Concentrate All Forces and Unite Internally
to Carry Out the Current Military and Political Tasks[1]
(September 24, 1936)

Hu Zongnan’s troops are successively entering Shaanxi, attempting to press and weaken the Red Army, cut off the link between China and the Soviet Union, sever the connection between the Northeastern Army and the Red Army, and then force us to submit and reach a compromise. Our countermeasure: The first step should be to assemble the three front armies along the line of Jingning, Huining, and Dingxi and to their north and south, delivering a considerable blow to Hu Zongnan so that he cannot achieve his attempt to cut off the Red Army and destroy it piecemeal. The second step is to occupy Ningxia with two front armies and use one front army to contain Hu Zongnan. The occupation of Ningxia is an extremely important link in the entire political and military situation. As for the third step, after occupying Ningxia, we will then have obtained assistance from afar and be in a favorable position, making it very easy to divide our forces to seize western Gansu and Suiyuan, and even to reoccupy southern Gansu.

One division of the First Front Army of the Red Army has already occupied Jieshipu. The Fourth Front Army of the Red Army should promptly send its vanguard division to enter rapidly, with the remaining units moving north in succession.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram from Mao Zedong, Lin Yuying (Zhang Hao), Luo Fu (Zhang Wentian), Zhou Enlai, Bo Gu (Qin Bangxian), and Wang Jiaxiang to Zhu De, Zhang Guotao, Chen Changhao, Ren Bishi, He Long, and Liu Bocheng.