December 17, 1948 To General Du Yuming, General Qiu Qingquan, General Li Mi, and the corps, division, and regimental commanders of the Qiu–Li Corps: You have now reached a dead end. The Huang Wei Corps was completely annihilated on the night of the 15th, and the Li Yannian Corps has already turned south in retreat. There is no hope of linking up with them. Do you intend to break out? All around you are People’s Liberation Army forces; how could you possibly break through? What results have your attempts at breakout yielded these past few days? Even your aircraft and tanks are of no avail. We have far more aircraft and tanks than you do. And then there are our mortars and explosives—what people call “earth planes” and “earth tanks.” Are not these ten times more formidable than your so-called “foreign planes” and “foreign tanks”? Your Sun Yuanliang Corps has already been destroyed. Of the two corps that remain, more than half your troops have either been killed or captured. Although you have forcibly conscripted into your ranks many civilian functionaries, idlers, and young students brought from Xuzhou, how could such personnel possibly fight? Over the past dozen days, under our successive encirclements and relentless blows, your positions have steadily shrunk until you are confined to a tiny pocket no more than a dozen Chinese miles across. With so many men crowded together, a single shell from us can mow down scores of your soldiers. Your wounded and the families accompanying the army are suffering terribly and crying out in anguish. Your rank-and-file troops, as well as many officers, are thoroughly weary of fighting. As deputy commanders-in-chief, corps commanders, and division and regimental chiefs, you ought to show compassion for the feelings of your men and their families, to cherish their lives, and to seek an early way out for them, rather than ordering them to make further futile sacrifices. At present, Huang Baitao has been wiped out, Li Yannian is fleeing toward Suzhou, and we can concentrate several times our usual strength to deal with you. We have been engaged in this campaign for only forty days, yet you have already lost ten divisions under Huang Baitao, eleven under Huang Wei, four under Sun Yuanliang, four under Feng Zhijun, two under Sun Liangcheng, one under Liu Ruming, one in Suzhou County, and one in Lingbi County—a total of thirty-four full divisions. Except for He Jifeng and Zhang Kexia, who led three and a half divisions in revolt; Liao Yunzhou, who led one division in revolt; Sun Liangcheng, who surrendered with one division; and Zhao Biguang and Huang Zihua, each of whom led half a division to surrender, all the remaining seventeen and a half divisions have been completely annihilated by our forces. You have personally witnessed the fate that befell the Huang Baitao, Huang Wei, and Sun Yuanliang Corps. You should follow the example of General Zheng Dongguo in Changchun, as well as that of Colonel Sun Liangcheng, Brigadier General Zhao Biguang, and Brigadier General Huang Zihua: immediately order the entire army to lay down its arms and cease resistance. Our command can guarantee the safety of your senior officers and all ranks. This alone is your only path to survival. Ponder this carefully: if you believe it to be the right course, then act accordingly. If you still wish to fight a little longer, go ahead—but in the end you will inevitably be defeated. Headquarters of the Central Plains People’s Liberation Army Headquarters of the East China People’s Liberation Army
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December 17


People’s Daily, November 21, 1948: The Central Plains and East China Command Urges Du Yuming and Others to Surrender Without Delay