 Accounts of the size of the revolt varied widely, from 5,000 to over 10,000 men.Most of the rebels were armed with farming implements, bamboo spears, swords, wooden cannon, and hunting muskets.The rebels poured out of their small mountain villages, armed not only with weapons, but with banners and slogans; declaring "New Rule of Benevolence," and labeling the seized district office as the "Headquarters of the Revolutionary Army."