임진전쟁 초기의 군량 문제와 강화교섭 논의

Abstract

In the early days of Imjin War(壬辰戰爭), supply of provisions forthe Ming(明) forces was a major issue that troubled both Joseon(朝鮮)and Ming forces. Difficulties were predicted before the Ming forcesentered Joseon. When large troops entered Joseon, the problem grewworse. The Ming government promised to supply provisions, but theywere transported only till Uiju(義州), which means that it was up to theJoseon government to transport provisions across the country. However,the transportation of provisions did not go smoothly due to variousreasons including the shortage of manpower. The Joseon governmentdecided to supply its provisions to the Ming forces instead of thosetransported from Ming, but they were not enough. With the shortageof provision, the Ming forces had to march toward Hanseong(Seoul) toobtain provisions only to face limitations. The main-force unit, thecavalry, was not able to march to Hanseong with the death of manyhorses. However, returning back to Ming was not an option for themwith a mission of saving Joseon from the Japanese forces. The commandof the Ming forces was forced to choose a peace negotiation with theJapanese forces in order to complete the mission.was vastly weakened. In the peace negotiation, the Japanese forces saidthat they wanted no more war and wished to offer tributes(朝貢) toMing. Joseon had a difficult time raising a vague objection to the peacenegotiation. It had to come up with a new logic, making the Minggovernment realize that the peace request by the Japanese forces wasa lie and that they should be punished at least once for their invasioninto Joseon. In response to the arguments, the Ming forces blamedJoseon and justified the peace negotiation by criticizing that Joseon wasdependent on the Ming forces without preparing for war itself anddeveloping a logic that Ming should treat Joseon and Japan equally. Joseon had a difficult time reputing the logic and had to come up witha new means and logic.