The sailors of the fleet aggregated 9000, and were under the command of Kuki Yoshitaka. [Illustration: Korea] In March, Hideyoshi left Kyōto, and proceeding westward worshiped at the sepulchers of the Emperor Chūai and the Empress Jingō, passing thence to Nagoya in Hizen, where the forces from all the provinces were being mustered. In April the expedition sailed from the coast of Japan. The number of ships was so great that they seemed to cover the sea and struck the Koreans with consternation. Konishi Yukinaga and his division were the first to reach Korea. They effected a landing at Fusan, and took prisoner the Korean general who attempted to defend the port. From this point Yukinaga marched confidently on Tokunegi, overbearing all resistance and putting the enemy's officers to the sword. Shortly afterward Kiyomasa and his corps also reached Fusan, and heading for Kegushagushu, attacked and took it. Korea's opposition was soon crushed, and the whole country submitted to the vast force of invaders. Meanwhile, the king, Lien, who had not failed to convey to China intimation of the pending danger, sent to the court of the Ming sovereigns earnest appeals for succor; and his troops having been everywhere defeated by the Japanese, he finally fled from the capital with his son, and took refuge in Hegushagu, having left one of his generals to defend Kanko. The Japanese troops, everywhere victorious, pushed on to the capital, which was taken by Konishi Yukinaga, the other generals subsequently assembling there. Yukinaga now made preparations to invade Hei-ando, and Kiyomasa took Hamukyando as the scene of his next campaign. Meanwhile, Hideyoshi, forseeing that a Chinese army would be sent to aid the Koreans, dispatched reinforcements to the invading troops, and conveyed to the commanders messages of encouragement and exhortation. He was persuaded that the Japanese army would defeat the Chinese, and he believed that in the space of two years the conquest of China might be effected, in which event he purposed transferring the capital of Japan to China. He even went so far as to determine the routine to be followed in the removal of the Japanese court to China. Kiyomasa now marched northward to Hamukyando, where he took a town called Eikyo. Learning there that two Korean princes were at Kaineifu, he attacked it and took them both prisoners. Continuing his advance, he crossed the northern frontier and entered Orankai, where he destroyed the castle, taking and putting to death a number of Koreans. The impetuosity of his movements and the unvarying success of his arms filled the Koreans with dismay. They gave him the name of "_Kishokwan_" (_i. e._, the demon general), and fled at the mere news of his approach.