Creating the Hedong Battlefield and Strengthening Work on Key Routes[1]

(March 25, 1936)

Ye and Li:

A. Vigorously expand the Red Army and create the Hedong battlefield. Even if certain difficulties are encountered, they must be resolutely overcome. You should first focus on turning the entire Shilou County red as the center, along with the areas north of Yonghe and Xi County, and south of Zhongyang and Liulin.

B. Special efforts must be made to strengthen work on the following key routes: 1. Shilou to Shuitou[2]. 2. Shilou to Shikouzhen[3]. 3. Shilou to Xi County. 4. Shilou to Yonghe. 5. Shilou to Pingdi and Liuyu[4]. Along these five roads, fully mobilize the masses, strengthen guerrilla work and cadre leadership, and prepare to impose a mass blockade on the enemy after the enemy forces penetrate deep into Shilou, cutting off all enemy supplies, and using the strength of the masses and the strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the fields to exhaust and wear down the enemy.

C. Tear down the White Army’s slogans and leaflets, first deploying this along the aforementioned key routes.

D. Regarding the specific arrangements, we hope you will send a report to Sijiang Village.

Peng and Mao

25th, 13:00 hours

--- Notes

[1] This is a telegram from Mao Zedong and Peng Dehuai, Commander of the First Front Army of the Red Army, to Ye Jianying, Chief of Staff of the First Front Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Central Route Army, and Li Fuchun, Secretary of the Shaanxi-Gansu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.
[2] Shuitou, a town name, located northwest of present-day Jiaokou County, Shanxi Province.
[3] Shikouzhen, located west of present-day Jiaokou County, Shanxi Province.
[4] Pingdi, located north of Shilou County, Shanxi Province. Liuyu, located south of present-day Liulin County, Shanxi Province.