Battle of Jiksan

Ma Gui led Niu Boying and Jie Sheng to Jiksan, modern Cheonan, and laid an ambush there for the Japanese army.^[6]

On 16 October 1597, Kuroda Nagamasa's force of 5,000 arrived at Jiksan, where 6,000 Ming soldiers were stationed. Kuroda's forces charged the enemies and was soon joined by the rest of the army, bringing Japanese forces to 30,000. Although heavily outnumbering the Ming, the Japanese were unable to do much damage due to the Ming's superior armor. According to Kuroda and Mōri Hidemoto, their firearms could not penetrate the iron shields used by Chinese soldiers, and their armor was at least partially bulletproof.^[4] The battle continued until dusk when the two sides withdrew.^[4][5][3]

Kuroda launched another attack at night, this time in a pronged sweeping crane formation that sought to crush the enemies between them. The attack failed and turned into a rout that was joined by 2,000 Ming cavalry.^[5]

Most Western, Korean, and Chinese sources claim the Ming won and the Japanese lost this battle.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

Japanese sources are more mixed on the battle's outcome. Some state that it was inconclusive, a Japanese defeat, or a Ming defeat.^{[12][13][14][15][16]} One source claims that the Japanese did not advance north due to the upcoming winter and shortages of food.^[14][17] Another source adds that there were rumors that Kuroda Nagamasa's forces suffered heavy casualties.^[18][19]

Jiksan was the furthest the Japanese ever got towards reaching Hanseong (Seoul) during the second invasion. Although they were forced to withdraw at Jiksan, it was not a major loss, and resulted in an orderly retreat south by the Japanese.^[5]