(December 14, 1936)

Peng [Dehuai] and Ren [Bishi]:

The Field Army should move to the town of Xifeng. The reasons are as follows:

1. Nanjing has already launched a large-scale civil war, throwing all its
forces against Zhang [Xueliang] and Yang [Hucheng]. Its main force will advance through Tongguan.
2. There are a lot of unstable elements within Zhang and Yang's camps.
Nanjing's policy is to win over Yang and attack Zhang. Moving the Red Army
nearer to them will embolden them and raise their morale.
3. By moving nearer to Zhang and Yang, we will be able to deal with various
contingencies. If we are far away we cannot do so.
4. The town of Xifeng is near where Wang Yizhe is, and we can still attack
Hu [Zongnan].
5. Whether or not Xi'an is defensible, various options will become open to us
once we move southward.
6. It is impossible to leave Ningxia for the moment. If we did, we would be
on our own. At the same time, Zhang and Yang have embarked on a dangerous
path.
7. If we remain stationary for the time being in our present position, there
will be no battle to be fought, and we will not be able to extricate Zhang and
Yang from this crisis. Consequently, our first step should be to move to the town
of Xifeng.

Mao Zedong

Our source for this telegram is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 683-84, where it is
reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.