At Present, Only Defensive Warfare in Self-Defense Can Be Waged[1]

(November 13, 1940)

(1) At present, both politically and militarily, only defensive warfare in self-defense can be waged. (2) We can only rely on the existing troops and cannot hope for reinforcements from North China. (3) In the current negotiations in Chongqing, we must go to the utmost limit of forbearance and cannot take immediate action.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram from Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Wang Jiaxiang to Peng Xuefeng, with a copy to Liu Shaoqi, regarding how to deal with the friction instigated by the Kuomintang.