At present negotiations are being conducted, and while the Communist Party
has no great positive hopes of persuading Nanjing to resist Japan it is nevertheless possible. As long as it is, the Communist Party will be ready to cooperate in
all necessary measures. If Chiang Kaishek prefers to continue the civil war the
Red Army will also be ready to receive him.
Block Hu Zongnan's Westward Advance, and
Ensure That We Continue to Hold Jieshipu
(September 25, 1936, 2:00 P.M.)
To Peng [Dehuai], and inform Nie [Rongzhen]:
1. The Fourth Front Army is resolved to move westward to cross the river at
Yongjing and attempt to occupy Yongdeng and Liangzhou. Its units at Tongwei
withdrew on the 24th. It is said that, after crossing the river, one unit of the
troops will move to Zhongwei to support the First Front Army in taking Ningxia.
The only proper course in this matter is to let them do as they see fit.
2. For the present, however, it is still important to block the westward advance of Enemy Hu. Has the Thirteenth Regiment returned to the First Division?
If not, it would be good to send troops first to strengthen it. Jieshipu must remain
in our hands. In addition, would it be possible to use the main force of the First
Front Army and the Eighty-first Division to occupy the Guyuan-Zhenyuan line
and to threaten Pingliang and Wating? Please consider this and reply.
3. As for the movements of the Second Front Army, we are still in the
process of thinking it over, and discussing it by telegram.
Mao

--- Notes

Our source for this telegram is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 595-96, where it is
reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.