On July 22, 1928 Peng's forces of approximately 2000 men occupied Pingjiang County and arrested and executed the county magistrate and over 100 landlords and local militia commanders. On July 23, Peng declared the establishment of the "Hunan Provincial Soviet Government" and formally aligned himself with Mao and Zhu. On July 29 Peng's former superior, General Ho Chien, attacked Peng's forces and inflicted heavy casualties. By September, Peng's forces were driven into the mountains, and by October, only several hundred men had remained. Peng abandoned his bases and left to join Mao and Zhu at their base in the Jinggang Mountains. Peng's forces successfully joined Mao and Zhu in November 1928. Some of Peng's subordinates in the rebellion survived and became important military figures themselves, including generals Huang Kecheng and Peng Shaohui.