Telegram in Reply to Yang Chengwu, Tang Yanjie, Li Tianhuan, and Others[1]

(April 23, 1949)

The enemy at Datong should be dealt with by you. If the resolution of the Taiyuan situation does not require the full strength of your forces, you may dispatch one army to advance first and encircle Datong.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee in reply to Yang Chengwu, Tang Yanjie, and Li Tianhuan, with copies to Xu Xiangqian, Zhou Shidi, Luo Ruiqing, and the North China Bureau. Yang Chengwu, Tang Yanjie, and Li Tianhuan were then serving respectively as commander, deputy commander, and deputy political commissar of the 20th Corps.