Ming Chinese forces participated in the defense of Korea during the two Japanese invasions of Korea in the 1590s. The original desire of the Japanese - who were then under the leadership of Toyotomi Hideyoshi - was simply to march through Korea in order to attack the Ming Dynasty, but as that goal seemed less and less likely, the Japanese decided to focus on conquering Joseon Korea. Joseon was a tributary state of Ming China, and thus the Chinese, despite being engaged in other conflicts at the same time, committed significant amounts of soldiers throughout both invasions (especially the second invasion, from 1597–1598). The reason why there were two "invasions" during this conflict was that the Japanese had originally agreed to a negotiate a truce with China, therefore prompting a withdrawal from the peninsula, but negotiations later broke down as the two sides had vastly differing demands. The Chinese and Koreans were never able to expel Japanese forces from the Peninsula, but they were able to prevent a complete Japanese conquest of Korea. The Japanese eventually withdrew their forces following the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1598.