Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 231

Later, the northern enemy Japanese forces stationed further north in the peninsula withdrew two thousand elite troops and planted flags everywhere, obscuring the river as they descended. The [Ming] naval forces were sparse and thus insufficient to mount a defense. Yang Hao original: "Hao" (鎬) was struck with terror. He discussed withdrawing the troops on the fourth day of the first lunar month, but he fled on light horseback a day early. The soldiers all scattered in a panicked flight.

Katō Kiyomasa original: "Qingzheng" (淸正) ambushed the retreating troops, and losses exceeded half the force. Because of this failure, Yang Hao was dismissed and sent home. The three armies all returned and stationed themselves at Gyeongju, building fortifications and dredging moats to secure their position.

They then summoned more troops from Sichuan, Guangdong, and the two Zhejiang provinces. Renowned generals such as Chen Lin, Liu Ting, Zhang Bang, Deng Zilong, and Lan Fangwei all arrived. Wan Shide was appointed as the Commissioner Jingli (經理): a high-ranking official responsible for managing military logistics and coordination.

Xing Jie original: "Jie" (玠), the Supreme Commander, observing that the geography was fragmented by treacherous mountains and rivers which prevented the army from concentrating in one spot, divided the forces into four routes by land and sea:

• Li Rumei commanded the Center Route.
• Ma Gui commanded the Eastern Route.
• Liu Ting commanded the Western Route.
• Chen Lin commanded the Water Route The naval contingent.

Their combined strength reached one hundred thousand men, each guarding their assigned territory. Before long, Li Rumei was sent to garrison Liaodong, and Dong Yiyuan replaced him. Wan Shide had not yet arrived when Xing Jie, in the ninth month...