Chapter 4 Be humble when dealing with all parties

(August 10, 1937) Comrade Xuefeng[1]: It is very comforting to know all the telegrams. A. Contact all parties. Under the general policy of actively promoting the war of resistance, we must have a humble attitude. We must not boast of the strengths of the Red Army, and we must not say that the Red Army will surely win the war against Japan. On the contrary, we should ask them about various situations, such as the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army, mountain warfare, Plain warfare and other situations that the Red Army has never been familiar with, so that the Red Army can have a basis and gradually overcome difficulties.We must not hide certain shortcomings of the Red Army that should not be concealed. For example, we can only fight guerrilla warfare, not positional warfare, only mountainous warfare, but not plain warfare. Concentrated command in campaign tactics has lost its strengths, and these should be emphasized.Based on the reasons for mountain warfare and guerrilla warfare, the Red Army demanded that the four corners of the borders of Ji, Cha[2], Shanxi, and Sui[3] be located in the flanks of the enemy advancing westward along the Pingsui Road and southward along the Pinghan Road. The attacking battle of the frontal friendly forces is coordinated with the strategic actions of the frontal friendly forces.The technology and equipment of the Red Army are very poor, and they must be made aware of them and supplemented according to the requirements of the five categories and nineteen kinds of items prescribed in the telegram yesterday, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve results in fighting a strong enemy.

B. Due to the urgent situation, the Red Army plans to go out without waiting for reorganization, and reorganize after arriving in Datong.Zhu and Zhou [4] flew to Beijing on the 9th, and dispatched immediately after receiving their call back.If they asked why it hadn't been adapted yet, they answered that it was because of the delay in Nanjing (no declaration, no decision on the political platform, no announcement of the headquarters, and no designation. The designation was only issued in the last few days, but the headquarters has not not appointed). C. The dispatch route, because there is no food for more than a thousand miles from Luochuan to Fugu, and there is no food for more than 800 miles north and south of Yan'an (the government's grain is bought from Shanxi and Xi'an), so it is absolutely impossible to go to northern Shaanxi and can only go to Hancheng Cross the river and pass through Pu County, Xiaoyi, Fenyang to Datong.Negotiations with Yan [5] on this point must be done.

D. The Taiyuan public office [6] will be opened immediately, and you will be the director. Mao Zedong August 10 Printed from transcripts kept at the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] Xuefeng, namely Peng Xuefeng (1907-1944), was born in Zhenping, Henan.At that time, he was appointed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to do united front work in Shanxi and other places. [2] Cha, referring to Chahar Province, see note [3] on page 5 of this volume. [3] Sui refers to Suiyuan Province, see note [4] on page 5 of this volume.

[4] Zhu, refers to Zhu De.Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai.They had already gone to Nanjing to attend a meeting to discuss national defense issues. [5] Yan, refers to Yan Xishan (1883-1960), a native of Hebian Village (now Dingxiang), Wutai County, Shanxi.At that time, he was the director of the Taiyuan Appeasement Office of the Kuomintang government. [6] Refers to the Shanxi Office of the Eighth Route Army.