To Chen Yi and Others[1]

(May 5, 1941)

There are major contradictions between Chiang Kai-shek and the Guangxi clique regarding defense zones in central China, each seeking to place the other in dangerous areas while positioning themselves in advantageous ones. According to Tang Enbo, he has received orders from Chiang that his group’s area of responsibility is designated as the region north of the Huai River, east of the Beiping-Hankou Railway, south of the Yellow River, and west of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway. This also shows that Chiang’s intention to attack us has not died; without a large-scale "mopping-up" operation by the enemy, he will not let go. Since the signing of the Soviet-Japanese treaty, the Kuomintang has been distressed and wavering, and the Guangxi clique also feels there is no way out. According to news from Chongqing, Bai Chongxi is very distressed, saying that Chiang Kai-shek "has no determination to oppose the Communists, nor does he have determination to make peace with the Communists." Recently, there has been considerable estrangement between Bai and Chiang.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram from Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Wang Jiaxiang, and Ye Jianying to Chen Yi and Liu Shaoqi, with information sent to Peng Dehuai and Zuo Quan, regarding the movements of the Kuomintang army in central China and the contradictions between Chiang Kai-shek and the Guangxi clique.