 The Nationalists had neither sufficient troops nor enough transportation assets to effectively assume control of the previously Japanese-occupied region of China, and they could not spare enough forces to hold the city long enough for reinforcements to arrive.The Nationalists at Siping recruited bandits in the region, including members from the Good Under the Heaven (天下好) and Flying Over the Grass (草上飞) gangs, to secure the local garrison.Enlisting the gangs angered the local populace, which already blamed the Nationalists for losing the region to the Japanese invaders.