At present it is still advantageous for the East China Field Army to fight battles of medium scale[1]

(December 9, 1947)

Comrade Su Yu, and inform Liu and Deng[2]:

Your telegram of the morning of the 9th received. (1) The intention and disposition are very good. (2) At the present stage, it is still advantageous for the East China Field Army to fight battles of medium scale. If the enemy concentrates powerful corps to attack you, it is still advisable to evade them and seek mobility elsewhere.

The Military Commission

The evening of the 9th

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to Su Yu, Deputy Commander of the East China Field Army.

[2] Liu and Deng refer to Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping, who were then respectively Commander and Political Commissar of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army.