A new invasion determined upon.... comparison of Japan and Korea.... Japanese scheme to get Admiral Yi into danger.... Admiral Yi degraded.... second invasion.... Choryung Pass fortified.... Chinese give aid.... Admiral Yi’s successor a failure.... great naval victory for the Japanese.... Admiral Yi reinstated.... siege and fall of Nam-wun.... Korean naval victories.... Admiral Yi’s policy.... Japanese advance checked.... rejoicing in Seoul.... siege of Ul-san.... siege raised.... Roman Catholic missionaries.... the Japanese army.... the “ear and nose mound”.... number of Chinese.... a Japanese settlement.... Chinese admirals.... Admiral Yi’s diplomacy.... Gen. Yang Ho recalled.... the King accused.... the defense.

We have now reached the halfway point between the two invasions, or rather between the two parts of the double invasion. Hideyoshi was still furious over the failure of his great plan of invading China, and he must needs find some way to vent his spleen. He determined upon a second invasion of Korea, not this time with a view to the invasion of China but with the more modest desire to punish Korea, though what Korea had done to deserve punishment it would be hard to say. To be sure she had proved an obstacle to his vaulting ambition, for had Hideyoshi’s original army sailed straight for China instead of landing at Fusan, it probably would have overthrown the Chinese capital. We must notice the changed conditions which existed between the two countries. Korea had now experienced the worst possible at the hands of the Japanese and knew what to expect. Their soldiers had felt the prick of Japanese swords and had in turn tasted the delights of victory. That terrible glamor which surrounded the dreaded islanders upon their first appearance had worn off and some sort of equality had been effected between them. The Koreans had meanwhile become possessed of firearms and were measurably skilled in their use. They had learned never to trust themselves to open battle when geurilla warfare was feasible. They had demonstrated their great superiority on the sea in the person of the Admiral Yi. When therefore we remember that the Japanese had to leave their base of supplies and live on what they could forage in the peninsula, it appears that in spite of their prowess they had not much advantage over the Koreans. But before making this second descent upon the shores of Korea it was necessary for the Japanese to get the redoubtable Admiral Yi Sun-sin out of the way. No fleet from Japan would risk an encounter with him in his “Tortoise Boat.” The Japanese had seen how the mutual jealousies of the Koreans worked in their favor and they determined to use this in getting Admiral Yi removed. So one day a Japanese named Yo-si-ra made his appearance at the camp of Gen. Kim Eung-su, saying that he was tired of being a Japanese and that he wanted to become a Korean. He dressed in Korean clothes and kept going back and forth between the Japanese and Koreans, giving the latter what seemed to be much valuable information. He seemed to be devoted to the Korean interests. One day he came in a state of great excitement and said that the Japanese General Kato was coming to Korea with a great fleet and that, as he was to pass a certain island off the coast, Admiral Yi ought to be sent to lie in wait there and drive the invading fleet back or to sink it. So Gen. Kim wrote to the king about it and asked for orders. The king, trusting in the prowess of Admiral Yi, gave his consent; but when that officer received these orders he promptly replied that it was a trick to entrap him and thus clear a way for a descent upon the mainland of Korea. He therefore declined to run the risk, especially as the place mentioned was studded with sunken rocks and was specially dangerous for navigation. But the Japanese Yo-si-ra kept urging Gen. Kim to see to it that the plan was carried out and at last the General wrote to the king saying that Admiral Yi declined to go. As may be supposed Admiral Yi had enemies at court who could not let such an opportunity pass of getting him into trouble. Consequently the iniquitous decree went forth that Admiral Yi be seized and brought to Seoul and that Wun Kyun be put in his place. The king intended to put Admiral Yi to death, but one of the officials urged his former services in palliation of his present offense and so the punishment was commuted to loss of position alone. So it was that Admiral Yi, the best soldier that Korea contained and to whom the king owed his crown twice over, was degraded to the ranks and became a common soldier. But most remarkable of all, he made no complaint, but went quietly about his work as if nothing had happened.

In the first moon of the year 1597 the Japanese fleet set sail from Japan. This army was led by Kato and Konishi although the nominal commander in chief was a lad of seventeen named Hideyaki. It is said that it took a thousand boats to bring the army across the straits. Had Admiral Yi Sun-sin been at his old post this fleet would never have touched keel on the Korean coast but as it was there was no difficulty, and the entire army landed safely at So-sang Harbor and immediately threw up fortifications and went into camp.

The first thought of the Koreans was to fortify Cho-ryung Pass the one break in the mountain chain which the Japanese must pass if they wished to march on Seoul. Gen. Kwun Ryul with 23,000 men and other generals with troops hastily gathered from various districts hastened to that important pass and put the fortifications in good order, and the king forthwith sent Kwun Hyup as envoy to Nanking to implore the intervention of China. And now we see the evil results of Hideyoshi’s ill-treatment of the Chinese and Korean envoys in Japan; for instead of making the Koreans send time and again asking for help the Emperor was eager to send troops into the peninsula to avenge himself upon the Japanese. The Chinese army was put in charge of three men: Gen. Yang Ho with rank of Military Commissioner, Gen. HyÖng Ka as general-in chief and Admiral Ma GwiMa Gwi as commander of all the naval forces. Under these were Generals Yang Wun, O Yu-ch’ung, U Pak-yong, Chin U-ch’ung, So Eung-gung, Chin Hyo and Tong Han-yu. Gen. Yang Ho came no further than P’yung-yang, his duties not requiring his presence on the field of battle. Admiral Ma Kwi and all the others came on to Seoul. From that point they branched out in several directions, one going to Nam-wun in Chul-la province, another to Song-ju in Kyung-sang Province, another to Chun-ju, Chul-la Province, and another to Ch’ung-ju in Ch’ung-ch’ung Province.

Admiral Wun Kyun, who had supplanted Yi Sun-sin, went to Han-san where Admiral Yi had worked so diligently to build barracks with the proceeds of salt manufacture. His first work was to overthrow all the rules and regulations which his predecessor had so wisely promulgated. He then drove away all who had been at all intimate with the former admiral, who was now a common soldier under Kwun Ryul. He then built a paling about the council-hall that Yi Sun-sin had built and there he housed his harem and spent his time in revelry and feasting. He would frequently have innocent men called up and severely punished for mere amusement. And thus he soon alienated the good will of all the troops stationed there.

But Kato, the astute Japanese general, through his tool Yo-si-ra, kept at Gen. KimKim, urging him to have a fleet sent to intercept a fleet of Japanese boats. He named a day on which the Korean fleet would be sure to intercept a fleet of the enemy. At last the order was given for Admiral Wun Kyun to carry out this manoeuvre and though he had no stomach for the enterprise he could not well demur, for this was the very thing that had cost Admiral Yi his position. So he got his boats together and sailed out to Chul-yung Island off Fusan. But a strong breeze sprang up and the sea was rather rough and in the darkness of night the Korean fleet became scattered. The next day the larger part of them rendezvoused at Ka-dok Island where they unexpectedly met the Japanese fleet and were vigorously attacked. Almost immediately all Admiral Wun’s forces deserted him and his only recourse was flight. Beaching his boat on Ch‘il-ch‘un Island he landed and drew about him what remnants of his force he could find. When Gen. Kwun Ryul heard of this he sent a stern order demanding that the admiral come out and fight. That valliantvalliant man first filled himselfhimself with wine then sallied forth only to be deserted again by his men. So the doughty admiral again ran his boat aground and took to his heels. He was so fat however that he could not run far, so he sat down under a tree to get his breath. There the Japanese overtook him and carried away his head in triumph. The second in command, Yi Yu-geui, fled by boat after burning all the barracks and provisions that were stored at Han-san.

When these events became known the whole country was in consternation. Yi Hang-bok, the king’s trusted councillor, said, “Yi Sun-sin must be reinstated in his former position.” It was a case of dire necessity and so the king sent and conferred upon that faithful man his former office. The trusty Yi set out on foot and rested not day nor night until he reached his former position, Han-san. On all sides he met the scattered and flying remnants of his former force. He rallied them about him, promising that the Japanese should still be held in check.

But before Admiral Yi arrived on the scene of action a tremendous force of Japanese both military and naval had landed on the southern coast. Their objective point was Nam-wun, where the Chinese general Yang Wun had pitched his camp. Upon the approach of the Japanese the latter burned all the houses outside the wall to prevent their offering cover to an attacking force; but the Japanese soon built a rough fence or palisade about the town, from behind which they picked off the Chinese soldiers on the wall, at leisure. The Chinese attempted to make a sortie but in their eagerness to get out of the gate they became jammed in it and were mown down by the long swords of the besiegers. Unfortunately for the Chinese and Koreans the following night was full moon and the Japanese cut down every man that attempted to escape. To the line of stakes which they had planted about the town the Japanese fastened swords, and when the people from the town tried to make good their escape they found themselves impaled upon these weapons. The Chinese commander, Yang Wun, rode at this barrier and his horse was so impaled, but he succeeded in getting over and making good his escape. The Japanese attacked the wall in its weakest point and forced an entrance. The massacre within the town beggars description. The Korean generals ChÖng Keui-wun, Yi Pong-nam, O Eung-jung, Kim KyÖng-no, Sin Ho, Im Hyun, Yi Tuk-whe and Yi Wun-ch‘un were all killed, which indicates how sanguinary must have been the fight.

Immediately all northern Chul-la was in confusion and the troops everywhere began to fall back toward the north. In Seoul itself there was consternation. The king called his officials about him and asked what should be done. They all urged that the king stay in the capital. The queen and the crown prince however were sent to Su-an in Ham-gyung Province and the king prepared to move whenever it should seem necessary.

But by this time Admiral Yi was again on the stage of action and as alert as ever. He had as yet only ten boats under him, but he had no lack of men, for the people all along the coast, when they heard of his reinstatement, flocked to him. He drew up his little fleet of ten boats in the shadow of a mountain on Chin-do (island) and sent out reconnoitering boats which returned just at night saying that the Japanese were approaching. As the moon dropped behind the mountain it left the Korean fleet in complete darkness and soon the Japanese boats came sailing along in single file. Admiral Yi deployed his boats in a long line and suddenly they all raised a loud shout and fired point blank at the unsuspecting Japanese. The latter thought they had run into a powerful fleet and soon scattered in all directions. The next day there was more serious work, however, for a fleet of several hundred boats appeared. The Koreans were in some trepidation, but the fearless admiral made straight for the enemy and though soon surrounded he succeeded in sinking thirty of the enemy’s boats. The rest evidently recognized the master hand of Admiral Yi and turned and fled. He gave chase, and before the battle ended the Japanese commander Ma-da-si was killed. Returning from this remarkable fight Admiral Yi proceeded to Han-san and set to work rebuilding the barracks and making salt. It is said that in two months time he stored away 20,000 bags of rice. His former captains and soldiers came back to him in “clouds.” He also found another source of revenue. The wealthy men all through the south desired to get away from the disturbed districts and so loaded their effects upon boats and sailed away. Admiral Yi however stood in the way and made them pay a toll of from one to three bags of rice for each boat. From this source alone he collected above a thousand bags of rice. He used this revenue in the purchase of copper for the casting of cannon, and for the building of boats. Thousands of people who feared to live on the mainland came and built huts about his camp, until the island actually became too small to hold more.

After the fall of Nam-wun the Japanese, flushed with victory, started northward toward Seoul, thinking without doubt that they would have as easy a victory as before. Yang Ho, hearing of the defeat of the Chinese, came post haste from P’yung-yang and severely upbraided the generals and charged them with lack of bravery. Without an hour’s delay it was arranged that Generals Ha Sang, U Pak-yung, Yang Teung and P‘a Sa should take a strong body of troops and move southward to Ch‘ung-ch‘ungCh‘ung-ch‘ung Province and intercept the Japanese. This was done and the army ambushed at Keum-o-p‘yung in the district of Chik-san. Soon the Japanese came streaming along, neglecting all precautions, for they had no idea of meeting an enemy. When therefore the ambuscade opened fire on them it took but a few moments to throw them into utter confusion. In the rout which ensued an enormous number of the Japanese were killed. On the following day the Japanese, who had mended their broken ranks as best they could, came on to the attack, but their losses had been so great that in spite of wonders of bravery which they showed they were again crushed. The remnant of their force fled southward to Mok-ch‘un and Ch‘ung-ju. This was one of the three great battles of the war and in importance it was exceeded by none; for, though the forces engaged were not so numerous nor the number of slain so great, it broke once for all the self-confidence of the Japanese, and they never again had the hardihood to attempt the approach to Seoul. By this battle the war was definitely confined to the southern provinces. The Commissioner Yang Ho suggested to the king that he go out and survey the battle field, and so the royal cavalcade rode out the South Gate. One of the Chinese generals suspected that the king was something of a coward and so, to test him, he gave the horse the king was riding a sharp cut with a whip. The horse leaped into the air with terror but the king held his seat and showed no sign of fear. The Chinese were pleased at this and their respect for the king was visibly increased.

Seoul gave itself up to universal holiday in honor of the victory, for it was still fresh in the minds of many how Seoul had fared before at the hands of the invaders.

In the tenth moon Gen. Konishi built a strong fort on a bluff overlooking the sea at Ul-san in Kyung-sang Province. He named it To-san. The Chinese Yang Ho determined to cut the war short by attacking and taking this position and by so doing he expected to cut off the right arm of the invading army. Collecting all the forces that were within reach, he started south to attack Ul-san. The army consisted of 40,000 men and it went in three divisions. The left or eastern division being led by Gen. Yi Pang-ch‘un, the middle division by Gen. Ko Ch‘ak and the western division by Gen. P ang U-duk. Gen. Ma Kwi was sent on ahead and acted as avant-coureur. Stopping a few miles from the Japanese position he ordered Gen. P‘a Sa to go and make a preliminary attack upon the fort to discover something as to the lay of the land, and if possible to discover the number and equipment of the enemy. The attack was made with fire-arrows. Almost immediately the Japanese made a sortie, but were driven back with a loss of four hundred and sixty men. Shortly after this the three grand army corps arrived. The Japanese were arranged in three divisions. In the middle was the fort proper. On the north was a fortified camp called the Pan-gu-jun and off the south was another called the P‘a-wha-gang. It was the first business of the Chinese and Korean allies to drive these outer divisions into the central fort. To this end the left division of the army attacked the Pan-gu-jun and the right division the P‘a-wha-gangP‘a-wha-gang. Gen. Yang Ho put on his armor and went into the thick of the fight and urged on his men. The air was filled with the noise of drums, musketry-fire and shouts of the combatants, and a cloud of arrows concealed the heavens. Some of the Japanese huts were on fire and great clouds of smoke and flame rolled heavenward. Slowly the Japanese were forced back and finally they all entered the gates of the main fort of To-san. This fort was set on a rugged hill where it was difficult for an attacking force to manoeuvre, but there was little water in the fort and the Japanese were forced to come out secretly at night and draw water from a well nearby. Being aware of this, Gen. Kim Eung-su, a Korean, placed an ambush about the well and caught upwards of a hundred of the enemy. They were badly emaciated and said that surrender was a matter of only a few days. It came on to rain, and this was followed by severe cold, as it was now the beginning of winter. Many of the besieging army had their hands and feet frozen. One of Gen. Konishi’s lieutenants wrote repeatedly to the Korean general Song Yun-mun asking for terms of peace. Gen. Yang Ho answered, “Konishi must come out and surrender and he will be treated well.” By this time the Japanese were well-nigh exhausted. They had neither food nor water, and every day they died in such numbers that it is said they had “a mountain of dead.” Many a time Gen. Konishi meditated suicide but each time was restrained by one means or another. As a last resort the Japanese threw gold and silver over the wall to bribe the soldiers without and keep them from making an attack.

But the tables were about to be turned. All the other Japanese forces in the south had become aware of the desperate straits to which their comrades were reduced at To-san. And so now at the last moment a large fleet appeared and the hard won victory was snatched from between the teeth of the Chinese and Korean allies. The exposure had greatly weakened the besieging force. Their provisions were almost exhausted and they had used up all their arrows. They were far stronger thanthan the beleaguredbeleagured Japanese but were not fit to cope with the fresh army which was burning with zeal to avenge their starving compatriots. So it was that Gen. Yang Ho was compelled to raise the siege and fall back toward Seoul. During this siege the Chinese loss was fourteen hundred, though many thousands were wounded.

From this time date the first efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to enter Korea. Japan had already many thousands of converts to Romanism and Hideyoshi was determined to leave no means untried to eradicate the foreign cult. To this end he sent many of the Catholic converts to Korea. But the most distinguished of them all was the young and vigorous Gen. Konishi who had received baptism at the hands of the Catholics and had received the name of Augustine Arimandano. It may have been because of Hideyoshi’s desire to get the Catholics out of the country that Gen. Konishi was appointed to the post in Korea. Kato was as pronounced a Buddhist as Konishi was a Christian and this of course intensified the hatred and rivalry between them. Gen. Konishi was desirous of having Catholic teachers come over to the peninsula and attend to the spiritual needs of the Christians in the army; and to this end the Vice-provincial of the Jesuits in Japan appointed Padre Gregoris de Cespedes to this arduous and important post. With him went a Japanese priest. The two first went to Tsushima and finding no means of getting to the peninsula remained there over the winter and carried on a successful mission work. The next spring they made their way to Korea and finally reached Gen. Konishi’s headquarters at a place that the Japanese call Comangai, which was without doubt the fort of Ul-san. Here they worked a year but finally, through the machinations of Gen. Kato, who worked upon the prejudices of Hideyoshi, both the foreign and native priests were sent back to Japan, and this had no little to dodo with the return of Gen. Konishi, who went to clear himself before his master.

To anticipate a little, we might here say that many Koreans who were carried captive to Japan from time to time during this war, became Christians at Nagasaki and though slaves were so firm in their belief as to be willing to suffer martyrdom during the terrible persecutions which raged in Japan between 1610 and 1630, but with the departure of CespedesCespedes from Korea the distinctive work in Korea was abandoned.

Let us pause a moment here to compare the two contending armies. In this second invasion the total number of Japanese that reached Korean soil was 105,400, or about half as many as formed the first army of invasion. They were led by twenty-seven generals, prominent among whom were Kato and Konishi. As a mark of his spiteful spirit, Hideyoshi ordered that in this second invasion the noses and ears of all Koreans killed or captured should be cut off and sent to Japan. And so from time to time these half-savage soldiers sent loads of Korean noses and ears, pickled in salt, and they were buried in the monastery of Ta-bul-sa in the city of Kyoto, there to remain to all ages a disgusting memento of the most unprovoked and wanton cruelty that ever disgraced the annals of a great people. Many of the Koreans who lost their noses or ears at that time survived many years, and it cannot be wondered at that the Koreans have never since cared to accept favors at the hands of their island neighbors.

The total number of Chinese was 210,000. With them came 2,000,000 ounces of silver to pay for their sustenance. From Shantung were sent by boat 200,000 bags of rice. There were also sent for the relief of the army 5,832,000 ounces of silver. And for the relief of the Korean famine sufferers an additional 3,000,000 ounces were sent. When we consider the vast number of men and the millions of wealth that China poured into Korea at this time it may well be believed, as the Koreans affirm, that China, by so doing, impoverished herself so that she became an easier prey to the Manchus who, a few years later, wrested the scepter from her.

Large numbers of Japanese who had been in the country for years and were tired of the war deserted from the ranks, married Korean women and settled down to farming in various places in the south. At Mi-ryang in the Province of Kyung-sang there was a whole settlement of them. It was called the Hang-wa or “Settlement of the Surrendered Japanese.” Some of them were also to be found in Ham-gyung and P‘yung-an Provinces. These had been left behind and abandoned by their fellows for one cause or another when the Japanese retired from the north. They were all destined to be destroyed a quarter of a century later during the rebellion of Yi Kwal.

About this time there arose in the Chinese court a determined enemy of Gen. Yang Ho named Chung Eung-t‘a who accused Gen. Yang to the Emperor in twenty-five specifications, five of which implicated the king of Korea and which at a later date caused a deal of trouble.

We now enter upon a new phase of the war, the closing epoch. In the first moon of the following year, 1598, the Emperor sent two admirals to Korea, the one being Tong Il-wun and the other Chil Lin. The former was to have charge of the naval operations off the coast of Chul-la and the other of those off Kyung-sang Province. Chil Lin, under the title of Great Admiral came up the Han River with 500 boats as far as Tong-jak, the first village above Yong-san. The king and the court went down and reviewed this fleet and saw it start off to join Admiral Yi Sun-sin in the south. This admiral, Chil Lin, was a good soldier but inordinately vain. He would take no one’s advice, and it looked as if stormy times were in store for the plain, blunt Admiral Yi. The king told Admiral Chil Lin that he was not sure about Admiral Yi, and this of course had its influence with the Chinese admiral. Admiral Yi was then at Ko-geum Island off Chul-la Province. When he heard that Admiral Chil Lin was coming he showed by his first act that he was as good a diplomat as soldier. He may or may not have known what sort of man the Chinese admiral was but he knew that in any case it would not do to antagonize him, and he acted accordingly. He collected a great store of fish and game and wine and went out to meet the approaching fleet. Returning with the Chinese admiral he spread a great feast and the whole company got splendidly drunk and vowed that Admiral Yi was a royal good fellow. Admiral Chil Lin himself joined in the praise. Soon after this Admiral Yi had the good luck to take two score of Japanese heads, but instead of claiming the honor himself he handed them over to the Chinese admiral to forward as his own trophies. This finished Admiral Yi’s conquest of Admiral Chil Lin’s good graces. From this time on it was Gen. Yi who suggested and planned and it was Admiral Chil Lin who assented and reaped the praise. This course of conduct was a master-piece of genius on the part of Admiral Yi, for by so doing he accomplished at least three important things. In the first place he kept himself in his position, which he would have lost had he antagonized the Chinaman. In the second place he saved himself to his country at a time when she could not have spared him. He was willing to forego the praise and let others reap the commendation if only he might ward off the enemies of his country. In the third place he made the Chinese seem successful and so encouraged them and got out of them for Korea all that was to be hoped. He was willing to seem to be toadying to Admiral Chil Lin when in reality that gentleman was, to use a pregnant Korean phrase, “in his sleeve.” Being always near the Chinese admiral he could always see to it that no great blunders were made. At first the Chinese soldiery committed great excesses among the people of the country, stealing their valuables and otherwise injuring them. Admiral Yi quietly asked that the discipline of the army be put in his hands and from that day on the smallest irregularity was severely punished and the most perfect order prevailed. This did not escape the eye of Admiral Chil Lin, and he wrote to the king that Admiral Yi was a remarkable man and that the world did not contain another soldier like him. One day as they sat in a summer-house overlooking the sea a fleet of Japanese boats appeared in the distance. Admiral Chil Lin was much excited and a little nervous but Admiral Yi laughed and said, “Sit here and watch me give those fellows a whipping.” He got out his boats and in an hour he had forty of the enemy’s boats on fire and the rest fled. Admiral Chil Lin could not praise him enough after this and declared that the universe did not contain another man who could perform the feats that Admiral Yi apparently found easy.

In the seventh moon of this year the enemies of Gen. Yang Ho in Nanking were successful and he was called from Korea, much to the regret of the king who vainly sent an envoy to the Chinese court specially to plead that the decree be not carried out. Gen. Yang had been the best of all the generals that China had sent and his departure was a great loss to Korea. When he went, the king and a large number of the people accompanied him beyond the Peking Pass, and a stone tablet was raised there in his honourhonour. All of this of course made Gen. Yang’s enemies hate the king as well, and so that official named Chung Eung-t’a fabricated some astonishing stories about him. He claimed that while he had been in Korea he had found a manuscript which proved that the king had received investiture from Japan. He also charged the Koreans with showing disloyalty to China by prefixing the word ta (great) to the posthumous titles of their kings. He also claimed that the first coming of the Japanese was with a secret understanding with the king of Korea that they would attack Liao-tung together. To these he added many minor charges. The Emperor apparently believed these things and immediately despatched an envoy, So Kwal-lan, to investigate the matter and report. When the king was informed of these charges he was dumbfounded. All his scrupulous care of the interests of his Chinese suzerain and the extremes of hardship which he and his people had endured, rather than grant the Japanese a free passage through Korea to strike China—all this was thrown back upon him and his devotion was counted treachery. He left his palace and took up his abode in a straw hut for one whole month as penance for having been even suspected of such baseness. The whole country was stirred to its depths by these unnatural and evidently baseless charges. The king immediately sent his most trusted councillors Yi Hang-bok and Yi Chung-gwi to Nanking with the following memorable reply to the charges which had been preferred:

“These charges which have been made against me are very grave and if they are true I deserve death. In order to answer them I must repeat them, even though it defile my mouth. In the first place the origin of the Japanese is far in the eastern sea. The way thither by boat is exceeding far. They are such barbarians that heaven has separated them far from other men. They have always been bad neighbors, for they live by piracy; they come like a flash and are gone as suddenly. Since the time of the fall of the Koryu dynasty great uneasiness has prevailed in Japan. Law has been in abeyance and bands of freebooters have been allowed to devastate our southern shores until nothing but weeds and briers grow there. The founder of our present dynasty drove them out for a time but they grew bold again and continued their depredations. The natives of Tsushima liked to come and trade with us and we permitted it at their request; then Japanese from the more distant islands came in flocks like birds. Our people never liked them, but we permitted the trade, as it was mutually profitable. We gave them rice to eat and treated them kindly. We built a house in Seoul for the reception of their envoys. In the days of king Se-jong they asked us to send an envoy to Japan and we did so, primarily to spy out the land and discover whether the country was rich or poor, strong or weak. The envoy obtained the information and we immediately reported the matter to China. We could not well refuse to send an envoy to Japan, but it does not argue relations of friendship, much less of intimacy. In the days of the Emperor Chong-t’ong the Japanese started to ravage a certaincertain part of the Chinese coast and took Quelpart on the way, but we attacked and drove them out and sent their leader alive to China to be dealt with. Also in the time of King Chung-jong the Japanese attacked the China coast at Yong P’a-bu. They killed the Chinese general and then made off, but we caught them and sent them to the Chinese authorities. Since that time we have twice prevented Japanese attacks on the China coast. Not once nor twice have we received high commendation from the Chinese Emperor for our firm loyalty. We have always used our wits and our strength in the interests of China. This was the duty of a vassal and this we have done. We let the Japanese live in the three harbors of Ch’e-p’o, Pu-san-p’o and Yum-p’o but we prescribed limits of five or ten li beyond which they could not go. On the whole then is seems plain that the charge that we called in the Japanese and asked them for troops must be a pure fabrication. Again the book which Chung Eung-t’a claims to have found is an actual book and is named the Ha-dong Keui-ryak. It was written by Sin Suk-ju the envoy to Japan, on his return from that country, and it deals with the laws and manners of the Japanese. It contains a map of Japan, a genealogy and also the rules of etiquette to be observed toward the Japanese envoy. This book our accuser seized upon as a sure sign of our leaning toward Japan, and he twisted its meaning to correspond to his theory. The Japanese have a different name for the year from that which we use, and the writer of this book put the Chinese name beneath the Japanese name as a sort of commentary, so that the reader could understand what year was referred to. In a Japanese book one must put the Japanese name of the year and if he wants to make plain the meaning he must put the Chinese name underneath or in the margin. As to the charge that we gave too high a title to our deceased kings we can only say that we live beyond the sea and are ignorant and secluded. From the days of Sil-la until now we have been accustomed to name our dead kings in this way. The founder of the dynasty was scrupulously careful not to overstep the recognized limits of his authority as a vassal of China and we never for a moment have forgotten the gap which separates a vassal king from his suzerain. The custom of giving these posthumous titles dates from the days of Sil-la, so how could we be expected to know that it was wrong, especially as it has never been called in question before? If we are blamed for ignorance and boorishness we cry guilty, but if for lack of loyalty, we humbly deny it. We have our calendar, our official dress and writing all from China. This alone should speak for our loyalty. The year before the beginning of the present war Hideyoshi murdered his master and usurped his throne. Burning with a desire to spring at the throat of China he sent us letters inviting us to join in an invasion of that country. We sent his letter back with contumely. In all this we advanced solely the interests of China. This is as clear as day. When the invading army came it seemed as if all Japan had alighted upon our shores. They covered our whole eight provinces and ravaged them. They seized our three capitals and desecrated two royal tombs. They burned our ancestral temple and other sacred places and then swept northward to P’yung Yang. We were unable to hold them in check or save our capital from their hands. We were driven to the verge of desperation and were about to cross into the parent land to die. Is it conceivable that if we had the least friendship for Hideyoshi we would have suffered all this at his hands? If we look at nature do we find any analogy for such a thing? If this charge is true why did our forces join with yours in striking the invaders and why have we been hanging on their flanks and harassing them for years? Let the Emperor know that there is a reason why we have suffered this slander at the mouth of Chung Eung-t’a. It is because we took Gen. Yang Ho’s part when Chung Eung-t’a desired his recall from Korea in disgrace. Gen. Yang Ho was with us a long time and he was a true friend of Korea. We all had the utmost confidence in him and it was a great pity that so good a man should have met the reward he did. It is a cause of poignant grief to us. We are a small people and our destruction is a matter of small consequence, but for a general of China to be treated in this manner is a serious matter. We are an outside people and we have never had the pleasure of visiting the Emperor’s court, and so there is no one to plead our cause for us, but the Emperor will be able to judge our case without further plea. Chung Eung-t’a has called me a traitor, and I would rather die than live with such a charge upon me, even though it be untrue. Let the Emperor take this letter and sit in judgment on the case and if it appears that I am guilty let my head pay the penalty, but if not then let the Emperor acquit me before the world and I shall again be able to endure the light of day.”

This letter is clear, logical and to the point, and it breathes a spirit of self-respect which does credit to the king. It shows not a servile dependence but a true self-respecting loyalty, and in the firm denial of the charges and the final demand for condemnation or public acquitalacquital there is the ring of genuine manhood which would do honor to any man in any age.

When the Emperor read this letter his judicial mind found in it the ring of conscious rectitude and like the man he was he instantly acknowledgedacknowledged his error. He ordered the letter to be printed by the thousands and tens of thousands and scattered broadcast over his empire, for he apparently felt it a personal honor to have so true and genuine a man for a vassal. He answered the letter in the following terms:

“I believed the words of slander spoken by that small man Chung Eung-t‘a, and doubted in my mind as to the loyalty of the king of Korea. I cannot now be oblivious to the unmerited sufferings of Gen. Yang Ho. Chung Eung-t‘a is a radically bad man. I was on the brink of a disastrous mistake. I will now deprive him of rank and make him one of the common herd. Let him appear before me at once.”

When Chung Eung-t‘a arrived in NankingNanking he was cut in two at the waist.