Telegram to Nie Rongzhen[1]

(July 5, 1946)

We approve your plan to attack Datong.[2] Instruct Zhang, Luo, and Yang[3] to plan meticulously, prepare fully, and resolutely capture it. At the same time, prepare to annihilate the troops that Fu Zuoyi sends to attack us.

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[1] This is the main content of a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China and addressed to Nie Rongzhen.

[2] On June 24, Nie Rongzhen and Liu Lantao telegraphed the Central Military Commission, suggesting: "If politically permissible, it would be advantageous in terms of procedure to first capture Datong, and then sweep southward along the Tongpu Railway."

[3] Zhang, Luo, and Yang refer to Zhang Zongxun, Luo Ruiqing, and Yang Chengwu.