On New Year’s Day, Zhu, Peng, Ye, and Xiang issued a protest telegram denouncing the encirclement of the New Fourth Army in southern Anhui, stating: “Our New Fourth Army headquarters and ten thousand troops in Jiangnan, acting under orders to move north, had advanced under the command of Ye Ting and others to the Maolin area south of Jing County when they were suddenly surrounded on all sides by over seventy thousand Nationalist troops. From the first day until the seventh, we fought bloody battles around the clock, sustaining heavy casualties and exhausting our ammunition and supplies.” Upon receipt of this telegram, those who heard it were appalled, and readers were outraged. Such actions—flagrantly violating military orders, flouting national law, engaging in fratricide, and undermining the nation’s strength—are truly anarchy personified!  Since the New Fourth Army was formally established under orders, it consisted of newly formed units equipped with extremely inadequate weapons and uniforms. Even after being dispatched to the front lines to confront powerful enemies, it repeatedly distinguished itself in combat. In recognition of its contributions to the War of Resistance, this unit ought to have been promptly supplied and reinforced, so as to become an elite force for resisting Japan and defending the country, thereby safeguarding the southeastern half of China. Instead, not only were reinforcements denied, but repeated orders were issued compelling the army to withdraw northward.  In order to preserve the overall situation and avert disaster,

Commander-in-Chief Zhu and others painstakingly persuaded the New Fourth Army’s southern Anhui contingent to comply with these orders and follow the route designated by Gu Zhutong, commander of the Third War Zone, moving northeast toward southern Jiangsu. Little did they realize that what was ostensibly an order to redeploy was, in fact, a trap designed to annihilate them en masse. As stated in the original telegram from Zhu, Peng, et al.: “Intelligence captured from the encircling forces reveals that this plan for total annihilation had been long-premeditated, conceived solely to catch us off guard, lure us into the trap, and then wipe us out. The superior’s directive explicitly called for the ‘complete roundup’ and the ‘live capture of Ye and Xiang.’” Furthermore, the telegram continued: “At the same time, preparations were underway nationwide for mass arrests, widespread killings, and coordinated attacks on all Eighth Route Army offices. In the Northwest, a vast defensive line akin to the Great Wall was being constructed; in central China, more than one hundred regular divisions—comprising some 276 separate units—were being mobilized for a full-scale offensive.”  It is thus evident that pro-Japanese conspirators and staunch anti-communist hardliners are perpetrating heinous crimes: fomenting civil war to sabotage the War of Resistance, sowing division to destroy national unity! He Yingqin, Bai Chongxi, and others, serving respectively as chief and deputy chiefs of staff of the Military Affairs Commission, had issued two successive telegrams demanding that the New Fourth Army’s headquarters and troops in southern Anhui withdraw northward. Yet the very day they began to obey these orders marked the moment the ambush was launched! To issue one set of commands ordering a retreat, only to follow it with another directing troops to attack those already retreating—what remains of the authority of such orders? Where lies the integrity of those who give them?  The Military Affairs Commission and Commander Gu Zhutong of the Third War Zone, having repeatedly ordered the New Fourth Army headquarters and its southern Anhui forces to withdraw northward and having specified southern Jiangsu as the designated route of march, saw precisely on the day these troops commenced their movement that seventy thousand Nationalist soldiers seized the opportunity to encircle them. With tactics so vicious, where, pray tell, is the “benevolence and righteousness” repeatedly invoked by He and Bai? When the New Fourth Army headquarters and its Jiangnan units were lured into the trap and subsequently encircled, the military authorities simultaneously issued an order for “total annihilation and the live capture of Ye and Xiang,” while publicly pledging that no obstacles would be placed in their path along the way. This duplicitous conduct, utterly inhumane, calls into question the very foundations of the state’s legal order and the credibility of the authorities themselves.  Alas, it is through orders—through military discipline—that countless evils throughout the world are perpetrated. Thus it becomes clear: those who violate orders are often the very ones who issue them; those who destroy the law are frequently its architects. Henceforth, the people and armed forces of the entire nation should be even more keenly aware that the lofty rhetoric about the inviolability of military decrees and the sanctity of national laws, so often espoused by these very individuals, serves merely as a pretext for self-serving, treasonous, and destructive schemes.  When Germany, Italy, and Japan accused Roosevelt of aiding Britain in violation of international law, Roosevelt declared openly in his address to the Seventy-Seventh Congress: “What the dictators call ‘international law’ is but a partial, one-sided construct, lacking any genuine spirit of mutual compliance; it has become nothing more than an instrument of oppression.” We might well borrow Roosevelt’s words to address those domestic autocrats and schemers who most revere him: “The ‘military orders’ and ‘national laws’ touted by these hypocrites are nothing but arbitrary fabrications, devoid of any true spirit of mutual respect or adherence. They serve solely as tools for suppressing and crushing dissent.” Dishonesty and self-interest are inherent traits of the class these individuals represent. One cannot reasonably expect moral virtue from those who possess none at all. As an ancient Chinese proverb puts it, “They speak of benevolence and righteousness, yet act like thieves and prostitutes”—a fitting description of such people. Their words and deeds, as Lu Xun observed, “stand in stark contrast to the ethical standards expected of Chinese citizens.” However, the consequences of their actions today extend far beyond matters of personal morality or reputation; they bear directly upon the destiny of the nation and its people. By plotting division instead of unity and inciting civil war rather than continuing the struggle against Japanese aggression, they are effectively aiding the enemy and betraying the Republic—a grave betrayal indeed!  We communists—the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army—will never tolerate such lawless outrages. Nor can the vast majority of our fellow citizens, who cherish truth, justice, and fairness, remain indifferent. We therefore call upon all patriots at home and conscientious individuals worldwide to unite with us in a common cause: to bring the masterminds behind these sinister plots to justice; to oppose the deployment of anti-communist forces in central China; to resist the impending massacre; and to strive together to save the Chinese nation from imminent peril. Darkness reigns.