The position of Governor of Paraguay still sat vacant. While the Viceroy of Peru selected a favored candidate whom he believed could restore order to the province, he was unknowingly pre-empted by the King, who selected Agustín de Ruyloba to be the new Governor of Paraguay. While Ruyloba was given a force of 300 soldiers by Governor Zavala in Buenos Aires, he left it behind, choosing to believe the promises the Paraguayans sent of their loyalty to the King. He arrived in Asunción, was accepted by the cabildo as the new governor, and declared in a speech that the establishment of the "Junta Gobernativa" had been treason, and anyone attempting to revive it would be publicly executed. Ruyloba waited three weeks assessing the situation, then began to dispense the justice that the Viceroy had ordered. All elections to the cabildo since 1730 were declared invalid, and the cabildo and leadership of the militia was purged. Ruyloba also began preparations for the return of the Jesuits to their college in Asunción. This was acting far too confidently and fast for the citizens of Asunción; Ruyloba's thin support as governor collapsed, and the comuneros began to rally in the countryside again, with Ruyloba largely oblivious. When Ruyloba learnt about the comunero army, he rallied the Asunción militia to ride and meet it, but found his own army deserting him en masse, unwilling to fight their countrymen. Ruyloba met with the rebel leaders, and was advised to agree to at least some changes by the priest Arregui, known to be sympathetic to both sides. Ruyloba refused to make any concessions. For honor's sake, Ruyloba still took the field with his pistol afterward, despite having almost his entire army desert, and was killed in a brief battle with the rebels.