and took up his
quarters at Pyong-yang. It was on the 12th of June that the Korean
capital fell, and by the 16th four army corps had assembled there,
while four others had effected a landing at Fusan. After a rest of
fifteen days, the northern advance was resumed from Seoul, with the
expectation that a great struggle would take place on the banks of
the Imjin. The conditions were eminently favourable for defence,
inasmuch as the approach to the river from the south was only by one
narrow gulch, whereas, on the northern side, lay a long, sandy
stretch where troops could easily be deployed. Moreover the Japanese
had no boats wherewith to negotiate a broad and swiftly flowing
river. During ten days the invaders remained helpless on the southern
bank. Then the Koreans allowed themselves to be betrayed by the
common device of a simulated retreat. They crossed in exultant
pursuit, only to find that they had been trapped into an ambush.
Konishi and Kato now again separated, the former continuing the
direct advance northward, and the latter taking the northeastern
route, which he ultimately followed along the whole of the coast as
far as Kyong-sang, whence he turned inland and finally reached
Hai-ryong, a place destined to acquire much importance in modern
times as the point of junction of the Kilin-Korean railways.

The distance from Seoul to Pyong-yang on the Tadong is 130 miles, and
it was traversed by the Japanese in eighteen days, ten of which had
been occupied in forcing the passage of the Imjin. On the southern
bank of the Tadong, the invaders found themselves in a position even
more difficult than that which had confronted them at the Imjin. They
had to pass a wide rapid river with a walled city of great strength
on its northern bank and with all the boats in the possession of the
Korean garrison, which was believed to be very numerous. Some
parleying took place, and the issue of the situation seemed very
doubtful when the Koreans lost patience and crossed the river, hoping
to destroy the Japanese by a night attack. They miscalculated the
time required for this operation, and daylight compelled them to
abandon the enterprise when its only result had been to disclose to
the invaders the whereabouts of the fords. Then ensued a disorderly
retreat on the part of the Koreans, and there being no time for the
latter to fire the town, storehouses full of grain fell into the
hands of the invaders. The Korean Court resumed its f