(May 23, 1951)
Comrade Tan Zheng[1]:
Your telegram of May 17 has been received. (1) The military training policy for the various armies in South China[2] is correct. (2) I hope you can go to Guangzhou once more in the autumn to inspect the work of the various armies and the coastal defense work. When you go, it would be best to also find one or two senior cadres with combat experience in Korea to accompany you to Guangzhou, to deliver reports to the cadres and enhance military training and political work.

Mao Zedong
May 23

[1] Tan Zheng, then serving as Third Political Commissar of the Central-South Military Region.
[2] Refers to the military training policy for the various armies in South China proposed in Tan Zheng’s report to Mao Zedong dated May 17, 1951. The report stated that, considering our current troop training is strategic training, we must be mentally prepared, that is, before the enemy comes, concentrate time on urgently learning what must be learned well, so as to be prepared and avoid peril. Therefore, it is not appropriate to follow peacetime methods and teach step by step. The plan formulated by the Training Department of the Military Commission contains too much content and stipulates that it cannot be altered; if implemented as prescribed, it would be very difficult to concentrate time, important subjects would not have sufficient time to be taught thoroughly, and formalism could very easily arise. In view of the combat experience of the Volunteer Army in Korea, it is necessary to emphasize certain aspects of training in our army’s technical and tactical instruction, and we should not teach according to peacetime schedules and drill manual procedures.