Treatise on Armament Technology

The Japanese

...this man was Guo An. We sent a secret letter to coordinate with him, and on the 20th day of the 9th month, he set a concealed fire at the Longxia encampment. Waiting for our army to cross the river, he burned their grain supplies to support our strike. At the appointed time, everything went exactly as planned; consequently, we achieved a great victory and seized their camp.

The Japanese retreated to defend Sacheon. On that same day, General Ma Gui also launched a surprise attack and crushed Yeongchun, burning their stockades and accumulated supplies. On the 21st, the army moved west and crushed Kunyang modern-day Gonyang, burning it almost entirely. With these three camps destroyed, our troops were able to station themselves south of the river referring to the Nam River.

In the middle of the night on the 28th, we launched an assault on Sacheon. The brave general Li Ning, having entered the city first, lost his way in the chaos and was killed in action original: "trapped and submerged" (陷没); Li Ning was a prominent Ming commander of cavalry. Our troops were momentarily pushed back as the enemy took advantage of the confusion. However, by dawn, our forces converged from four sides. The Japanese fled in defeat, and we subsequently beheaded or captured several hundred of them.

The Japanese abandoned the city and fled to the New Fort Sinchae; a Japanese-style castle or wajo; we then burned their Dongyang Granary. On the 29th, the commanders deliberated on how to take the New Fort, which was where Yoshihiro the Japanese daimyo Shimazu Yoshihiro, known for his fierce "Shimazu Toyohisa" style of warfare was stationed.

Zhu Guoqi observed: "Although the Japanese have been defeated, their numbers are still significant. They have consolidated all their forces into their main camp, so their defense will surely be formidable. If we attack and cannot take it immediately..."