(March 19, 1939)
Comrade [Peng] Dehuai, and for the information of Zhu [De] and Yang [Shangkun]:

I have taken note of your telegram, and my reply is as follows:
1. It is quite correct to expand the army to the fullest extent possible. As for
laying the emphasis in consolidation upon North China, I have read all your plans,
and they are all correct. Development, on the other hand, should stress the five
provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Hubei, and for the moment
please pay special attention to the province of Shandong. In this province we already have a foundation, but we lack a leadership backbone, so when the enemy's
new offensive begins, please think about solving this problem of a leadership backbone. Northern Jiangsu should also be developed by southern Shandong. As for
the development of the three provinces of Anhui, Henan, and Hubei, Henan in
particular is the pivotal region in the whole country's protracted War of Resistance, and although it is not possible at present to achieve large-scale development, the greatest efforts should be made to prepare for it.
2. In the future for a certain period of time, cadres from Yan'an should be used
mainly in Central China, and preparations should be made to use some in the
northwest, some in the south, and some in the northeast. As for North China, the
main thing is to provide teachers and teaching materials.
3. It may be possible to ask our friends for help in finding personnel for the
munitions factory, but it is necessary to wait and see how the negotiations go. I am
afraid this may not be dependable, and we should mainly rely upon searching
within the country.
4. A production campaign is now being developed in the Border Region so that
it will be possible to be self-reliant and self-sufficient when times are most difficult.

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 173-75, where it is reproduced
from a copy in the Central Archives.


Cao Juru¹ is now in charge of the Central Committee's Finance and Economy Department and cannot be moved. Li Liuru² can be spared and sent to where you are,
but he is in poor health, and would not be able to go until he has had some treatment
and rest. Meanwhile I am also considering other candidates and will let you know
the results later.
5. It is quite right for the front to pay attention to banks and the collection of
taxes, but the fundamental solution lies in production. Please consider mobilizing,
within certain relatively stable areas, not only the popular masses but also the
organizations, schools, troops (as long as it does not interfere with work, study,
and combat), and that you yourselves should engage directly in production. The
rear area already has considerable experience and can serve as a reference for you.
6. For cadres in posts, study is very important, and it should become a movement (as long as it does not interfere with work and combat). There should be
organizations and methods to manage studying, and in relatively stable institutions a two-hour study regimen should be carried out. The Central Committee has
established a Cadre Education Department, and the rear area's experience can
serve as a reference for the front.
7. It is quite correct to avoid meeting Lu Zhonglin.3 The only effective way to
deal with such people is to stand one's ground and respond with a firm and uncompromising counterattack. The same method should be used to deal with Shen
Honglie in Shandong. Shen is now launching a fierce attack on us, so please be
sure to give him a firm counterattack.
8. The meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee, at which many important issues will be discussed, has been fixed for the end of April.5 General
Headquarters and the Northern Bureau have decided to send Zhu Rui to attend.
There is more than a month before the meeting; please consider the possibility of
making a trip to Yan'an on that occasion.

Mao Zedong

--- Notes

1. Cao Juru (1901-1981), a native of Longyan, Fujian, was then deputy head of the Department of Finance and Economy of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee.

2. Li Liuru was then chief secretary in Mao's office.

3. Lu Zhonglin (1884-1966), zi Ruibo, a native of Dingxian (now the city of Dingzhou)
in Hebei, had been an important military subordinate of Feng Yuxiang. In 1930 he broke
with Feng and went over to Chiang Kaishek. (Regarding Feng and his relations with Chiang
Kaishek, see the biographical note on p. 241 of Volume II of this edition, and Mao's letter
to him on pp. 460-461 of Volume V.) At this time he was commander-in-chief of the
Guomindang Army's Hebei-Chahar battle area, and governor of Hebei (then occupied by
the Japanese).

4. Shen Honglie (1882-1969), a native of Tianmen, Hubei, was then deputy commanderin-chief of the Guomindang Army's Shandong-Jiangsu battle area, commander-in-chief of
the Shandong guerrilla forces, and governor of Shandong. Shen had succeeded Han Fuju as
governor in 1938 when Han was executed for dereliction of duty.

5. The Politburo did not, in fact, meet until July 3, 1939. On this occasion, a declaration
on the first two years of the War of Resistance, revised by Mao, was adopted and published
on July 7. A longer and more important Politburo meeting took place from August 2 to 25.
For a brief account of these sessions, see the Introduction.

6. Zhu Rui (1905-1948), a native of Jiangsu, had joined the Chinese Communist Party
in 1924. He studied first at Sun Yatsen University and then at an artillery school in Moscow
from 1925 to 1929, and while there joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Returning to China, he went to the Jiangxi Soviet Republic and participated in the Long March.
At this time, he was secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee's Shandong
branch office and political commissar of the Eighth Route Army's First Column.