Letter to Deng Xiaoping [I] on the Question of Conducting the CMC Meeting Effectively
(June 7, 1958)
Comrade Xiaoping:
During June and July, you should attend to two matters:
(1) The layout of the Second Five-Year Plan, as you yourself have proposed; (2) assisting Comrade Dehuai121 in ensuring that the military conference131~ is conducted successfully. The key lies in this month alone: it would be advisable to consult every three days with Peng and a few other comrades. We must seize hold of major issues and carry them forward—quickly, well, and economically.
Mao Zedong
4:00 A.M., June 7
At the military conference, you should prepare to deliver a speech; the appropriate moment would be toward the end.
[l]
Deng Xiaoping,
at that time General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Vice Premier of the State Council, and member of the CPC Central Military Commission.
[2]
Dehuai,
i.e., Peng Dehuai, who at the time was a member of the CPC Central Military Commission, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Minister of National Defense.
[3]
Refers to the ongoing Expanded Meeting of the Central Military Commission. This meeting was held in Beijing from May 27 to July 22, 1958. It discussed the current situation, national defense work, and future principles for building up the armed forces.