(August 13, 1938)

Nie [Rongzhen] and Peng [Zhen]:

We received your telegram sent at 7:00 P.M. on the 8th.
The orientation according to which the main forces of the Song-Deng Column¹
step up their work and settle down in the present area of Pinggu, Zhao xian, and
Miyun before gradually developing toward the southeast is correct. But Song and
Deng must immediately send out about one battalion of forces, together with some
cadres, to Yutian, Fengrun, and Luan xian in the east to cooperate with the operations of the guerrillas that have risen up there, and to assist those guerrillas in
every possible way. For without the cooperation of a backbone detachment, those
guerrillas will face the danger of being weakened or even wiped out by the enemy.
We also want to inform you that as regards the Zhanggaofeng Incident,² it seems
that it will most likely be solved peacefully.

Mao [Zedong]
Hu [Fu] [Liu Shaoqi]
Wang [Jiaxiang]

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 361-62, where it is reproduced from a copy in the Central Archives.
1. The reference is to the Fourth Column of the Eighth Route Army, commanded by
Song Shilun, with Deng Hua as political commissar.
2. In late July and early August 1938, the Japanese Army engaged in provocations against
the Soviet Army at Zhanggaofeng, where the Chinese, Soviet, and Korean boundaries converged. After a forceful response from the Soviet Army, the Japanese were defeated and
sought peace. On August 10, an agreement was concluded in Moscow, and the two sides
immediately ceased fighting.