(February 18, 1958)
One day, I gathered a few comrades from the Military Commission (Peng Dehuai, Tan Zheng, Su Yu, Huang Kecheng) [1] for a discussion. I posed a topic for them to study: can our armed forces be reduced to two million? Currently, we have three million; we could cut another million. The approach would be as follows: we need only thirty divisions at full strength, adopting the American method, with each division comprising twenty thousand troops—exceptionally full strength, rather than the current thirteen to fourteen thousand—creating large divisions. The other frameworks can all be preserved, but with more officers and fewer soldiers, emaciated and gaunt, each division having two small regiments. Reduce the total number to just two million, freeing up funds to develop a set of conventional equipment. The conventional equipment for one hundred divisions would cost around one billion yuan, spread over five years, allocating two hundred million yuan annually. If five years are insufficient, add another two years, making it seven years, with over one hundred million yuan each year. Additionally, allocate another sum of money to develop medium-range missiles, capable of striking one thousand five hundred to over two thousand kilometers. In future warfare, even if atomic bombs and missiles are banned, it will still be rifle against rifle, artillery against artillery. That is what we must fight with. If we could manufacture a type of artillery that can strike the enemy from one thousand five hundred to over two thousand kilometers away, how excellent that would be. Rifles are nominally said to have a range of two thousand meters, but in practice, their effective range is eight hundred meters.

[1] This is part of Mao Zedong’s second speech at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
[2] Peng Dehuai, then member of the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Minister of National Defense. Tan Zheng, then member of the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army. Su Yu, then member of the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army. Huang Kecheng, then Secretary-General of the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee and Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army.