The Second Front Army Should Take
Advantage of the Fact That All the Enemy
Troops Are Not Yet Concentrated
to Move Away at Once
(October 3, 1936, 1:00 A.M.)
He [Long], Ren [Bishi], Guan [Xiangying], Liu [Bocheng]:
Three regiments of Hu Zongnan's First Division and Seventy-eighth Division
have arrived at Qingshui, and the other six regiments are following close behind
in Fufeng and Qishan. The four regiments of Guan Linzheng are moving toward
Baoji and it looks as if they will, in cooperation with Wang Chuan's troops,
launch an attack on you first. It is better for you to move away at once before all
of Hu's troops are concentrated. Your best route for the transfer seems to be the
road near Wushan, and you should first send out a detachment equipped with a
radio transmitter to cross the river near Tianshui, advance toward Enemy Hu,
approach Enemy Hu, and pin down his forces segment by segment so as to cover
for the transfer of the main forces. It would be best, if possible, to have another
detachment equipped with a transmitter to remain at the present location for
some time, on the one hand, to attract the enemy and, on the other hand, to wait
until Hu's succeeding six regiments have concentrated in Qingshui, cross the
river to the east of Qingshui and move to the Huating and Longxian area, and
maneuver in the enemy's rear. It would be best if both these detachments were
no smaller than a division. We remain hopeful that you will deal with this matter
after careful consideration.
Mao [Zedong]
Zhou [Enlai]

Our source for this telegram is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 612-13, where it is
reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.