To Peng Dehuai[1]

(April 2, 1940)

The current situation is quite serious. Chiang Kai-shek has made up his mind, that is, to carry out actual suppression of the Communists under the banner of resisting Japan. The greatest threats to us are at Suide and eastern Anhui. The objective of Chiang’s 90th Army is to forcibly cross the Yellow River and capture Suide. If the river defenses cannot hold, the link between the front and the rear will be severed, and Yan’an will be in danger. If eastern Anhui cannot be held, the forces in southern Anhui will be cut off, and the routes for the Eighth Route Army to advance into the borders of Hubei-Henan-Anhui and western Hubei-Henan will also be blocked. Therefore, the movements of Li Wen’s 90th Army and the offensive by Li Pinxian’s troops warrant serious attention. He Long and Guan Xiangying must prepare to use their main force to deal with Li Wen’s army, while simultaneously containing a possible southward move by Gao Shuangcheng and resisting surprise attacks by Japanese forces along the Tongpu and Fenli lines, who may exploit any weakness. At present, we feel a considerable shortage of troops, and I fear Chen Shiju’s detachment cannot be transferred eastward.