To Peng Xuefeng and Others[1]

(January 10, 1941)

You should, on the basis of the ten major reasons set forth in the Central Committee’s directive of December 25, conduct open propaganda and distribute it to the anti-communist troops. You should openly write letters to the commanders of the anti-communist troops, such as Tang Enbo, Li Xianzhou, and Li Pinxian, and have such letters openly printed and sent to the various anti-communist armies, so as to win them over to joint resistance against Japan and urge them to cease their anti-communist activities. If your propaganda work is done well, it can shake the morale of the officers and men of the anti-communist troops and delay the speed of their offensive. In your propaganda, adopt a policy of winning over all units; do not wound the feelings of their officers, and commend their past achievements in the War of Resistance. In units where propaganda work is weak, the leading cadres at all levels should personally take a hand and personally inspect the work to ensure that the wording is appropriate and the propaganda is effective. Seventy per cent of the effort to smash the anti-communist troops depends on propaganda.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram from Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and Wang Jiaxiang to Peng Xuefeng, Zhang Yunyi, Deng Zihui, Li Xiannian, and others on strengthening propaganda work against the anti-communist troops.