Telegram to Zhou Enlai[1]

(February 24, 1941)

(1) Li Changjiang has defected. Chen Yi has led the New Fourth Army in a punitive expedition against him,[2] capturing Taizhou on the 20th, taking several thousand prisoners and seizing several thousand rifles. Li has fled westward with several hundred men. Two detachments of the rebel forces have crossed over to our side. This should be widely publicized. (2) Li Xianzhou has attacked the New Fourth Army, capturing Guoyang and Mengcheng. Peng Xuefeng’s forces have broken up into small units and are continuing guerrilla warfare between the Guo River and the New Yellow River. (3) The open letter from the seven members of the Political Council can be published tomorrow, and a telegram should be sent to Hong Kong.

[1] This is the main content of Mao Zedong’s telegram to Zhou Enlai.

[2] Li Changjiang, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Guerrilla Forces in the Jiangsu-Shandong-Anhui Border Region of the Kuomintang Army, openly turned traitor on February 13, 1941. On February 18, the First Division of the New Fourth Army launched a campaign to suppress Li Changjiang’s forces.