⑦ Admiral Yi and Chen Lin, Part 3

The Background to the Battle of Waegyoseong

In late September 1598, by the lunar calendar, an odd unease was spreading along the southern coast. Word had leaked out among refugees and prisoners that Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japan's supreme ruler, had died on the 18th day of the eighth month by the lunar calendar. Japan's leadership tried to keep his death a closely guarded secret to prevent morale from collapsing, but Konishi Yukinaga, the Japanese general holding Waegyoseong -- a fortress the Japanese had built at Suncheon -- had already sensed that something was wrong back home, and was looking only for a way to withdraw his troops without a fight.

Waegyoseong in Suncheon, the Japanese fortress that seemed impossible to take

Amid this shifting situation, the Joseon-Ming allied forces agreed on a large joint operation to wipe out the Japanese garrison at Waegyoseong once and for all, striking from land and sea at the same time. The navy fell to Admiral Yi and Admiral Chen Lin; the army, to the Ming general Liu Ting. At the time, Waegyoseong was considered impregnable, and a combined land-and-sea assault was the only way anyone could imagine taking it.

But Konishi Yukinaga, hoping to slip away without a fight, bribed Liu Ting -- the Ming army's supreme commander -- on a massive scale, and Liu Ting took the bait. That betrayal would bring a great catastrophe down on the Ming navy at sea on the night of October 3, 1598, by the lunar calendar.

The Night of October 3 -- Liu Ting's Betrayal and the Ebbing Tide

On the night of the battle, Admiral Yi and the rest of the navy's command sent word to Liu Ting that the tide would favor an attack that night, and received his approval to go ahead. Expecting the army to strike alongside them, the Joseon-Ming fleet pressed boldly toward Waegyoseong.

Joseon officers and sailors threw themselves at the enemy without regard for their own safety, burning and dragging away more than ten Japanese ships in fierce fighting. But Liu Ting's army, which had promised to answer from land, broke its word -- not a single soldier moved. The navy was left to fight alone.

A worse problem was building. In the middle of the fierce fighting, the tide, which had been coming in, began rushing back out. Admiral Yi saw at once that the ships risked being stranded on the mudflats and immediately signaled a retreat.

But amid the thunder of cannon fire and shouting in the night battle, Chen Lin and the Ming ships -- which had pushed deep into enemy territory, eager for glory -- never heard Admiral Yi's signal to fall back.

The Ming Navy's Disaster on the Mudflats

As the water rushed out, the Ming sa-seon (their main warships) and ho-seon (their assault ships) found themselves helplessly stranded on the broad mudflats before Waegyoseong. The Japanese inside the fortress seized the chance and poured cannon and musket fire down onto the stranded Ming ships.

Chen Lin, blinded by his hunger for glory and driven to reckless advance, watched in horror as his own flagship and the bulk of his fleet were trapped in the mud or surrounded by Japanese ships. The Ming sailors caught on the mudflats set their own ships ablaze to keep the boats and weapons from falling into Japanese hands, then fled; the surrounded ships burned and sank under relentless Japanese attack.

The Ming navy later played down its losses in its own reports, but Admiral Yi investigated the scene himself and recorded the true scale of the damage in the Nanjung Ilgi:

Sa-seon (Ming main warships): 25 lost. Ho-seon (Ming assault ships): 77 lost. Bihaeseon (Ming fast ships): 17 lost. Janseon (hulks left over from ships destroyed in battle but not fully lost): 9. A total of 128 ships.

The Truth Behind the Diary -- the Panokseon That Saved Chen Lin

In this way, the Nanjung Ilgi records the Ming navy's absurd defeat and Chen Lin's humiliation with complete objectivity. Admiral Yi never wrote in his diary that he himself had saved Chen Lin. But the Annals of King Seonjo and the Yi Chungmugong Haengnok both record that it was Admiral Yi who rescued Chen Lin -- surrounded by Japanese ships and in mortal danger.

Seeing Chen Lin trapped and in grave danger, Admiral Yi ordered Ryu Hyeong, the Sado deputy commander, and others to charge in with Joseon panokseon warships. They broke through the Japanese encirclement and succeeded in pulling Chen Lin to safety.

How must Chen Lin have felt toward Admiral Yi, who had saved his very life this time, after already yielding him credit at the Battle of Jeoldo? Deep trust and respect, most likely. That change of heart is borne out by the fact that Chen Lin came to address Admiral Yi as “Noya” or “Yi-ya” -- both meaning something like “elder” or “honored sir.”

👉 Next post: ⑧ Admiral Yi and Chen Lin, Part 4 (Conclusion)