1 Chairman Mao’s Order to Advance Nationwide
At the Sixth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee, Chairman Mao Zedong and Commander-in-Chief Zhu De issued an order to the People’s Liberation Army on April 21, 1949. (Xinhua News Agency, Peiping, April 21) The order reads as follows:

To Comrades Zhang Zhizhong, Zhang Zongxun, and Zhao Shoushan of the First Field Army; to Comrades Liu Bocheng, Deng Xiaoping, and Zhang Jichun of the Second Field Army; to Comrades Chen Yi, Su Yu, Tan Zhenlin, and others of the Third Field Army; to Comrades Lin Biao and Luo Ruiqing of the Fourth Field Army; and to Comrades Xu Xiangqian, Zhou Yiqing, and Luo Rui in the Taiyuan Front Command: To all commanders and soldiers of the various field armies, and to all comrades in the guerrilla zones of the South:

The Domestic Peace Agreement, drafted after prolonged negotiations between the delegation of the Communist Party of China and that of the Nanjing Nationalist Government, has been rejected by the latter. The refusal stems from the fact that the leaders of the Nanjing Nationalist Government remain under the command of U.S. imperialism and Chiang Kai-shek, seeking to obstruct the advance of the Chinese people’s liberation cause and to prevent the peaceful resolution of domestic issues.

The eight articles and twenty-four clauses of the agreement, negotiated by both delegations, embody a spirit of leniency toward war criminals and provide for the reorganization of Nationalist army officers and men on democratic principles. It also stipulates the transfer of all powers from the Nanjing government and its subordinate administrative organs to the people’s authorities. These provisions are entirely in the national and popular interests. Nevertheless, the reactionary forces of the Kuomintang have chosen to reject this agreement, demonstrating their determination to carry their counterrevolutionary war to the bitter end. Their earlier proposal for peace talks was merely a ruse to buy time, allowing them to regroup and launch a renewed offensive against the revolutionary forces.

Moreover, the Nanjing Li Zongren administration’s alleged acceptance of the Communists’ eight peace conditions as a basis for negotiation was nothing but a sham. For if they acknowledged the need to punish war criminals, to reorganize all reactionary Nationalist forces on democratic lines, to assume control over the Nanjing government and its subordinate bodies, and to accept the other fundamental terms, there could be no legitimate reason to refuse the specific measures—so generous in nature—that were formulated on that very foundation.

Under these circumstances, we hereby issue the following orders:

1. Press forward with unwavering resolve. Annihilate without quarter all reactionary Nationalist forces within China that dare to resist. Liberate the entire nation and safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Chinese state.

2. Pursue with equal vigor the apprehension of all incorrigible war criminals. Wherever they may flee, they must be brought to justice and punished according to law. Special attention shall be given to capturing the chief culprit, Chiang Kai-shek.

3. Proclaim the Domestic Peace Agreement, together with its final revised text, to every local Nationalist government and military clique. Those who are willing to cease hostilities and resolve their differences peacefully may enter into regional agreements with you based on the essence of this final revision.

4. Once the People’s Liberation Army has encircled Nanjing, should the Li Zongren government still be in place and express a willingness to sign the Domestic Peace Agreement, we shall grant it one last opportunity to do so.

Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Revolutionary Military Commission
Zhu De, Commander-in-Chief of the People’s Liberation Army
April 11, 1949