In the third month confidence was so far restored in the north that the king began to think of returning toward the capital. The first stage of this journey was as far as Yong-yu. At this same time the Japanese sent a letter to the Korean general Yu Sŭng-nyong saying that they wished to conclude a treaty of peace. Gen. Yu as in duty bound sent this message on to the Chinese Gen. Yi in P’yŭng-yang. He in turn despatched Sim Yu-gyŭng, who had before acted as an emissary of peace between the Japanese and the Emperor, to take charge of the negotiations and with instructions more or less definite. When this commissioner arrived in the vicinity of Seoul a meeting took place between him and the two Japanese leaders, Konishi and Kato, in mid-stream off the village of Yong-san. Gen Sim opened the conference by saying, “If you had listened to my advice in P’yŭng-yang you would have saved yourselves all this trouble. The Chinese, 40,000 strong, are all about you. They have gone south to fortify the Cho-ryŭng Pass and thus cut off your retreat. The Han River is guarded so thoroughly that you cannot cross; Gen. Yi Yŭ-song is returning from the north with 300,000 fresh troops (an unblushing lie) and I am prepared to offer you the only possible way of escape. You must give up the two princes; you must leave the capital and move south to the coast of Kyŭng-sang Province. Then and not till then will we conclude peace and the Emperor will recognize your king as his vassal.” The vanquished invaders saw that there was nothing to do but comply, and so in the name of the thirty-seven Japanese generals they engaged to evacuate Seoul on the nineteenth day of the fourth moon. It was further agreed that they should leave untouched 20,000 bags of rice which were stored in the government granaries. The two princes were to accompany the Japanese as far as Fusan and were to be handed over to the Korean authorities there.