Questions on Setting off for Laiwu and
Xintai to Fight
(February 7, 1947)
To Chen [Yi], Su [Yu], and Tan [Zhenlin]:1
It has been confirmed that the Twelfth Army has occupied Laiwu. Are the
Seventy-third Army and the entire Forty-sixth Division advancing toward Xintai?
How many days do you need to set off from your present location to reach Laiwu
and Xintai to fight? Are you able to move in a concealed fashion without revealing
your position? Moreover, will you be able to wipe out the enemy forces in Laiwu
and Xintai simultaneously, or will you first strike Laiwu and then Xintai without
allowing the Twelfth Army to escape? We await word on the above points.
The Military Commission
Our source for this telegram is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 3, p. 662, where it is
reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.
1.  Mao Zedong drafted this telegram on behalf of the Central Military Commission.
Chen Yi was commander and political commissar of the East China Field Army, Su Yu was
deputy commander, and Tan Zhenlin was deputy political commissar.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-275