Li Rusong first rose to fame in early 1592, when he managed to defeat a major rebellion at
Ningxia. The Ming army had been unable to move the rebels holed up in the city for the first six months, but after Li arrived the city fell within three months. Li was able to divert the waters of the
Yellow River directly into the city, which led to its fall. He was immediately appointed the chief general of the expedition into Korea after this; he led a force of some 36,000 into Korea in the last few days of 1592. Together with
Ming administrator
Song Yingchang, Li Rusong was generally successful in Korea, first retaking the city of
Pyongyang in a direct assault within two weeks of setting off (on January 8 of 1593), and then took back the city of
Kaesong a couple week later. As he marched south towards the Korean capital of
Hanyang (漢陽) in later January, the Ming army clashed with the Japanese forces in the
Battle of Byeokjegwan, which resulted in the Ming army being pushed back briefly. Within two months after this he succeeded in recapturing Hanyang. He ordered Chinese and Korean troops to refrain from killing all Japanese soldiers and grant them the right to retreat. ==Sword==