(March 24, 1938)

Zhu [De] and Peng [Dehuai]; Zhu Rui; Liu [Bocheng], Xu [Xiangqian], and Deng
[Xiaoping]; He [Long], Xiao [Ke], and Guan [Xiangying]; Chen [Guang] and Luo
[Ronghuan]; as well as the various Party provincial committees; [Cheng] Zihua
and [Yang] Shangkun:

Because of the developments in the war situation, perhaps in the not-too-distant
future, it will be necessary for the main force of the Eighth Route Army to be
redeployed elsewhere for combat. In order that our Party may continue to be able
to persist energetically in and lead the War of Resistance in North China within the
united front after the main force of the Eighth Route Army is redeployed to a
different region, it is imperative to organize immediately in the name of the Eighth
Route Army the following guerrilla corps:
1. Besides the Song Shilun contingent in northwestern Shanxi, organize a contingent in Pianguan, Hequ, Baode, Wuzhai, and the region to their north; a contingent in the region of Chunxian, Xinxian, and Ningwu to the south of Yanmenguan;
a contingent in the region of Yangqu, Jiaochen, and Wenshui; and a contingent in
the region of Fangshan, Linxian, and Lishi. All of them shall be entrusted to the
responsibility of He [Long], Xiao [Ke], and Guan [Xiangying], together with the
Provincial Committee in northwestern Shanxi and [Cheng] Zihua.
2. Organize a contingent in the region of Zhongyang, Shilou, and Yonghe in
southwestern Shanxi; a contingent in the region of Linfen, Xiaoyi, Fenxi, Linshi,
Zhaochen, Xixian, and Hongdong; and a contingent in the region of Xiangning,
Jixian, and Daning. All of them shall be entrusted to the responsibility of Chen
[Guang], Luo [Ronghuan], and [Yang] Shangkun, and the Provincial Committee.
3. Organize a contingent in the region of Taigu, Yuci, and Pingding of southeastern Shanxi; a contingent in the region west of Yuanshi, Jingchen, and Neiqiu;

a contingent in the region of Cixian, Wu'an, and Shexian; a contingent in the
region of Jinchen, Linchuan, and Xiuwu; a contingent in the region of Yangchen,
Jiyuan, and Huanqu; a contingent in the region of Xinyuan and Anze; and a contingent in the region of Yichen, Xinshui, and Jiangxian. All of them shall be entrusted to the responsibility of Liu [Bocheng], Xu [Xiangqian], Deng [Xiaoping],
Zhu Rui, and the Provincial Party Committee.
4. Organize several contingents to the east of the Beiping-Hankou railway line
and have Liu [Bocheng], Xu [Xiangqian], and Deng [Xiaoping] inform Chen
[Zaidao] and Song [Renqiong] and the local Party organization that will be responsible for them.
5. All divisions should speedily set up training courses for guerrilla cadres.
There should be at least a hundred trainees who will be transferred from the various units and guerrilla contingents.
6. The various contingents mentioned above shall each have at least a thousand
men, and each of them shall have one or two companies of the Eighth Route Army
with combat experience as the core, the balance being made up of local guerrillas
and new recruits.
7. If the aforementioned areas are the sectors in which friendly forces station
their troops, and it is temporarily not convenient for the Eighth Route Army to
send forces there, then these contingents should be organized in other areas for the
moment. In the future, when the situation permits and requires it, they shall then
move to the designated areas to engage in activities.
8. Military and political cadres should be allocated appropriately to the various
contingents, and once they have been set up, they should operate under the name
of the Guerrilla Contingent of the Eighth Route Army, and establish their prestige.

Mao Zedong Hu Fu [Liu Shaoqi]

--- Notes

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 207-9, where it is reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.