Yet even Xiang’s return could not compensate for the overwhelming strength of the Nationalist forces. Gu Zhutong’s attack led to the death or capture of 9,000 of Xiang’s troops.42 Xiang Ying himself was murdered on March 14. But the Nationalist military victory turned into a public relations firestorm. The immediate response from most outside observers was not that Communist troops had refused to obey orders, but rather that Chiang had treacherously turned on his allies in the hopes of defeating his domestic enemies, while ignoring the Japanese. On January 15 Mao sent a message to Zhou Enlai
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