(June 29, 1936)
Comrade [Peng] Dehuai:

1. From an overall strategic perspective, whether from the standpoint of the
Red Army, or from the standpoint of establishing a national defense government
based on the union of the Red Army and other friendly armies, opening up a
route to the Soviet Union and resolving technical problems is a task that must be
completed this year, and this task must be shouldered by the First and Fifteenth
army groups.
2. There are two routes by which the Red Army may approach the Soviet
Union: one is the route from Ningxia and western Suiyuan, which is relatively
short and has rather favorable conditions with regard to population and the
economy. Its disadvantage is likely to be the difficulty of building a base area
there. If it were possible, however, to strike a blow at Ma Hongkui's¹ main
forces, then gaining a foothold for a period of time would be feasible. The
second route is the one through the three prefectures of Gan[zhou], Liang[zhou],
and Su[zhou],² where it is possible to build a solid base area. The disadvantages
are that the distance is longer, certain regions are sparsely populated, and there
may be some obstacles to marching and billeting.
3. There are also two options with regard to the timing of the Red Army's
departure. One is during the summer or the fall. If boats can be found for fording
the river, this would be the best time. The other is winter. If the summer or the
fall does not work out, then the only thing to do is wait for the waters to freeze.
4. Whichever route or time is chosen, dealing a firm blow to Ma Hongkui is
the decisive factor. Therefore, please consider the question of the First and
Fifteenth army groups' moving in the latter half of July toward the area between
Jinji and Ning'an [bao] or between Ning'an [bao] and Zhongwei, and the question
of seizing boats on the Yellow River.
5. If it is possible to take care of some of Ma Hongkui's forces on the eastern

We have translated this text from Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 551-52, where it
is reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.
1. Ma Hongkui was at the time commander under the Guomindang army's Northwest
"Bandit Suppression" Headquarters of the Fifteenth Route Army and of the newly
organized Seventh Division.
2. These are the names of three former prefectures in Gansu Province, now called
Zhangye, Wuwei, and Jiuquan.