Editing Zhou Enlai (section)

==Resumption of Civil War==

===Military strategist and intelligence chief===
Following the failure of negotiations, the Chinese Civil War resumed in earnest. Zhou turned his focus from diplomatic to military affairs, while retaining a senior interest in intelligence work. Zhou worked directly under Mao as his chief aide, as the vice chairman of the Military Commission of the Central Committee, and as the general chief of staff. As the head of the Urban Work Committee of the Central Committee, an agency established to coordinate work inside KMT-controlled areas, Zhou continued to direct underground activities.<ref>Barnouin and Yu 108</ref>

A superior force of Nationalist troops captured Yan'an in March 1947, but Zhou's intelligence agents (primarily [[Xiong Xianghui]]) were able to provide Yan'an's commanding general, Peng Dehuai, with details of the KMT army's troop strength, distribution, positions, air cover, and dates of deployment. This intelligence allowed Communist forces to avoid major battles and to engage Nationalist forces in a protracted campaign of [[guerrilla warfare]] that eventually led to Peng achieving a series of major victories. By February 1948 over half the KMT troops in the northwest were either defeated or exhausted. On 4 May 1948, Peng captured 40,000 army uniforms and over a million pieces of artillery. By January 1949, Communist forces seized [[Beijing]] and [[Tianjin]] and were firmly in control of north China.<ref>Barnouin and Yu 110–116</ref>

===Diplomacy===
On 21 January 1949, Chiang stepped down as president of the Nationalist government and was succeeded by General [[Li Zongren]]. On 1 April 1949, Li began a series of peace negotiations with a six-member CCP delegation. The CCP delegates were led by Zhou Enlai, and the KMT delegates were led by Zhang Zhizhong.<ref name="Barnouin and Yu 117">Barnouin and Yu 117</ref>

Zhou began the negotiations by asking: "Why did you go to Xikou (where Chiang had retired) to see Chiang Kai-shek before leaving Nanjing?" Zhang responded that Chiang still had power, even though he had technically retired, and that his consent would be needed to finalize any agreement. Zhou responded that the CCP would not accept a bogus peace dictated by Chiang and asked whether Zhang had come with the necessary credentials to implement the terms desired by the CCP. Negotiations continued until 15 April, when Zhou produced a "final version" of a "draft agreement for internal peace", which was essentially an ultimatum to accept CCP demands. The KMT government did not respond after five days, signaling that it was not prepared to accept Zhou's demands.<ref name="BY118">Barnouin and Yu 118</ref>

On 21 April, Mao and Zhou issued an "order to the army for country-wide advance". PLA troops captured Nanjing on 23 April and captured Li's stronghold of [[Guangdong]] in October, forcing Li to go into exile in America. In December 1949, PLA troops captured [[Chengdu]], the last KMT-controlled city on mainland China, forcing Chiang to evacuate to [[Taiwan]].<ref name="BY118" />