Plan to Surround Han Deqin and Shen Honglie
in Reprisal for Chiang Kaishek's Massacre
of the New Fourth Army in Southern Anhui

(January 13, 1941)

To Hu [Fu, i.e., Liu Shaoqi] and Chen [Yi]; Peng [Dehuai] and Zuo [Quan]; Zhu
[Rui]; Chen [Guang] and Luo [Ronghuan]; Ye [Ting], Xiang [Ying], and Yao [Rao
Shushi] (transmitted by Hu and Chen); Zhou [Enlai] and Ye [Jianying]:

1. We agree to the plan in the telegram of the 12th from Hu [Fu] and Chen [Yi]
that northern Jiangsu prepare to surround Han Deqin¹ and Shandong prepare to
surround Shen Honglie.² Preparations must be completed within ten days after
receipt of [this] telegram, and then orders must be awaited to attack. Zhu, Chen,
and Luo are responsible for Shandong, and Hu and Chen are in charge of northern
Jiangsu. This is in answer to Chiang Kaishek's plans to massacre ten thousand of
our men in southern Anhui.
2. Zhou and Ye are right now lodging a protest in Chongqing, and we are
sending out a public telegram of protest under the names of Zhu, Peng, Ye, and
Xiang.³ Ye and Xiang are expected to contact by telegram the troops encircled in
Maolin and tell them that, if breaking out of encirclement proves impossible, they
should hold out for another ten days, after which a way out might be found.
3. If Chiang Kaishek annihilates our troops in southern Anhui, we should wipe
out Han Deqin and Shen Honglie resolutely, thoroughly, and completely, putting
an end once and for all to the problem of Central China.
4. To meet any serious emergency, North China should speed up the organization of reserves.
5. To meet any serious emergency, our offices in Chongqing, Guilin, Xi'an,
and Luoyang must immediately prepare against attacks from Chiang Kaishek.
6. Open propaganda should be carried out regarding the Southern Anhui Incident, and deployments to wipe out Han and Shen should be kept strictly secret.

Mao [Zedong] Zhu [De] Wang [Jiaxiang]

Our source for this text is *Mao Zedong junshi wenji*, Vol. 2, pp. 610-11, where it is reproduced from Mao's handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.
1. Regarding Han Deqin, see the note to the text dated March 29, 1940.
2. Regarding Shen Honglie, see the relevant note to the text of March 19, 1939.
3. Refers to an open telegram dated January 13, 1941, signed by Zhu De, Peng Dehuai,
Ye Ting, and Xiang Ying that was published on January 16 in *Xin Zhonghua bao*.