Peng remained behind to guard Jinggangshan with a force of 800 soldiers but withdrew from the area after an attack by a Hunanese Kuomintang force of 25,000 soldiers. He joined Zhu and Mao in Ruijin in March. Although he had saved his force from destruction, he was criticized by Mao for withdrawing. Peng returned to Jinggangshan with a force of 1,000 men later that year amd occupied the area after the Kuomintang withdrew. In mid-1929, Peng's forces merged with the forces of two local bandit groups, but conflicts arose over supplies and the command structure, and both groups rebelled against Peng in July 1929. One of the bandit leaders was captured and executed by Peng, and the other committed suicide. The remaining forces were incorporated into Peng's unit and brought its strength up to 2,000 men. Peng then organized a series of increasingly-ambitious raids into southern Hunan throughout 1929 and 1930, captured an increasing amount of supplies, and attracted more recruits.