an honor that was claimed by an infantryman from Zhejiang Province named Luo Shangzhi, who got up unto the wall while using his halberd to great effect. Japanese defenders were forced off the walls fairly quickly, and retreated to the citadel they built on the eastern portions of the city. Chinese officers initially scoffed at the earth walls of the Japanese citadel, but after coming under fire from the Japanese arquebuses, soon learned to respect the defense. The Jingbirok reported: "The enemy built clay walls with holes on top of their fortress, which looked like a beehive. They fired their muskets though those holes as much as they could, and as a result, a number of Chinese soldiers were wounded". The allies were unwilling to commit to a direct assault on the heavily defended fortification during the day. Instead they left an opening for the Japanese to rally while making preparations for a fire assault on their position at night. Japanese forces sallied out of the undefended eastern walls and made a run for Hanseong, and they were hit with additional ambushes on the way back south and took heavy casualties. A samurai, Yoshino Jingoze'emon, wrote about the retreat: The fortress of Pungsan, held by Otomo Yoshimune of the Third Division, had been abandoned and burned down by him, before Konishi's force reached it, adding to the misery of the retreat. Otomo ruined his reputation by retreating without being attacked, and as a result the Otomo clan, one of the oldest and most respected daimyō families on Kyushu, were disgraced forever, as under Bushido, cowardice was the worst disgrace for a samurai. Otomo's disgrace was also a blow for the efforts of Jesuit missionaries in Japan as Otomo had converted to Catholicism after long talks with Portuguese Jesuits, and many Japanese concluded that Christianity with its emphasis on love and gentleness was not a suitable religion for a samurai. Song Yingchang's letters on March 1, 1593, described the battle in full to the Ming court. After their defeat, the Japanese shifted their strategy to hit-and-run tactics and ambushes. The use of gunpowder technology and street fighting contributed to the victory, which would permanently deter the invasion. Battle of Byeokjegwan Soon after retaking Pyongyang, Li Rusong also succeeded in retaking the major city of Kaesong on January 19, 1592, and met only minor resistance from the Japanese defenders. Overconfident with his