[I]
(September 21, 1950)
To Chen Geng, and inform the Central-South Bureau, the Guangxi Provincial Party Committee, and Wei Guoqing [2]:
Your telegram of Shenji received. (1) Annihilating eight hundred enemy troops and capturing much materiel is most gratifying. (2) The enemy’s attempt to reoccupy Dongxi gives us an opportunity for mobile warfare; your disposition is correct. If after waiting many days the enemy does not come, then you may consider the method of encircling Qixi to annihilate the reinforcing troops, possibly fighting a larger mobile battle. The enemy will certainly send reinforcements; the enemy still does not know our actual situation.
(3) The enemy’s intention is to vigorously contest the border region; this contest may extend for several months. If we can annihilate large numbers of the enemy’s effective strength in this contest, that would be very advantageous. Therefore, you must pay attention to training several thousand new soldiers so as to replenish vacancies at any time. You must stockpile grain sufficient for our army’s needs for several months. When grain is insufficient, the Guangxi Provincial Party Committee should be responsible for supplying and transporting it to friendly territory. Gasoline and other essential materials shall also be the responsibility of Guangxi, to be replenished as soon as shortages occur, to be directly discussed and arranged between Chen Geng and Yunyi [3]. (4) In preparation for expanding
the artillery, more deputy positions should be assigned within the existing artillery units, learning while following the battle, so that the principle is that our side can promptly use any artillery pieces captured in each engagement (as long as there are shells). (5) Holding prisoners for long periods is very costly, and deporting them to Europe is also very troublesome. Please discuss with Hu and Wu [1] whether, after a short period of training (for example, two months), they can be repatriated to the enemy side, so as to expand our influence and disintegrate the enemy forces. Even if such repatriated prisoners take up arms again, their combat effectiveness will certainly be greatly reduced, which is conducive to capturing their weapons. Repeating this many times can create a trend of disintegration within the enemy army. The prisoners must be kept within Vietnamese territory; have Guangxi send grain over. Under no circumstances should prisoners be sent to Guangxi; we have already informed you of this by telegram previously.
The Military Commission
September 21
[1]
Hu refers to Ho Chi Minh, then President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Wu refers to Vo Nguyen Giap, then Minister of National Defence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnamese People’s Army.

--- Notes

[1]
This was a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People’s Government, addressed to Chen Geng, Deputy Commander of the Southwest Military Region of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Commander of the Yunnan Military Region.
Chen Geng: At that time, he was assigned to Vietnam, assisting the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Communist Party and the General Headquarters of the Vietnamese People’s Army in organizing and commanding the Border Campaign against the invading French forces, in his capacity as a representative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
[2]
Wei Guoqing, at that time serving as Head of the Chinese Military Advisory Group to Vietnam.
[3]
Yunyi, namely Zhang Yunyi, at that time serving as Commander and concurrently Political Commissar of the Guangxi Military Region of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.