Reply to Zhu De and Others[1]

(March 19, 1940)

Henceforth the Eighth Route Army shall firmly hold the line along Pingshun and the Zhang River, making no further concessions. Wei Lihuang[2] has expressed his wish to meet with Zhu and Peng; please consider selecting a location for talks with Wei. If this is decided, please comprehensively raise all issues—the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region, troop expansion and replenishment, increased funding, the New Army, Hebei, and the rash eastward offensive against the New Fourth Army—and entrust him to convey them to Chiang Kai-shek.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram from Mao Zedong and Wang Jiaxiang in reply to Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and Yang Shangkun.

[2] Wei Lihuang, then Commander-in-Chief of the First War Zone of the Kuomintang Army.