Mao Zedong

A Proposal Regarding Deployment by Zhang
Xueliang and Yang Hucheng with a View
to Defeating the Enemy Coming from the East

(December 25, 1936, 3:00 A.M.)

Zhou [Enlai] and Bo [Gu]:

1. According to today’s intelligence, He Yingqin is deploying his main force of the two columns of Zhou Lei and Huang Jie, altogether twenty regiments, to the north of the Wei river; Li Mo’an’s column of approximately eight regiments is employed in Luonan; only eight regiments of Fan Songfu’s column are deployed in the front, to play the role of attraction and containment.

2. The deployment of the enemy makes it very easy, once the Red Army’s main force reaches Xianyang, to defeat Li Mo’an’s column at Lantian, break through to the Longhai line, cut his route of retreat, and develop the military situation. It is proposed that the following deployments be made rapidly:
  a. Immediately send someone to eliminate Feng Qianzai1 secretly, and consolidate our control over Dali.
  b. Consolidate the river front of the town of Xiaoyi and delay the crossing of the river by the enemy.
  c. Secretly move two divisions of the Northeast Army to Fuping, so as to consolidate our control over this key point.
  d. Deploy one division each in Sanyuan, Gaoling, and Kangqiaozhen. For defense purposes two bridges should be built, one between Weinan and Lintong and the other between Lintong and Xi’an, and many boats should be prepared, so that when necessary the Red Army may move to the north side of the river to engage in battle.
  e. Deploy one division at Lantian, and send one regiment to the town of Houzi, some units to the town of Bao’an, and a brigade to Shangxian. Fortifications should be built at all these places, and they should be defended to the death so as to assure the rear and facilitate a sudden attack by the Red Army on the Longhai line.

We have translated this text from the 1985 annual compendium of Wenxian he yanjiu, p. 203.

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 688–89, where it is reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.
1. Feng Jinggui (1890–1963), zi Qinzai, was a native of Shanxi. At this time, he was commander of the Seventh Army of the Seventeenth Route Army. Immediately after the Xi’an coup, he repudiated Yang Hucheng’s action and went over to the side of Chiang Kaishek.

f. Deploy two divisions at the front facing Weinan and Lintong.
g. At present it is sufficient to deploy one division at Xi’an. The rest of the troops may be concentrated at positions suitable for maneuver. Quickly put forth the above proposals to Zhang and Yang.

    Mao Zedong