Yukinaga, in the meanwhile, having conquered Hei-an, the king of Korea retired from Hegushagu and would have entered Hamukyan, but finding that Kiyomasa had already overrun that district, he turned westward to Gishu (Wiju). Yukinaga marched against Kuimeigen and took Hegushagu, the Japanese troops being everywhere victorious. Things did not fare equally well with the navy, however. The ships sustained several defeats, and their intention of proceeding from Terura-do to Kanai-do to effect a junction with the army was frustrated by the Korean commander Li Shunshin, who fought with the utmost tenacity and stoutness. The emperor of China, having received intelligence of what was going forward in the peninsula, had dispatched from Ap-lok-kong a general named Tso Shingfon at the head of a considerable force, to succor the Koreans. Yukinaga encountered this army and completely routed it, the Chinese general barely escaping with his life, the news of which event inspired much alarm in China. Kiyomasa, whose operations had also been attended with uniform success, now directed his forces southward, and Lien, the king of Korea, in his extremity, once more applied to China for aid. The Chinese sovereign thereupon commissioned a minister, Chom Wei-king, to consult with his colleagues as to the advisability of concluding peace with Japan. But among the Chinese captains there was one Li Chiu, who, having much confidence in his own prowess, insisted that no terms should be offered, and that the war should be prosecuted to the end. Another army was accordingly dispatched to Korea under his command, and marching with rapidity, he soon reached Hegushagu at the head of a great force. There he encountered the Japanese under Yukinaga and defeated them. Yukinaga retired to the Korean capital, whither also the other Japanese generals concentrated their troops, the corps under the command of Kobayagawa Takakage alone remaining to guard Kaijo, despite the urgent advice of the other three generals that he too should concentrate his forces at the capital. Li, following up his victory, pushed on toward the capital at the head of a large army. Takakage and others encountered the Chinese army at Hekitei-kan, and the divisions of Tachibana Muneshige and Mōri Hidekane fought with such bravery that Li's force was almost exterminated, Li himself barely escaping. Takakage hotly pursued the retreating Chinese, great numbers of whom either fell under the swords of the Japanese or were drowned in attempting to cross rivers. This blow threw the Chinese into a state of disorganization. Li retired into Hegushagu, and remained inactive.