The year 1627 no sooner opened that the long dreaded event took place. On the fifth moon 30,000 Manchu soldiers crossed the Yalu River and a few days later stood before the city of Eui-ju. Approaching the gate a herald cried, “The second king of the great Golden Kingdom is now laying his heavy hand on Korea. If you do not come out and surrender we will raze your town to the level of the ground.” Unfortunately for the good name of Korea the prefect was at that moment sleeping off the effects of a drunken debauch in the house of a dancing girl. He came forth and tried to get the garrison together, but it was too late, for already the traitor Han Yun had entered the town in Korean clothes and had thrown the gates open to the ruthless invaders. The prefect and his whole garrison were set up in line and shot down by the savage Manchus, after which they boiled the body of the prefect in a kettle and sacrificed to heaven with the flesh. They then sent a letter to the king couched in the following terms: “You have committed four crimes. (1) You did not send an envoy to commiserate with us on the death of the great Norach’i. (2) You have never thanked us for sparing your army when we beat you and the Chinese together. (3) You afforded asylum to our enemy, Mo Mun-nyŏng. (4) Your people have killed many of the residents of Liao-tung in cold blood. It is for these reasons that our wrath is kindled against you.” And so the invading army moved southward, forcing the Koreans to cut their hair and compelling them to act as guides. But they did not come unopposed. They were met at Yong-ch’ŭn by its prefect at the head of 2,000 men, but a small official turned traitor and opened the gates to the Manchus. On the seventeenth they arrived at Kwak-san where they were told by the Korean garrison that death was preferable to surrender; the Koreans found it so, for they were soon overpowered and massacred. Two prefects whose wives had been confiscated by the Manchus thought to save themselves and recover their wives by going over to the enemy but when they did so they found their wives still held as concubines while they themselves were compelled to hold the bridles of the men who brutally refused to give back the women. Seoul was meanwhile going through one of those periodical eruptions which she was destined to suffer for many years to come. Gen. Chang Man became general-in-chief, with Chöng Ch’ung Sin as second They immediately took all the available forces and marched northward. Gen. Sin was placed at the Im-jin River to block the approach of the enemy Gen. Kim went south to collect troops in Ch’ung-ch’ŭng Province, and others went in other directions. A call was made to all the eight provinces for men. Gen. Yi Sö was put in command of Nam-han. The king recalled many men from banishment, probably with a view to bringing into harmony all the different elements and securing unanimity among all classes.