On the Command and Organizational System
of the Eastern and Western Corps and Other
Questions
(October 15, 1947, 10:00 P.M.)
To Chen [Yi] and Su [Yu]:1
	 1.	 In our opinion it is absolutely essential for the East China Bureau to command all operations of the Eastern Corps under Xu [Shiyou] and Tan
[Zhenlin] as well as other East China troops, and to let [Rao] Shushi2 study
battle command. The defensive and counteroffensive deployments at this
time in Jiaodong were all highly appropriate, and after a certain amount of
time, [Rao] Shushi and Li Yu3 can be trained in military command; if you
have suggestions, raise them with Rao and Li. For your part, you should
concentrate your energy on commanding the Western Corps and directing
the operations of all armed forces in the region; mobilizing the ten million
people of that region; establishing and developing the Party and political
authority; planning for providing provisions to the troops; and other such
matters.
	 2.	 To outsiders, your troops are still called the East China Field Army, but
internally they belong to the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu [Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan]
organizational system in order to facilitate overall planning for troop supplies and local work. In all affairs concerning matters such as supplies for the
rear lines and dispatching local work cadres, you should respect the opinions
of Xu [Xiangqian], Teng [Daiyuan], and Bo [Yibo],4 reporting the situation
to them and asking for their instructions on how to go about things.

	 3.	 Because the three areas of Jiaodong, Bohai, and central Shandong are at this
point already able to be opened up, the Bohai armed units should develop
southward toward the Yellow River. The original decision will therefore
be changed, and although Bohai will still be under the jurisdiction of the
East China Bureau, as far as matters related to your supplies are concerned,
this area will continue to be included in the unified planning of the Handan
Bureau in order to avoid disputes.
	 4.	 The war situation may develop quickly; in the coming six months (from
October to March) all your columns will engage in operations between the
Grand Canal and the Huai River, and you should also prepare for recovery
of the area south of the Huai River by the former independent brigade of
that region. After six months (around April of next year), you must prepare to send one or two columns to the Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangxi (not FujianZhejiang-Jiangxi) Border Region. At that time, plan on Liu [Bocheng] and
Deng [Xiaoping]5 dispatching one or two columns to the Hunan-HubeiJiangxi border area. When you send troops to Anhui-Zhejiang-Jiangxi, plan
on one column being pulled from the four under Xu and Tan’s command to
fortify the troop strength of your Western Corps. This is an estimate, however. We must wait until that time to reconsider and then decide; for now, do
not notify them.
	 5.	 We have not received replies to many of the telegrams we have sent you, so
we do not know whether you received them or whether you agree with them.
Henceforth, when you receive a telegram from us, please send one in reply
stating your receipt of the telegram of such-and-such a day and such-andsuch a time, and also expressing your specific opinions about which aspects
of the telegram’s content can be carried out and which aspects do not suit the
circumstances and cannot be carried out.
Mao Zedong

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Notes

--- Notes

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 4, pp. 307–8, where it is reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript preserved in the Central Archives.

1.  Chen Yi was commander and political commissar of the East China Field Army, and
Su Yu was deputy commander of the East China Field Army.

2.  Rao Shushi was political commissar of the East China Military Region.

3.  Li Yu was deputy political commissar of the East China Military Region.

4.  Xu Xiangqian, Teng Daiyuan, and Bo Yibo were first deputy commander, second
deputy commander, and first deputy political commissar, respectively, of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu
(Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan) Military Region.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-47

5.  Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping were commander and political commissar, respectively, of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu Field Army.