On the next day the king sent his answer couched in the following terms: “The great, the glorious, the righteous Emperor. The little country has indeed sinned against the great one and has drawn upon herself this trouble which lies hard by the door of destruction. We have long wanted to write thus but we have been so surrounded and hemmed in that it seemed well-nigh impossible to get a letter through the lines; but now that the Emperor’s son himself has come, we rejoice, and yet we tremble. The Ming Emperor is no longer our suzerain. In this we have completely reformed. The people on the border have acted badly in ill-treating the Manchu envoys. We are truly on the brink of destruction and we confess all our sin. It is for us to confess and for the Emperor to forgive. From this day forth we wash from our mind all other thought of allegiance and enter upon a new line of conduct. If the Emperor will not forgive, we can only bow the head and die.”
When this abject document was read before the court, before sending it, some thought it too humble, but the leaders said it was the only course left; so it was forwarded to the Manchu camp. Answer was returned that the Emperor’s son had not yet arrived but that when he came he would reply. Strange to say no truce was made and the Manchu soldiers, fearing perhaps that a truce might rob them of the pleasure of scaling those walls that had defied them so long, approached the wall that very night and with scaling ladders a considerable number effected an entrance. But they had underestimated the determination and courage of the defenders, and those who got in were quickly dispersed by Gen. Yi Si-băk. Many Manchus fell in this desperate assault. Almost at the same hour a similar attack was made on the south side but there also the Manchus were check-mated by the watchful guard.
And now a diversion occurred. Generals Hŏ Wan and Min Yöng from the provinces approached with a force of 40,000 men and seriously threatened the Manchu flank. They were stationed on two opposite hills with a line of sharpshooters between. In the fight which ensued the Koreans held their ground gallantly and at first even made the invaders retreat; but this exhausted their ammunition and when the enemy reformed his lines and came on again to the attack there was nothing to do but retreat. The retreat became a rout and large numbers of Koreans were cut down, including Gen. Hŏ Wan. The other part of the army under Gen. Min Yöng held out a little longer but an unfortunate accident occurred which threw his troops into confusion. A large quantity of powder which was being paid out to the soldiers suddenly exploded killing a large number of men and depriving the rest of means for continuing the fight. So they met the same fate as the others. Those that the Manchus killed they stripped and burned but many fugitives likewise died of exposure and fatigue.
Gen. Sim Yun had been fortifying Cho-ryŭng (Pass) but when he heard of the rout of the 40,000 men he took fright and retreated precipitately, telling all he met that there was no use in attempting to do anything. Gen. Kim Chun-yong, however, had more perseverance and came and encamped twenty miles from Nam-han, occupying a position that was specially annoying to the enemy. A fight was the result, in which the Koreans were at first successful, but during the night the Manchus were reinforced and cannon were brought to bear upon the Koreans. All the next day the Koreans fought desperately. Night put an end to the battle and the Koreans finding that all their ammunition was gone, silently separated, burning all bridges as they went.
The admiral of Chŭl-la Province desired to render aid to the king and so getting together a little fleet of boats he came north to Kang-wha and joined the royal forces there. The governor of Kang-wŭn Province excused himself from taking active part in the relief of Nam-han on the score of scarcity of food. For this he was afterward banished.
Singular events were happening in the north where Gen. Yang Keun lay with a considerable force a short distance north of Seoul. He was however a coward and dared not move hand or foot. Two other generals felt that they might get into trouble if they did do not something, and they had the happy thought that they ought to report to their superior, Gen. Yang Keun, for they knew he would do nothing, and thus they would be safe, for their responsibility would cease. So they went to him and urged him to advance against the Manchus. But he declined to do so, and even gave them a written statement to that effect. Armed with that they felt quite safe. So there they lay a month till they heard at last of the fall of Nam-han.
Of another stamp was Gen. Yu Rim. He was on the road between Seoul and P’yŭng-yang and, being attacked by the Manchus, he and his little band defended themselves with such good effect that the Manchu camp resounded all night with wailings for their dead. The Koreans, finding that their ammunition was almost exhausted, then planned an ingenious retreat. Loading their muskets they tied them to trees, attached fuses of different lengths and then silently retreated. The guns kept going off all night and so the enemy knew nothing of the retreat until it was discovered in the morning.
Another effort that was made about this time was that of Generals Kim Cha-jŭm and Yŏk-dal who had a following of some 7,000 men. Starting from the north they came down to the vicinity of Song-do. Unfortunately they had no scouts out and suddenly falling in with a Manchu force in the narrow passage a few miles beyond Song-do, they were thrown into a panic and it is said that 5,000 men were killed, though it seems almost incredible that only 2,000 men survived out of 7,000. Gen. Kim escaped by scaling the steep mountain side but his second was caught and bound. The two thousand survivors rallied and attacked the Manchus with such fury that they were forced back and the captured general was rescued. Gen. Kim Cha-jŭm then made his way to where Gen. Yang Keun was idling away his time, and together they awaited the surrender of the king. We may anticipate a few months and say that after peace was made these two generals were banished to distant places for their criminal cowardice.
Gen. Sin Kyöng-wan, stationed at Ong-jin in Whang-hă Province, was surrounded by the enemy, but the place was so difficult of approach, owing to the roughness of the ground, that they could not reduce it; so, hoping to draw out the garrison they feigned retreat. Gen. Sin was not to be caught thus, and sent out one of his lieutenants to reconnoitre. That man happened to be just recovering from a wound, and so he did not go far, but spent the night in a neighboring inn. He came back in the morning and reported the enemy gone. Gen. Sin then led out his troops to take them to the vicinity of Seoul; but the Manchus, who were lying concealed in the vicinity, rushed out upon him and captured him. He was released only after peace had been declared.
At Nam-han a severe mental struggle was going on. They well knew that surrender and humiliation were inevitable but their pride revolted at the thought, and each tried to throw the blame on the other. This may be illustrated by a single case which will show how mutual recriminations were being made in the very presence of the siege-weary king. Yu Păk-jeung memorialized the king in these words: “Gen. Kim Nyu who holds the rank of General-in-chief is a man of no military skill, a man of jealous, vindictive temperament and his house is full of bribes. When the king came to Nam-han it was almost without retinue, but he, forsooth, must bring sixty horsemen at his back. And the females of his household came in litters. He it was who urged the king to give up the crown prince to the tender mercies of the Manchu wolves. He it was who compassed the humiliation of the king by advising him to send that self-effacing letter which, though so humble, was rejected. This is all the work of Kim Nyu.” Here as elsewhere we see that personal spite has always[always] been the rock on which the interests of Korea have been wrecked.