Su Yu and his political commissar Tan Zhenlin (谭震林) were concerned about the next move their comrades would make, and from September 5 to September 7, 1946, they had sent four telegraphs to Chen Yi, strongly recommending that his Communist force from Shandong should remain in Huaiyin and Shuyang (沭阳) regions so that the Communists could concentrate their forces to ensure victories. On September 7, 1946, Chen Yi personally reached Huai'an to discuss the situation with Deng Zihui (邓子恢) and Zhang Dingcheng (张鼎丞), the Communist party bosses in Jiangsu and central China, and reached the following conclusions: The Communists needed several victories badly and it was possible to achieve victories in Huaibei, so in September and October, Communist forces in Huaibei would attempt to alter the situation for the better. On the same day, the Communist force from Shandong under the command of Chen Yi received order to move to regions including Si (泗) County, Suqian (宿迁) and Shuyang (沭阳) to defend off the possible Nationalist attack on Shuyang (沭阳) from Suqian (宿迁), or the possible Nationalist attack on Huaiyin from the town of Oceanic River (Yang He Zhen, 洋河镇), and the troops began their new deployment on September 8, 1946.