 He eventually joined the Songxian Pacification Force (SPF), an anti-bandit militia that mostly consisted of ex-bandits.Sun managed to rise to a minor command in the SPF, but he resumed banditry following the suicide of his superior Han Yukun in 1925, or after the SPF's crushing defeat at Xi'an against warlord Feng Yuxiang in 1926.In any case, Sun wanted to rejoin the armed forces.