Telegram to Tao Zhu [1] Regarding Unified Leadership in Completing the Tasks of Bandit Suppression, Land Reform, and Other Missions in Guangxi (January 30, 1951) Comrade Tao Zhu, with copy to the Guangxi Provincial Party Committee, the Central-South Bureau, and Ye Fang [2]: We have received your telegram of January 27 [3] and find the arrangements very appropriate.
Please implement them accordingly.
After the 45th Army is transferred in March, there will still be the 49th Army, the 21st Corps, and local troops remaining in Guangxi.
It is imperative to completely root out all bandit groups and underground elements, apprehend all bandit leaders, and confiscate all illegal firearms.
If there is a shortage of cadres, large numbers should be drawn from the 49th Army, the 21st Corps, and the local forces to work alongside local cadres under a responsibility system that divides the region into designated areas, with each team fully accountable for completing the entire set of tasks: suppressing and clearing out bandits; seizing weapons; capturing and executing bandit leaders, local tyrants, and secret agents; reducing rents and returning deposits; and finally distributing land, establishing local government, and organizing local armed forces.
Only when this comprehensive program has been fully carried out can the mission be considered complete.
To ensure the successful completion of this task, all military units must be placed under the unified leadership of the provincial and prefectural party committees, thereby achieving centralized leadership.
Comrade Zhang Yunyi [4] is currently in Guangzhou recuperating.
It is proposed that Tao Zhu serve as acting secretary of the provincial party committee; he should not return to Wuhan, or if he does, he should report briefly and then proceed immediately to Guangxi.
In any case, Guangxi is of paramount importance, and the work must be done well.
Whether the above proposal is suitable should be considered by the Central-South Bureau, which is requested to telegraph its decision.
Mao Zedong January 30 Based on the manuscript.

Notes [1] Tao Zhu was at the time a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the CPC’s Central-South Bureau and Director of the Political Department of the Central-South Military Region of the People’s Liberation Army, and was dispatched to Guangxi to assist in the bandit-suppression campaign. [2] “Ye” refers to Ye Jianying, who at the time was First Secretary of the South China Branch of the CPC Central Committee.
“Fang” refers to Fang Fang, who at the time was Third Secretary of the South China Branch of the CPC Central Committee. [3] This refers to Tao Zhu’s report dated January 27, 1951, concerning the deployment for bandit suppression in Guangxi, sent via the Central-South Bureau to Mao Zedong. [4] Zhang Yunyi was at the time Second Secretary of the South China Branch of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Guangxi Provincial Party Committee of the CPC.