Reply to Peng Dehuai’s Telegram[1]

(October 14, 1936)

In order to achieve genuine unity of the Party and the Red Army and to smoothly carry out the current tasks, we must not be too impatient in demanding improvement from Zhang Guotao and other cadres. Our policy should demonstrate trust in them. We should be prepared to go through a long-term process to enable them to make gradual progress, and it is estimated that they are likely to improve.

[1] This is the main content of the telegram sent jointly by Mao Zedong, Luo Fu (Zhang Wentian), Bo Gu (Qin Bangxian), and Zhou Enlai in reply to Peng Dehuai.