To Liu Bocheng and Others[1]

(September 28, 1937)

Baoding, Cangzhou, and Xixian have all fallen. The national army is in utter disarray and rout. Wei Lihuang has retreated to Shijiazhuang. Our 129th Division (minus one regiment) is to set out immediately upon receiving this telegram, cross the river via Linjin to Houma and board trains there, replenish clothing and ammunition in Taiyuan, and rapidly proceed to the areas north and south of the Zhengding–Taiyuan Railway.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram from Mao Zedong to Liu Bocheng, Xu Xiangqian, and Zhang Hao, with information copies to Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and He Long.