East Asia when China was at the centre: the tribute system in early modern East Asia

In 1592, JapaneseGeneralHideyoshi invadedKoreawithmore than 160,000 troops on approximately 700 ships, eventually mobilizing 500,000 troops, intending to conquer China after first subduing Korea (Swope 2005: 41). More than 60,000 Korean soldiers, eventually supported by 100,000 Ming Chinese forces, defended the Korean peninsula. After 6 years of war, the Japanese retreated and Hideyoshi died, having failed spectacularly in his quest to conquer China and Korea.