The enemy is massed and difficult to engage, but with patience there will always be opportunities to destroy them. In the vast areas south of the Jiaozhou–Jinan Railway, we can continue to lure the enemy deeper, allowing them to occupy Laiyang, Qiangshan, Yishui, and other counties, thereby trapping them in an extremely precarious situation. Only then should we launch our decisive blow; it will not be too late. The key is this: first, we must exercise great patience; second, we must concentrate the maximum available forces; and third, we must avoid alerting the enemy’s rear prematurely. At present, the enemy is in a hurry, but we need not be. In all operations, we should not base our plans on just one possible scenario, but on two. While the situation remains uncertain, our main force should be positioned in a location that enables us to respond effectively to either possibility. May 1947