It will be necessary for us to pause here and note the method of the Japanese approach to the capital. A glance at the map of Korea shows that there are three great highways leading up from Fusan to Seoul. One is the main or middle road leading by Yang-san, Mi-ryang, Ch’ŭng-do, Tă-gu and soon up the valley of the Nak-tong River, over the great Cho-ryŭng (Pass). The division led by Konishi came up the peninsula at double-quick by this road. It was before this division that Gen. Yi Il had fled. A second road is to the east of this, proceeding by way of Choa-p‘yŭng, Ul-san, Kyöng-ju, Yong-jin, Sil-yăng, Kun-wi, Pi-on and Mun-gyŭng. Kato led the division which took this road, but his forces joined those of Konishi below Cho-ryŭng and the two crossed it together. The forces of both Kato and Konishi were in the battle which witnessed the massacre of Sil Yip’s forces in the cul de sac which we have described. After this battle the two rival leaders again separated and hastened toward Seoul by different routes. Konishi kept on by the main road by way of Chuk-san, Yong-in, crossing the Han River just below Han-gang and entering the city by the South Gate. Kato took a more easterly road and came via Yŭ-ju and Yang-geun crossing the Han seventy li above, at Yang-jin. But a third division under Kuroda and other generals had branched off to the west at the very start. They proceeded by way of Kim-hă and U-do and then, leaving Kyung-sang Province they crossed over to Chi-re and Kim-san in Chŭl-la Province. Then crossing the Ch’u-p’ung Pass they entered Ch’ung-ch’ŭng Province and then made for Seoul by way of Yong-dong, Ch’ung-ju and so up by the main road.
The reason for the different divisions taking different routes may have been because of the necessity of obtaining forage, but it was also in part due to the jealousy which existed between Kato and Konishi, for each of these men was desirous[desirous] of getting to Seoul before the other.
This great triple[triple] army met with no real resistance on its way to Seoul. The country was utterly unprepared for war, the principal lack being in competent leaders rather than in number of troops. It was the first quick, sharp stroke on the part of the Japanese which seems to have paralysed the Koreans. The banners of the great host of the invaders spread out over a thousand li and at intervals of twenty or thirty li they built fortifications from which they signalled to each other at night. The only aggressive move on the part of the Koreans up to this time was the effort of Captain Wŭn Ho to prevent or at least delay the passage of the Han by Kato’s forces, at Yang-jin, by destroying all the boats. But the Japanese were not delayed long by this, for the neighboring hill-sides furnished them with logs for rafts on which they soon crossed and hastened on to anticipate the troops of Konishi in the occupation of Seoul.
It was on the fourth day of the fifth moon that the eager forces of Konishi swept down to the banks of the Han River opposite the town of Han-gaug. This river is a real barrier to an army unprepared with pontoon or other boats and the Japanese troops might have been held in check for some considerable time. But the whole make-up of the Japanese warrior was calculated to inspire terror, and no sooner did this countless horde show itself on the opposite shore than Gen. Kim Myŭng-wŭn, who had been put in charge of the river defenses, came to the conclusion that he would have more than a mere river between himself and that gruesome array. He therefore threw all his engines of defense into the Han and fled with all his following to the Im-jin river, the next natural barrier between the Japanese and the king. At first thought this flight of Gen. Kim would seem to be an act of pure cowardice, but when we remember that he had only a few hundred men under him while on the opposite bank a hundred thousand men were clamoring for a passage across, we cannot wonder that he found it necessary to retreat. He did it in proper style by first destroying his military engines lest they should fall into the hands of the enemy.
The king before leaving Seoul placed Gen. Yi Yang-wŭn in charge of the city and its defenses, but when he learned of the flight of Gen. Kim from the river he rightly judged that the city could not be[be] held by any such force as was at his command; so he in turn beat a retreat and went north to the town of Yang-ju. The result was that when the Japanese succeeded in crossing the river and pushed on to the gates of Seoul they found only an undefended and half depopulated city of which to take inglorious possession. It is said that only a few hours elapsed after the entry of Konishi’s forces before[before] those of Kato hastened in from the east, disappointed and chagrined to find that they had been beaten in the race; but they were probably consoled by the fact that long before the goal had been reached the prize had taken wing.
Hideyi, the General-in-chief of the Japanese forces, took up his quarters in the Ancestral Temple from which the tablets of the royal line had been removed. This was looked upon by the Koreans as an act of sacrilege and queer tales are told of how during that first night, while the burning of the city was going on, a Japanese soldier would drop dead every few minutes without visible cause. It is for this reason, as some say, that Hideyi removed to the Nam-pyul-gung, known as the place where Chinese embassies have been lodged, and now the site of the Imperial Altar.
Before many days had elapsed the people found out that the coming of the Japanese did not mean universal slaughter as they had supposed, and gradually they returned to their homes in the city. They reopened their shops and so long as they attended to their own affairs they were unmolested by the Japanese. Indeed they adapted themselves readily to the new order of things and drove a lucrative trade with the invaders. The latter were strict in the watch of the city and no one could go out or come in without showing a passport. When the Japanese had exhausted the supplies in Seoul they pushed out into the country and laid the surrounding villages under contribution. Koreans were even found who would tell them where they could go with the hope of finding booty, and acted as guides to them. Among the more loyal citizens a plot was gotten up to assassinate the guard, but it was betrayed to the enemy and the plotters were seized and burned to death after indescribable tortures. It[It] is said so many perished in that holocaust that their collected bones made a huge mound.
When Gen. Kim Myŭng-wŭn fled from the defenses of the Han and came to the Im-jin he immediately sent a letter to the king at Song-do telling him of the arrival of the Japanese, his own retreat and the entry of the Japanese into Seoul. The king did not censure him, for retreat was the only way open to him; so a messenger was dispatched ordering him to make haste and get together as many soldiers of Kyŭng-geui and Whang-hă Provinces as possible and make a firm stand at the Im-jin River. Gen. Sin Kil was sent to aid in this work. No sooner were these orders given than the royal party resumed their journey northward in haste, and at night they reached the village of Keum-gyo in Keum-ch’ŭn district. Here the escort of the king bivouacked in the open air. It was discovered with dismay that the ancestral tablets had been overlooked in the haste attendant upon the departure from Song-do. So one of the king’s relatives started back after them and succeeded in bringing the precious relics on.
On the seventh of the moon the royal party crossed the Tă-dong River and entered the gates of P’yŭng-yang. Here there was food and drink in plenty and all the other luxuries of life. For the first time since the flight began the king enjoyed a season of real rest. The royal cortège was escorted into the city by the governor, Song Wŭn-siu, who came out with three thousand troops and met him on the way.
Two days later a messenger was seen approaching at a rapid pace. He was swiftly ferried across the river and hurried into the king’s presence where he said, “Yi Yang-wŭn, the defender of Seoul has fled, and the city is in the possession of the enemy.” The king exclaimed, “This is bad news indeed, we must appoint someone whose work it shall be to continually attempt to retake the capital.” He thereupon appointed Gen. Yu Hong to that arduous and dangerous position. He was to go with three thousand men and do what he could to stop the progress of the Japanese and if possible regain control of the capital. Gen. Yu received the appointment with the worst possible grace. After the headlong flight with all its hardships and privations, to be told that he must go back with three thousand men and meet what he supposed was a blood-thirsty horde of savages was too much for his patriotism; so he stayed in his rooms and sulked. Two days passed and still he did not start. The king called him up and said, “How is it that you let the time slip by like this when you ought to be on the way to Seoul with troops?” The mighty warrior replied, “I fear Your Majesty will have to excuse me from this duty as I am suffering from a boil on my leg.” One of the courtiers, Yi Han-guk took him to task saying, “How is it that after receiving such favors at the hand of the king you shrink from this duty? You are a coward and are afraid to go. You are like a sulky dancing-girl who refuses either to dance or sing. You are not only not brave but you are not even clever. Do you suppose you can impose on His Majesty with any such story as this about a boil on your leg?” The king was immensely pleased with this well merited rebuke and laughed long and loud at the discomfitted general, but finally said, “Well, then, since our doughty Gen. Yu cannot go let Gen. Han Eung-in go instead.” The next day Gen. Han started south with 5000 troops picked from the northern border[border] guard, and in good time he arrived at the banks of the Im-jin River, midway between Song-do and Seoul. This was the great strategic position that must be held at any cost. It was the key to the north, the gate-way to Whang-hă Province and to P‘yŭng-an Province beyond.