To Peng Dehuai[1]

(July 23, 1936)

After the troops[2] have been concentrated, it is advisable to draw up a ten-day training plan, with intensive military and political drills, thereby making preparations for operations against He Zhuguo. If after ten days there is still no favorable opportunity for combat, then train for another ten days. At present, rest and training are the main requirements.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram from Mao Zedong to Peng Dehuai, commander of the First Front Army of the Red Army and commander and political commissar of the Western Field Army.
[2] This refers to the Western Field Army of the First Front Army of the Red Army, composed mainly of the First Army Corps and the Fifteenth Army Corps of the Red Army.