The Region of Mount Wulong Offers Prospects
for Development; Highly Skilled Cadres
Should Be Sent There
(February 9, 1938)

To the Frontline General Headquarters, Hankou, Zhu [De], and Peng [Dehuai]:

1. The region of which Mount Wulong is the center offers prospects for expansion and development. But, as it is an independent battle zone, the forces to be
dispatched there must be crack troops and should not be too few in number. The
military, government, and Party leading personnel should have the capacity to
cope independently with new situations. Full preparations must be made before
setting off.
2. Except for the principal cadres, who have been assigned by Yunzhen¹ and
the rest of you, cadres for the Northeast and the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar regions are
being selected by the rear area as well. Meanwhile, the Northern Bureau is also
requested to select and send cadres.
3. Yunzhen cannot leave the Hebei-Chahar area right now, but should be prepared to order senior leaders to Mount Wulong at an appropriate stage of development. This matter may be considered by the front line and the rear jointly.
4. Xu's brigade² is in the region at this time only for ordinary guerrilla warfare,
and they come under your direct leadership. It seems that Comrade Lin Biao does
not need to go.

This is the first in a series of telegrams sent by Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, and others regarding the uprising in eastern Hebei between February and November 1938. Our source is
Wenxian he yanjiu, no. 3, 1985, pp. 11 and 15.
1. Yunzhen stands for Nie Rongzhen (1899-1992), a native of Sichuan. Nie had been a
work-study student in France and Belgium and had also received military training in the
Soviet Union. In November 1937 he had been appointed commander of the Shanxi-Chahar-
Hebei Military District by the Communist government in Yan'an. At a conference held in
January 1938, he had been chosen as one of the two Communist members of a regional
government formed under joint Communist and Guomindang sponsorship.
2. The reference is to the 344th Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army,
commanded by Xu Haidong.

5. Sending troops to Shandong must be given consideration only after the
completion of the action at Mount Wulong. It is also inappropriate to mention it to
the Guomindang just now.

Mao [Zedong]

Also inform Hu [Fu] [Liu Shaoqi], Yang [Shangkun], Zhou [Enlai], and Ye
[Jianying] at the same time.