Circular from Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and
Wang Jiaxiang Concerning the
Circumstances of Chiang Kaishek's
Orders to Attack Us in All War Zones

(January 18, 1941)

1. Chiang Kaishek has declared: "Zhu [De] and Ye [Jianying] have not obeyed
the orders to move the troops under their command, so we should combine the
forces of the Party, the government, and the army and compel them to submit.
Only we must prevent these forces from fleeing helter-skelter toward the Dabie
mountains and western Henan, which would upset the overall situation. We should
stay clear of the difficult and cope with the easy, stay clear of the main force and
strike at the weak points, and find opportunities to destroy them," and so on.
2. He Yingqin has declared: "The New Fourth Army south of the Yangzi, defying orders, has not moved northward, and Commander Gu [Zhutong] has received
orders to send troops to destroy it altogether. It is estimated that more than ten
thousand have been killed and more than two thousand captured. Ye Ting, commander of said army, was wounded, and Xiang Ying, its deputy army commander,
killed in battle. Strict defense should be mounted against the alien army's retaliating from Shaanxi and Shanxi," and so on.
3. Chiang has ordered all war zones to start an extermination campaign [against
us]. Li Zongren has appointed Tang Enbo commander-in-chief of the northern
Huaihe zone, Li Pinxian commander-in-chief of the southern Huaihe zone, Wang
Zhonglian commander-in-chief of the Central Hubei zone, and Feng Zhi'an¹ commander-in-chief of the western Xiangyang zone, and ordered them to start attacking and to finish up within two months.

Our source for this text is *Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan*, Vol. 6, p. 287, where it is reproduced
from *Wannan shibian*.
1. Regarding Feng Zhi'an, see above the text of November 4, 1940.