in
Nanjing to give him a fund of 516,000 yuan to be distributed among these
numerous troops. It is quite clear that he wanted them to collaborate with him in
fighting Chiang Kaishek. Zhang Xueliang also bought over Shi Yousan and Sun
Lianzhong.² He even urged Sun to collude with Han Fuqu and Ma Hongkui³ in
an attempt to turn Shandong into a base for the entire great alliance against
Chiang. Of course, Chiang Kaishek was not to be outdone. By using both hard
and soft tactics, he also attempted to draw over or bribe others to his side. He
threatened Sun Lianzhong, Han Fuqu, and others, and sowed discord that led to
the disintegration of the Shanxi Army and the secession of Sun Lianzhong from
Feng's army. He even finished off some miscellaneous troops in Shandong and
Hunan, for fear that these unreliable troops would be lured away by Zhang
Xueliang. All the troops under Chiang Kaishek's direct control have been de-

Our source for this document is Jiangxi dangshi ziliao, Vol. 18, pp. 90-95. It also
appears in Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 3, pp. 239-46.
1. Compare this document with the text "Eight Great Conditions for Victory," dated
December 22, 1930, which Mao issued under similar circumstances just as the First
Encirclement Campaign was beginning (see Volume III, pp. 714-21).
2. The Chinese text here has Jianzhong, but this is probably a misprint for Lianzhong,
the name of a Guomindang general that occurs twice below in the same paragraph.
3. Han Fuqu (1890-1938), a native of Hebei, was a warlord who served as military
governor of Shandong from 1930 to 1938. Ma Hongkui (1892-1970), zi Shaoyun, a
native of Gansu, was a onetime subordinate of Feng Yuxiang who defected from Feng's
service to ally with Han against Feng during this period.


ployed in the northern part of Jiangsu and Anhui, as well as regions such as
Henan and Shaanxi. Thus both sides, Chiang Kaishek and Zhang Xueliang, have
rolled up their sleeves and are actively preparing for another big war among the
warlords, which will kill even more people.
B. As war is bound to break out between Chiang and Zhang, Chiang Kaishek
is seeking a huge loan from the United States and Canada for his military
expenses; but the other imperialist countries like England and France are so
jealous that they could not help stepping in, suggesting that the loan be provided
by all of them, and that no country on its own should make a loan to China. From
this we can see that the clashes among the imperialists in China are getting
fiercer than ever. Inevitably, the chaotic warfare among their running dogs, all
these warlords, has become more intense.
C. At a time when Chiang Kaishek is waging a big war against Zhang
Xueliang, he fears that our revolutionary movement will develop in his rear.
This is really something he cannot accept, for he is aware that the day when
the revolutionary movement develops will be the day of doom for the reactionary ruling class. That is why he has transferred troops to attack various
soviet areas and the Red Army. He was attempting to diminish our revolutionary forces by threats, so that he could boast in front of his bosses, the
imperialists, the despotic gentry, the landlords, and the bourgeoisie that he,
Chiang Kaishek, was able to repress the revolutionary forces, consolidate his
counterrevolutionary leading position, and fight a big war with Zhang
Xueliang without any worries at all. Unexpectedly, however, Zhang Huizan
and his men were all taken prisoner by us, half of Tan Daoyuan's division
was wiped out by us, and the first stage in Chiang Kaishek's plan ended in
total failure. Then he was compelled to transfer two brigades of Han Deqin
from Shandong and one division of Guo Huazhong from Hubei, and since Fat
Lu was really useless, he also sent He Yingqin to Jiangxi to take command.
Furthermore, he shortened by more than a month the time he had set for
solving the bandit-suppression problem, which was initially supposed to be
finished by the end of April. All this shows that Chiang Kaishek desperately
wants to frighten us, so that he can move his troops back to deal with Zhang
Xueliang. Nevertheless, the warfare between Chiang and Zhang is intensifying day by day, and everyone in the armies involved in so-called bandit-suppression is so afraid to be Zhang Huizan the second that no one dares to move
forward. Meanwhile, we stay here, as stable as Mount Tai, waiting for the
opportunity to eliminate them one by one (as the old saying goes, "waiting at
our ease for an exhausted enemy"). In addition, with the help of the armed
masses, we are extremely well-informed and quite familiar with the local
surroundings, while the enemy has no such advantages. With all these favorable conditions, it is certain that we will be able to win every battle.
4. Lu Diping.

II. The Expansion of the Red Army in the Whole Country
A. This time, Chiang Kaishek is relatively determined to fight to the end with
the revolutionary forces all over the country. He has sent his troops not only to
southwestern Jiangxi, but also to southern Hubei, eastern and western Hunan,
northeastern Jiangxi, and western Fujian. But what has been the result of the
battle? Take a look even at the news reported in the newspapers run by the
reactionaries (of course such news should be taken with a grain of salt). After the
two factions in Guo Rudong's troops, which were sent by Chiang Kaishek to
northeastern Hubei to attack the Red Army, rebelled and joined the Red Army,
the Red Army's First Army started its active operations along the borders of
Anhui, Hubei, and Henan. In western Hunan, the Second and Sixth armies of the
Red Army have already defeated the troops led by Xu Yuanquan and He Jian
several times. The revolutionary forces have expanded from Gong'an and
Qianjiang to Shihe; in southern Hubei and eastern Hunan, the Sixteenth Army of
the Red Army moved part of its troops to [attack and take] Gaoan, a bit more
than 120 li from Nanchang (on January 24); in northeastern Jiangxi, the Tenth
Army of the Red Army, after attacking and taking Shangrao (on January 7),
proceeded to encircle and attack Yujiang; the Seventh Army of the Red Army
reached Jianghua in southern Hunan and Lianshan xian in northern Guangdong;
the Red Army in western Fujian recaptured Yongding (on January 1) and attacked Pinghe; the Independent Division of the Western Route Army attacked
Suichuan. It would have been better for the Guomindang had they never sent
their troops to attack our Red Army. They are simply helping the development of
the Red Army by sending their troops to attack the Red Army, because they have
supplied the Red Army with a lot of guns and bullets.
B. We captured Zhang Huizan alive, and the Red Army is constantly developing everywhere. As a result, the reactionary ruling class is trembling with
fright even more, while the masses of the workers and peasants throughout China
are even more delighted and making greater efforts. Even the proletariat of the
whole world and the revolutionary masses in the colonies are also applauding
and cheering for us, celebrating the new development of the Chinese revolution.
Day by day, therefore, the reactionary ruling class is more and more panic-stricken, while our revolution is advancing more and more rapidly. Our new
spirit overwhelms the enemy, and consequently our victory is even more assured.

III. The Resolution of the Futian Incident Has Made Our Forces
More United and More Consolidated
A. When we fought our first big campaign not long after the Futian Incident,
many comrades, who were utilized by the liquidationists of the AB Corps, could
not understand what had happened. Now things are different. Many bad phenomena which appeared in the wake of the Futian Incident have gradually disap-

peared. The provincial executive committee in Yongyang has already been dissolved.⁵ Those who were deceived have awakened. Thus we may be able to deal
with the invading enemy with all our strength. Of course, our strength has further
increased.
B. Although we wiped out a large number of AB Corps members during the
First Great Campaign, yet there still must be many of them hiding in our ranks,
working as spies for the White army, creating rumors, sabotaging and disrupting
the revolutionary forces. Right now, we have ferreted out some more AB Corps
members who escaped our scrutiny last time. And those who were deceived into
the AB Corps have understood their wrongdoing and given themselves up. At this
point, it is safe to say that the bad elements, the counterrevolutionary AB Corps
members inside our ranks, have all been cleaned out. As a result, our revolutionary forces are more consolidated. As compared to the time when we won a great
victory in the First Campaign, our forces are more united and consolidated and,
therefore, we have tremendous power to defeat the enemy, and we are even more
certain of winning a great victory in the Second Campaign.

IV. Our Armed Forces Have Been Augmented

A. We wiped out Zhang Huizan and defeated Tan Daoyuan, confiscating
eight thousand rifles, thousands of machine guns, mortars and hand-held machine guns, and more than one million bullets. With all these arms supplied by
the enemy, we can surround some more regiments of the enemy soldiers.

V. The Local Armed Forces Have Been Augmented

A. After winning a great victory in the First Campaign, we distributed three
to four thousand guns to the local masses. With these guns, their power has been
much greater. They have also got some guns from their daily operations to harass
the enemy and attack the troops engaged in bandit suppression. Through these
operations, they have become more courageous, they have attained more experience, they have learned more military techniques, and, naturally, their strength to
help the Red Army will be even greater.
B. With the local armed forces strengthened, more operations can be undertaken to wipe out the enemy troops engaged in suppression activities and to
harass the other enemies. In order to maintain his communications, the enemy
will have to advance gradually and entrench himself at every step by deploying

5. The "provincial executive committee" referred to here was a group of Jiangxi Party
and local Red Army leaders who had been involved in the Futian Incident in December
1930, and subsequently fled to Yongyang (a town southwest of Ji'an city on the western
side of the Gan River), where they set up this short-lived committee in opposition to the
Mao-dominated Party and army organs on the eastern side of the river.

1931 49
troops along the way. Thus we can bring about the dispersal of the enemy forces
and give the enemy more worries, so that it will be easier for us to wipe out
the enemy. Consequently, even though the enemy wants to increase his forces
along every route, in fact he is not able to send many more troops to the battlefront, because they have to leave a lot of troops behind to make sure that communications in their rear area are secure. From this, we will benefit very much.
Naturally, this is also a condition which helps to guarantee us victory.

VI. The Terror of the Enemy Has Escalated

A. The enemy troops, when they came to the Red areas, could neither find
anyone to serve as their guide nor buy things to eat, and at the same time they
were constantly harassed by our local armed forces wherever they went, so they
had already been seized with terror. Now, having heard further that the entire
division of Zhang Huizan has been eliminated, and that Tan Daoyuan also suffered a crushing defeat despite his quick retreat, their terror has become even
more extreme.

B. The White army soldiers who were invading the Red areas on suppression
operations saw our slogans and leaflets urging them to struggle against the local
bullies and divide up the land, and telling them that the Red Army is the army of
the workers and peasants, within which everyone is equal and free. At the same
time, they also witnessed the White army burning, killing, looting, and plundering
in villages of the Red areas. Therefore, they have all gradually come to understand
the revolution as well as the Red Army. As soon as the two divisions led by Jiang
and Cai arrived in Xingguo, twenty-three soldiers defected to the Red Army with
their guns. We can see from this that many of the White army soldiers are not
willing to fight the Red Army. Furthermore, the prisoners we took from Zhang
Huizan's division did a lot of propaganda work for us after they returned, spreading the word that we gave special treatment to them, and that we did not search
their pockets but instead gave every one of them three yuan. As a result, the
morale of the White army has become shakier, and their soldiers do not have the
courage to fight the Red Army. They are even inclined to come and hand over
their guns to the Red Army, and some of them have also come to pick up the three
yuan. From this it can be seen that our strength has become more and more
powerful and consolidated, and that our courage to fight is increasing daily. The
enemy, on the other hand, is increasingly terrified, and his morale is declining day
by day. This is yet another favorable condition guaranteeing us victory.

VII. The Initiative of the Masses Has Further Increased,
and There Are Also Geographical Advantages

A. During the first attack launched by the White army, the masses were very
active in helping the Red Army and did a lot to harass the enemy, but because

50 ΜΛΟ'S ROAD TO POWER
the local forces were poorly armed and did not have much experience in many
domains, and because, in addition, many AB Corps members and rich peasants
played tricks from within, their power was not displayed to the full extent.
Having gone through the First Campaign triumphantly, they have become
braver, their armament has increased, and they have accumulated a wealth of
experience in every respect. As a result, they are more active and courageous in
their operations to attack the enemy troops engaged in suppression and in their
operations to harass the enemy; even their strategy is subtler. At this moment, the
masses in various regions are so enthusiastically involved in these operations day
and night that the enemy is trembling with fear, building up defense works
everywhere, and never daring to relax his guard. As a result, the enemy troops
are utterly exhausted, and their will to fight is severely affected.
B. The fighting spirit of our Red masses in their struggle to support the
soviets has been very intrepid from the beginning. All the atrocious crimes that
the White bandits have committed after they came to the Red areas, such as
plundering grain, burning houses, and killing anyone they meet, have made the
masses angrier and bolder, impatient to wipe out the entire enemy at one stroke.
We have the broad masses, but the enemy does not. Our masses are daily becoming more enthusiastic and more heroic, whereas the enemy soldiers are more
inclined to waver every day. The more the enemy soldiers come to the Red areas,
the more perplexed and frightened they become. All this makes it inevitable that
the enemy will be defeated.
C. We are thoroughly familiar with all the routes within the Red areas. We
also have the masses to deliver messages or act as guides. We know every single
move of the enemy, and it is very easy for us to surround them. The enemy are
not familiar with the terrain, and there is no one who is willing to act as their
guide; besides, they are not able to send in their spies. Hence, they have no way
to find out where our main force is, but can only come and flounder around
blindly in our Red areas. We can wait at strategically crucial positions for the
opportunity to attack them off guard. Thus we can surround and disarm them.
That was exactly the method we used to capture Zhang Huizan alive. We are
going to use this method again to capture two more division commanders alive in
the days to come.
What are called topographical advantages and the support of the people already
constitute the conditions for victory, but in addition, we have many other advantages and points of superiority. Can it possibly be argued that we will not win?

VIII. Our Economy Is More Abundant
A. From the beginning we realized that this would be a protracted war, so
long ago we hid away the locally stored grain, cooking oil, and salt in secret
storehouses. Thus there will not be any food for the enemy if they dare to come,
but we can feed ourselves freely and will lack for nothing. The Red Army itself

1931 51
has put aside the funds for the expenses of several months. All the brave officers
and soldiers in the Red Army have also donated their private money to the
collectivity, and voluntarily asked that their food allowance be reduced; they
have moreover collected in the regimental organizations and [X][X] more funds
for the expenses of several extra months. Therefore, there will not be any problem for us in waging a protracted war with the enemy. The enemy, on the other
hand, will not be able to cope. Once they come into the Red area, they will not
be able to find anything at all in the way of food. They will have to send
everything here from their faraway rear area and that is extremely difficult. The
mountain roads are hard to travel on, and if the escorts for the supplies are small,
we can intercept them. What about sending a big escort? They do not have that
many soldiers. Under such circumstances, as soon as the troops led by Jiang
[Guangnai] and Cai [Tingkai] arrived in Xingguo, they were able to have one
meal of rice and one meal of gruel every day. Once they move a bit more into the
Red areas, they will surely have nothing to eat. This is also one of the reasons
why the enemy cannot avoid defeat, while we are sure to be victorious.
Although we have all these conditions for victory, we absolutely cannot be so
satisfied with things that we take the enemy lightly. On the contrary, we must
step up our preparations and strive with all our might to eliminate more enemies,
catch more division commanders, and capture Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, Xu
Kexiang, Mao Bingwen, Luo Lin, and Gong Bingfan alive. We must completely
destroy the enemy's plans of attack; we must attack the enemy, pursue the
enemy, and drive the enemy back to Nanchang and Jiujiang. Thus the soviets can
be consolidated and develop and expand steadily, opening up a new revolutionary situation. We must launch revolutionary warfare on a larger scale, put an end
to the chaotic warfare among the warlords, and strive for the victory of the soviet
revolution in one or several provinces and finally in the whole country.

Printed by the General Political Department,
Chinese Soviet Central Revolutionary Military Commission

6. These characters, which are missing in both versions of this document, presumably
stand for military units of another level, such as "battalion organizations."