To Mr. Chiang Kai-shek: Since last August, the Communist Soviet regime and the Red Army have repeatedly appealed to you to end the civil war and unite against Japanese aggression. Following the publication of this appeal, people from all walks of life throughout the country, regardless of political affiliation, responded in unison. Yet you have consistently acted on your own, first issuing orders for a full-scale encirclement campaign, which led to last winter’s battle at Zhiluo Town. This spring, when the Red Army crossed the Yellow River eastward in an attempt to reach the front lines in Chahar and Hebei, you again blocked its advance in the Fen River valley. Out of concern to avoid needless sacrifice of our national defense forces, we led our troops back westward in search of alternative avenues for resisting Japan, while simultaneously issuing a manifesto urging your awakening.

Over the past several months, the situation in Suiyuan has grown increasingly critical. We had hoped that you would finally reverse course and dispatch a major expeditionary force to engage in open warfare against Japan. Instead, you sent only eight regiments under Tang Enbo to reinforce Suiyuan—hardly more than a token gesture—while simultaneously assembling no fewer than 160 regiments under Hu Zongnan, Guan Linzheng, Mao Bingwen, Wang Jun, He Zhuguo, Wang Yizhe, Dong Yingjie, Sun Zhen, Wan Yaohuang, Yang Hucheng, Ma Hongbin, Ma Bufang, Gao Guizi, Gao Shuangcheng, Li Xianzhou, and others. This massive concentration of troops moves with such ferocity as if it were determined to annihilate the Anti-Japanese Red Army and utterly destroy the Anti-Japanese base areas. Although we have ordered the Red Army to cease offensive operations against your forces and to make successive withdrawals, these gestures of restraint have failed to assuage your deep-seated animosity. For the sake of self-defense and to preserve our Anti-Japanese army and base areas, we are compelled to take resolute action. How bitterly we resent the enemy’s aggression; how fervently we support our comrades in Suiyuan who are fighting valiantly! Meanwhile, you devote your entire military might to a fratricidal civil war. As those of us on the front lines can attest, the sentiments of the soldiers under your command are no different from our own: they ardently desire an end to this suicidal conflict and a prompt return to the anti-Japanese battlefield. Even your own so-called elite units, long regarded as invincible, suffered a devastating defeat at Shanbao Fort. Why? Not because they lack combat capability, but because Chinese soldiers refuse to fight Chinese soldiers; they would rather lay down their arms before the Red Army. Such is the prevailing mood among both the populace and the troops. Why do you not, in quiet reflection, consider the root cause of this profound divergence?

At present, the situation in Suiyuan continues to deteriorate. The number of troops defending the front lines is pitifully small. The lessons of the Great Wall Resistance and the Battle of Shanghai–January 28 remain fresh in our memory. The nation stands at a critical juncture, and the fate of China depends solely on your decision. If you were to halt the civil war today, tomorrow both the Red Army and your Northwestern Pacification Force could immediately withdraw from the battleground of fratricide and proceed directly to the anti-Japanese front. In that event, Suiyuan’s defensive strength would increase by a factor of dozens. Thus, a single change of heart and a single decisive act on your part could avenge national humiliation, safeguard our territory, and reclaim lost lands. Moreover, you would be hailed as a glorious hero of the Anti-Japanese War, immortalized in posterity alongside other great figures. Why then do you hesitate to take this step?

With utmost sincerity, we once again implore you to act decisively: accede to our call for national salvation, turn foe into friend, and join forces to resist Japan. This would not only be to our benefit; it represents the sole viable path forward for the entire nation and all its peoples. The choice now is stark: either resist Japan or surrender to it. To linger any longer on the wrong path is to doom the nation, reduce ourselves to servitude, alienate the hearts of the entire Chinese people, and invite eternal scorn. It is our earnest wish that future generations will not gather to say, “The one who destroyed China was none other than Chiang Kai-shek,” but rather that they will regard you as a heroic figure who, in time, corrected his course to save the country and its people. As the saying goes, “Do not fear to correct one’s mistakes”; another maxim advises, “Drop the butcher’s knife and become a Buddha instantly.” The time has come for you to carefully consider your course. The enemy presses hard, disaster looms large, and the stakes could not be higher. We stand ready to articulate further upon receiving your clear instructions.  Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Zhang Guotao, Zhou Enlai, Wang Jiaxiang, Peng Dehuai, He Long, Ren Bishi, Lin Biao, Liu Bocheng, Ye Jianying, Zhang Yunyi, Xu Xiangqian, Chen Jingguo, Xu Haidong, Dong Zhentang, Luo Binghui, Shao Shiping, and Guo Hongtao, leading two hundred thousand men of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, concur therewith.