As long as we have a mobile force of fifty thousand in hand, there will always be opportunities to annihilate the enemy[1]

(August 4, 1946)

Comrades Chen and Song:

(1) The decision for the Ye-Lai Column to move south[2] will not be changed. (2) Whether the Su Yu Group[3] should be deployed at this time has its own advantages and disadvantages; further consideration will be given before informing you. (3) With a mobile force of fifty thousand in your hands, as long as you are patient and not impetuous, you can always find opportunities to annihilate the enemy piecemeal. Apart from the two areas of Lingbi and Sixian,[4] where the enemy is dispersed and isolated, if the enemy at Shuanggou[5] advances further eastward, an opportunity for a good battle can be found. If you can fight three or four battles, each time annihilating two or three regiments of the enemy, the situation can be reversed. (4) What are the results of the attack on Sixian? (5) Recently, the sending and receiving of telegrams has been very slow. The telegram you sent on the 31st was only read and understood on the 3rd, and the two telegrams you sent on the 1st were only read and understood on the 4th.

The Military Commission
4th, 12:00–14:00

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, addressed to Chen Yi, Commander and Political Commissar of the Shandong Field Army, and Song Shilun, Chief of Staff.
[2] In July 1946, the Shandong Field Army decided that the 1st Column, led by Commander Ye Fei and Political Commissar Lai Chuanzhu, would, after completing its combat mission on the Jiaoji Railway, move south to northern Huai for operations according to the predetermined plan.
[3] The Su Yu Group refers to the Central China Field Army, with Su Yu as its commander.
[4] Lingbi and Sixian refer to Lingbi and Sixian in Anhui Province.
[5] Shuanggou is a town located in the northwest of Suining County, Jiangsu Province.