To Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying About
Negotiating with Chiang Kaishek an
Immediate Ceasefire and
Lifting of the Siege
(January 14, 1941)

1. We have read [your] report of the 13th and have passed it on to Ye [Ting]
and Xiang [Ying].
2. The question now is not which route to take but, rather, a question of saving
lives. If the attacks are not halted, the whole army will be annihilated. Please ask
Chiang [Kaishek] immediately to order a ceasefire and a lifting of the siege.
3. Because he was unable to break out from under siege, Xiang [Ying] has
returned to the ranks and is resolved to cast his lot with the whole army, live or die.
4. It is Fu Qiutao's two regiments that have broken through, but in fact they
have not broken out of the larger encirclement lines. The main forces under Ye,
Xiang, and Yao [Rao Shushi] are still where they were in Maolin, besieged by tens
of thousands of troops. They have been in bloody battle for eight days, and the
situation is extremely dangerous.

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 6, p. 277, where it is reproduced
from Wannan shibian.