To He Long and Guan Xiangying[1]

(April 3, 1940)

The main scheme of Li Wen’s 90th Army is to cross the river, seize Suide, threaten Yan’an, and sever communications between the Northwest and North China. It is estimated that when this army crosses the river, Gao Shuangcheng may move south to attack Suide and Mizhi, and the Japanese aggressors will certainly exploit the opportunity to strike northwestern Shanxi. Therefore, please consider: (1) How to deploy forces on three fronts: resisting Li, guarding against Gao, and fighting the Japanese. (2) Whether the total number of existing troops is sufficient to cope with the grave situation. (3) Whether the eastward transfer of Chen Shiju’s detachment would result in a shortage of forces. (4) How to resolve the lack of mobile forces in Wang Zhen’s brigade. (5) The defense arrangements for the river and the unified command of operations by Wang Zhen shall be your responsibility. (6) Whether it is necessary to transfer some units back from east of the railway to resolve the shortage of forces. Please consider thoroughly and reply by telegram.

[1] This is the main content of Mao Zedong’s telegram to He Long and Guan Xiangying.