Arrangements for Establishing the
Western Henan Base Area1
(October 14, 1944)
Zheng [Weisan], Li [Xiannian], Ren [Zhibin], and Chen [Shaomin]:
We received your telegram of September 29. (1) Two regiments as the first
detachment of the Eighth Route Army marching south led by Pi Dingjun
(commander-in-chief) and Xu Zirong (commissar) crossed the Yellow River north
of Xin’an one month ago. On September 30 they arrived in the area east and west
around the Dayudian and Qi mountains in the region of Dengfeng, Linru, and
Yuxian. They are engaging in the establishment of a base area and are also
operating in different areas in divided groups. There are still some follow-up
units that are crossing the river north of Xin’an and marching southward.
Guerrillas organized by local Party members are already operating in the
Luoyang, Yichuan, and Yiyang areas. The masses very much welcome the arrival
of our army in Henan. The situation with the enemy and the diehard elements is
still not very serious. (2) The Central Committee has decided to send Dai Jiying,
Wang Shusheng, Liu Zijiu, Chen Xianrui,2 and others to lead two veteran
regiments and a large number of cadres from northern Shaanxi to enter Henan to
operate there. They will build the Henan People’s Liberation Army and struggle
for the liberation of Henan. Wang, Dai, Liu, Chen, and others will depart from
Yan’an in a month. The troops that the Central Committee assigned to the Fifth
Division as well as a large number of cadres will also depart at the same time. (3)
The troops you sent to southern Henan should persist in their operations, set up
strongholds, develop local armed forces, and manage to establish contact with
Pi’s and Xu’s troops.

The Military Commission
Notes
Our source for this document is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 731–32, where it is reproduced from the
transcript of the document preserved in the Central Archives.
1. This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong on behalf of the Military Commission of the Central
Committee to Zheng Weisan, the commissar of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army, Li Xiannian, the
division commander, Ren Zhibin, their deputy commissar, and Chen Shaomin, the deputy secretary of the
Hubei-Henan-Anhui Border Region Party Committee.
2. Dai Jiying was at this time political commissar of the newly established Henan Military District of the
Eighth Route Army. Wang Shusheng was commander-in-chief, and Liu Zijiu was deputy commissar. Chen
Xianrui was at this time commander-in-chief and commissar of the Third Detachment of the Western Henan
Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Army.