bureaus holding the slave records and weapons, and they were already abandoned by its inhabitants. General Gim Myeong-won, in charge of the defenses along the Han River, had retreated. The king's subjects stole the animals in the royal stables and fled before him, leaving their king to rely on farm animals. In every village, the king's party was met by inhabitants, lined up by the road, grieving that their king was abandoning them, and neglecting their duty of paying homage. Parts of the southern shore of the Imjin River were burnt to deprive the Japanese troops of materials with which to make their crossing, and General Gim Myeong-won deployed 12,000 troops at five points along the river. Japanese campaigns in the north Crossing of the Imjin River While the First Division rested in Hanseong (present-day Seoul), the Second Division began heading north, only to be delayed for two weeks by the Imjin River. The Japanese sent a message to the Koreans on the other bank requesting them to open way to China, but the Koreans rejected this. Afterwards, the Japanese commanders withdrew their main forces to the safety of the Paju fortress; the Koreans saw this as a retreat, and 13,000 Korean troops launched an attack at dawn against the remaining Japanese troops on the southern shore of the Imjin River. The main Japanese body counterattacked against the isolated Korean troops, and acquired their boats. The Korean troops under General Gim Myeong-won retreated with heavy losses to the Kaesong fortress. Distribution of Japanese forces in 1592 With the Kaesong castle having been sacked shortly after General Gim Myeong-won retreated to Pyongyang, the Japanese troops divided their objectives: the First Division would pursue the Korean king in Pyongan Province in the north (where Pyongyang is located); the Second Division would attack Hamgyong Province in the northeastern part of Korea; the Sixth Division would attack Jeolla Province at the southwestern tip of the peninsula; the Fourth Division would secure Gangwon Province in the mid-eastern part of the peninsula; and the Third, Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Divisions would stabilize the following provinces respectively: Hwanghae Province (below Pyongan Province), Chungcheong Province (below Gyeonggi Province); Gyeongsang Province (in the southeast where the Japanese first had landed); and Gyeonggi Province (where the capital city is located). Capture of Pyongyang The First Division under Konishi Yukinaga proceeded northward, and sacked Pyongsan, Sŏhŭng, Pungsan, Hwangju, and Chunghwa along