The Work of the Field Army After
Concentrating Its Forces
(January 7, 1937, 10:00 P.M.)
Zhou [Enlai] and Bo [Gu], Peng [Dehuai] and Ren [Bishi]:
1. After concentrating all its units at Yaoxian, Sanyuan, and Xianyang on the
10th, the field army should complete the following tasks before the 12th (the
sooner the better):
a. After money, ammunition, bedding and clothing, transportation and communications equipment, military maps, books, newspapers, and so on have
been collected, they should be handed over to those army groups in need of
additional supplies. As for money, 300,000 yuan should be dispersed,
enough for two months (publicly it should be said that it is for one month).
b. Hold a meeting for cadres at the regimental level and above to explain the
political tasks and mobilize for war.
c. Explain our relations with friendly forces.
d. Explain our policies regarding local work and strictly tighten discipline
among the masses.
e. Make efforts to enlarge the Red Army.
It is requested that Peng and Ren see to it that the above-mentioned five tasks
are completed and that every soldier is informed of them. When it is possible to
hold the cadres meeting, we plan to ask Zhou and Bo or Luo Ruiqing to go
respectively to Sanyuan and Xianyang to participate in the meeting.
2. Prepare the main force (according to plan, the First and Fourth Front
Armies) to reach Shangzhou and Luonan to control the borders between Shaanxi,
Henan, and Hubei. Some units will stay north of the Wei River (according to
plan, the Second and Fourth Front Armies). The plan is to break the enemy's
encirclement so as to expose the Beiping-Hankou and Longhai railroads to us
and force Chiang to accept the limits. This matter will be dealt with by Zhou. I
look forward to your reply.
Mao Zedong

--- Notes

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 1, pp. 775-76, where it is
reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.