Forwarding Telegrams from the Northeast Ninth Column and Liu-Tan
to Boost Morale and Strengthen Discipline
— Telegram to Lin Biao and Others¹
(January 21, 1949)

Lin, Luo, Liu, Tan:

We have received and reviewed the January 16 telegram from the Northeast Ninth Column and the January 19 telegram from Liu and Tan, which you forwarded today. We are greatly pleased. These two telegrams have been immediately forwarded to all Central Bureaus, Central Sub-Bureaus, Front Committees, and Military Regions, with instructions to disseminate them to subordinate units, so as to boost morale and strengthen discipline. All units that participated in the attack on Tianjin and demonstrated bravery in battle and good discipline shall be commended by general order, and our congratulations shall be extended to our troops.

Central Military Commission
January 21

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The Reorganization of the Enemy Troops in Beiping
Must Be Treated as a Major Task¹
(January 22, 1949)

Lin, Luo, Liu:

Your telegram of 21:00 on January 21² has been noted. (1) To enable the entire Northeast Army to immediately enter rest and reorganization after the resolution of the Beiping issue, so as to cope with the rapidly changing national situation, it is appropriate for the North China forces to undertake the Taiyuan operation. However, you must allocate a necessary number of artillery units to support them. (2) Regarding the more than 200,000 enemy troops in Beiping leaving the city for reorganization, you must instruct all corps and column commanders to treat this as a major task. The entire army must deal with this major event with tension, thoroughness, and under your unified command, achieving the goal of handling this matter satisfactorily. Under no circumstances must there be any attitude of underestimating the enemy or negligence.

Central Military Commission
04:00, January 22

¹ This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, addressed to Lin Biao, Commander of the Northeast Field Army; Luo Ronghuan, Political Commissar; and Liu Yalou, Chief of Staff.
² Refers to the telegram sent by Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and Liu Yalou to the Central Military Commission at 21:00 on January 21, 1949. The telegram stated: (1) To prevent the enemy troops in Beiping from rebelling, fleeing, or resisting orders after leaving the city, the North China Seventh Column has been ordered to advance toward Baoding, and our Tenth Column stationed at Langfang has been moved to Gu’an to insert itself between enemy units and divide them, so that we can resolve the enemy by force at any time. (2) The peaceful resolution of Beiping is likely achievable. Whether the Taiyuan operation should be undertaken by the Northeast forces or the North China forces, we request instructions from the Central Military Commission.