Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270
General Chou En-lai to General Marshall
My Dear General Marshall: I beg to inform you that I have decided to send General Wang Shih-ying, Deputy Chief-of-Staff of the Eighteenth Group Army to Hsuchow tomorrow on your plane.
From the latest report I have received here (dated 17 January) fierce fighting was still going on at Kwangshan in southeast Honan. Four government armies, the 41st, 47th, 66th and 72nd Armies are massed in this small sector. I am very much afraid that if the hostilities are not checked at once, serious consequence might ensue. Consequently I find it imperative that a team should immediately be dispatched to that particular area, either by the Executive Headquarters or by the group due in Hsuchow or directly from Chungking. As you have always contributed your best efforts to the peace in China, I feel confident that you will decide what is the most appropriate action to be promptly taken on this matter.
Anxiously awaiting your reply,
Yours sincerely,