The siege of Pyongyang was a military conflict fought between the allied
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
-
Joseon
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
army and the Japanese First Division under
Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga (小西 行長, baptized under the personal name Agostinho (Portuguese for Augustine); 1558 – November 6, 1600) was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is notable for his role as the vanguard of the Japanes ...
. The battle ended in victory for the allies but a successful retreat from
Pyeongyang by the remaining Japanese in the night of 8 February 1593.
Background
A minor Ming force of 5,000 under
Wu Weizhong Wu Weizhong () was a military commander for the Ming dynasty. He is from the county of Yiwu in Zhejiang province (浙江省 義烏縣), his chosen name is Ruchen and his nickname is Yunfeng (字汝誠,號雲峰) he was one of the Ming generals t ...
arrived at the
Yalu River
The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...
on 5 January.
The
Ming army of 35,000 under
Li Rusong arrived at the Yalu River on 26 January. They were then joined by the advance force and a bodyguard unit sent to protect
Seonjo of Joseon
Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...
, raising their strength to 43,000, another 10,000
Koreans
Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula.
Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply refe ...
at
Sunan under
Yi Il, and finally 4,200 monks under
Hyujeong.
Li Rusong sent ahead the envoy
Shen Weijing __NOTOC__
Shen may refer to:
* Shen (Chinese religion) (神), a central word in Chinese philosophy, religion, and traditional Chinese medicine; term for god or spirit
* Shen (clam-monster) (蜃), a shapeshifting Chinese dragon believed to create mi ...
to negotiate with
Konishi Yukinaga
Konishi Yukinaga (小西 行長, baptized under the personal name Agostinho (Portuguese for Augustine); 1558 – November 6, 1600) was a Kirishitan daimyō under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is notable for his role as the vanguard of the Japanes ...
, however this act was insincere. He had no intention of negotiating with the Japanese. Konishi sent 20 men to greet the Ming envoys, but most of them did not return. It's not certain what happened to them. One version of events state that they were killed during a banquet with Shen Weijing, another says they were simply ambushed on the way.
During the march to Pyeongyang they encountered a Japanese scout party, three of whom were captured, and five killed. The allied army arrived at Pyeongyang and set up camp north of the city on 5 February 1593.
Konishi offered to hold negotiations but was refused. That night some 800 Japanese sneaked out and attacked the Ming camp, however they were spotted by guards and driven back by fire arrows, suffering 30 casualties.
Battle
![Battle of Pyongyang 1593](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Battle_of_Pyongyang_1593.JPG)
The battle began on 6 February 1593. Hyujeong's monks with support from Wu Weizhong attacked the large hill north of Pyeongyang where around 2,000 enemy troops were stationed under Konishi Yukinaga. Konishi was almost surrounded at one point until
Sō Yoshitoshi
was a Sō clan ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the domain of Tsushima on Tsushima Island at the end of Japan's Sengoku period, and into the Edo period. His name is sometimes read as Yoshitomo.Papinot, Jacques. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'' -- Sō ...
counterattacked and rescued him. The fighting lasted for two days before the last Japanese commander,
Matsuura Shigenobu, was forced to pull back to Pyeongyang. The monks suffered 600 casualties and Wu Weizhong was wounded in the chest by a bullet.
In the morning of 8 January, Li Rusong's army advanced on the city, their tightly packed ranks "looking like the scales on a fish." Yang Yuan and Zhang Shijue attacked from the north and west, Li Rubai from the southeast, and Yi Il and
Gim Eungso from the southwest. The east was covered by the
Daedong River
The Taedong River (Chosŏn'gŭl: ) is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthening ...
and could not be attacked.
Once the signal cannon fired, they rushed the walls with ladders, shot
fire arrows, and threw bombs into the city, and started pounding the gates with cannons. The Japanese defense was almost too much. Li Rusong's own horse was shot out from under him and the assault began to show signs of faltering before Li went forward, cut off the head of a retreating soldier, and offered 5,000 taels to the first man over the wall. The allied troops renewed their assault until
Luo Shangzhi Luo may refer to:
Luo peoples and languages
*Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa
**Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania.
***Luoland, the ...
was able to clear the wall and Yang Yuan followed by breaking through the northern gate. In the west the surviving monks and troops from the earlier attack joined Zhang Shijue's push into the city once the gate had been destroyed by cannons.
The Japanese pulled back to their last line of defense, an earth and log fort in the northern corner of Pyeongyang. Li Rusong instructed his troops to set the building on fire using fire arrows, but even so the Japanese could not be dislodged. Instead the crush of allied soldiers and cavalry suffered horrendous casualties to Japanese gunfire. Unable to move forward, many retreated through the western gate. Seeing this, Konishi chose to go on the offensive and sortied out with his men, only to be driven back by cannon fire.
Unwilling to suffer any more casualties, Li Rusong called off the attack as night approached.
Although nominally successful in repelling the enemies, the Japanese were no longer capable of defending the city. All the gates had been breached, no food was left, and they had suffered horrible casualties. With this in mind Konishi led the entire garrison out into the night and snuck across the frozen
Daedong River
The Taedong River (Chosŏn'gŭl: ) is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthening ...
back to
Hanseong
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
. Many drowned during the crossing.
Aftermath
The Japanese retreat was hard. Aside from natural hardships, an ambush by Zha Dashou and Li Ning also claimed another 362 Japanese lives. Konishi's men reached Hanseong on 17 February.
After the Japanese loss at Pyeongyang,
Kuroda Yoshitaka called for the removal of Konishi Yukinaga, saying that he was a poor leader and did not get along with his fellow commanders. Konishi, in turn, became the primary advocate for peace on the Japanese side, having suffered one of the heaviest losses during the campaign.
Song Yingchang Song Yingchang (; 1536-1606) was an administrative official during the Ming dynasty, most famously known for managing the first Ming campaign of the Imjin war during 1592-1593 .
Career
Song entered public service in 1565, during his career he hel ...
invited
Seonjo of Joseon
Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...
to return to Pyeongyang on 6 March.
See also
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Siege of Pyongyang (1592)
The siege of Pyongyang was part of the Japanese invasions of Korea. Konishi Yukinaga, a Japanese ''daimyō'', captured Pyongyang and garrisoned his force in the winter of 1592.
Background
Following the capture of Kaesong following the Battle o ...
Citations
Bibliography
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* 桑田忠親
uwata, Tadachika ed., 舊參謀本部編纂,
yu Sanbo Honbu 朝鮮の役
housen no Eki(日本の戰史
ihon no SenshiVol. 5), 1965.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege Of Pyongyang (1593)
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...
History of Pyongyang
1593 in Asia
1593 in Japan
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...