Lam Sơn uprising

{{Further|Fourth Era of Northern Domination|Later Trần dynasty}}

The Ming Dynasty under Emperor Yongle destroyed the Hồ dynasty in 1407 and incorporated Dai Ngu into the Empire as Jiaozhi Province. However, at first they met fierce resistance from the former Trần dynasty members, led by Prince Trần Ngỗi. Although the rebellion was defeated, it provided inspiration for future Vietnamese movements. A total of 31 revolts occurred from 1415 to 1424 against Ming rule before the rebellion of Lê Lợi in 1418.{{sfn|Tsai|2011|p=183}} The Ming army guarding in Jiaozhi consisted of at least 87,000 regular troops, scattering in 39 citadels and towns in Northern Vietnam.{{sfn|Anderson|2020|p=92}}

On February 7, 1416, a group of 18 men including Lê Lợi and Nguyễn Trãi, banded together discussing a revolt against Ming forces.{{sfn|USAFA|1998|p=208}} During Tết (Lunar New Year) of 1418, Lê Lợi raised the revolt flag against Ming rule in Lam Sơn, Thanh Hóa. He proclaimed himself Bình Định Vương (Prince of Pacification). Lê Lợi divided his army into small bands of partisan fighters and utilized guerrilla tactics to fight against regular Ming units.{{sfn|Tsai|2011|p=184}}

In February, a Ming army under general Ma Ji (马骐) attacked Lam Sơn, but was ambushed by Lam Sơn partisans near the Chu River.{{sfn|Taylor|2013|p=182}} A betrayer led the Ming army to Lam Sơn to attack Lê Lợi in surprise. Lê Lợi's nine-year-old daughter was taken as hostage and sent to Yongle's harem.{{sfn|Tsai|2011|p=184}}

In 1419, the forces of Lê Lợi attacked and seized a Ming garrison near Lam Sơn. In late 1420, the competent Ming commander {{ill|Li Bin (Ming dynasty)|lt=Li Bin|zh|李彬 (丰城侯)}} led a Ming army to attack Mường Thôi, but was defeated. The Lam Sơn partisans later gained control of the upper Mã River.{{sfn|Taylor|2013|p=182}}

In the next year, a large Ming army under General {{ill|Chen Zhi (Ming dynasty)|lt=Chen Zhi|zh|陳智 (明朝)}} marched to the Mã River valley to attack the Lam Sơn rebels.{{sfnm|Tsai|2011|1p=185|Taylor|2013|2p=182}} From the opposite direction, a Laotian army with 30,000 men and 100 elephants from Lan Xang approached down the valley.{{sfn|Simms|1999|pp=47–48}} Lê Lợi initially had the impression that the Laotians were allied to him. Lộ Văn Luật, an officer of Li Bin, however viewed Lê Lợi as a rival. He persuaded the Laotians to join the Ming to attack Lê Lợi.{{sfnm|Taylor|2013|1p=182|Stuart-Fox|2006|2pp=20–21}} In 1422, due to exhaustion and lacking of provisions during the battle, Lê Lợi was forced to disband his partisans and sued for peace by paying gold and silver and promise the Ming administration not to renew insurgency; he then returned to Lam Sơn. In return the Ming provided him with food provision and farm implements.{{sfnm|Taylor|2013|1p=182|Tsai|2011|2p=185}}

Nguyễn Chích, a commander of Lam Son, suggested that they should have moved to the south to the province of Nghệ An. In December 1424, the Lam Sơn partisans seized the control of Vinh Citadel. In June 1425, Lê Lợi's generals Lê Sát and Lưu Nhân Chú attacked Thanh Hóa. In the south, the Lam Sơn army under Trần Nguyên Hãn defeated a Ming army in modern Quảng Bình and then marched through modern Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên, gaining control of the southern lands.{{sfn|Taylor|2013|p=184}} By the end of 1425, the rebel army had already conquered all lands from Thanh Hóa to Quảng Nam.

The new emperor of China, Zhu Zhanji or Xuande Emperor, in 1426 proclaimed a general amnesty and abolished all taxes in Jiaozhi, except for land taxes to be paid in rice, which were needed to supply local Ming garrisons.{{sfn|Taylor|2013|p=183}} In September that year, Lê Lợi sent his armies led by his generals, Trịnh Khả, Lý Triện, Đỗ Bí, Lưu Nhân Chú, Bùi Bị, Đinh Lễ and Nguyễn Xí to advance on the Red River Delta and onward the Sino-Vietnamese border. Lê Lợi installed Trần Cảo as king of Dai Viet.{{sfn|Taylor|2013|p=184}}

{{Main|Battle of Tốt Động – Chúc Động}}

The Ming army under General {{ill|Wang Tong (Ming dynasty)|lt=Wang Tong|zh|王通 (成山侯)}} responded by counterattacking the Vietnamese rebels in Ninh Kiều, south of Hà Nội. On December 4, 54,000 Ming troops engaged 3,000 or 6,000 Vietnamese troops in the 1426 Battle of Tốt Động – Chúc Động.{{sfn|USAFA|1998|p=209}} The battle ended with a decisive Vietnamese victory. Most of the Ming firearms and weapons were captured.{{sfn|Sun|2006|p=85}}

On December 8, the Lam Sơn army laid siege of Đông Quan (Hà Nội), the Ming stronghold on the Red River Delta, and captured it in January 1427.{{sfn|Sun|2006|p=85}} Cai Fu, a Ming commander-in-chief and an engineer, surrendered to Lê Lợi, and began teaching the Vietnamese how to make siege weapons.{{sfn|Sun|2006|p=86}}

In March 1427, the Ming citadel of Xương Giang in at the modern city of Bắc Giang was being besieged. Ming prisoners and defectors provided the Vietnamese manufacturing and launching siege weapons such as primitive tanks (fenwen che), counterweight trebuchets invented by the Muslims (Xiangyang pao or Huihui pao) and hand cannons (huopao).{{sfn|Kiernan|2019|p=196}} The siege took six months and the citadel felt to the rebel hands.{{sfn|Kiernan|2019|p=196}}

File:Ming lamellar coat cavalry.jpg

On March 29, 1427, around 120,000 Chinese reinforcements led by {{ill|Liu Sheng (Ming dynasty)|lt=Liu Sheng|zh|柳升}} and Mu Sheng advanced into Jiaozhi from Yunnan and Guangxi, included 10,000 crack troops who had followed Zheng He on his expeditions, vying to retake the region for the Chinese.{{sfn|Sun|2006|pp=88–89}}

{{Main|Battle of Chi Lăng}}

In September, Liu Sheng's force was ambushed by Lê Lợi at Chi Lăng Pass. The commander, Liu Sheng, was beheaded at the battle.{{sfn|Sun|2006|p=88}} The prolonged war and dire situation of Ming army in Jiaozhi had drained the Empires resources down, leading to compromise. On 29 December 1427, Wang Tong accepted Nguyễn Trãi's terms of orderly withdrawal with "the solemn oath of eternal friendship."{{sfn|USAFA|1998|p=210}} After the treaty, Lê Lợi repatriated 86,640 Ming prisoners to China and disarmed them of all of their weapons. In 1428, Lê Lợi became king of a restored Dai Viet, and ordered Nguyễn Trãi to write the Binh Ngo Dai Cao (Grand Pronouncements).{{sfn|Baldanza|2016|p=80}}

Officials in the Chinese court criticized Wang Tong's performance in the war. Wang was demoted to a commoner and deprived of his land, but later regained them after participating in the Defense of Beijing in 1449.{{sfn|Sun|2006|p=89}}

==Legend of Hoàn Kiếm Lake==

According to legend, during the Fourth Era of Northern Domination, Emperor Lê Lợi was boating on Hoàn Kiếm lake when a giant turtle (Rùa Thần Kim Quy) surfaced who revealed itself as bearing a divine sword, Thuận Thiên. After Lê Lợi defeated the numerically superior Chinese with the sword, he gave the sword back to the turtle and it is now said that the turtle continues to dwell in the lake, looking after the country it helped to protect.{{Cite web |last=Sesame |date=2023-04-04 |title=Discover the Legendary Vietnamese Tale of Le Loi, the Magic Sword, and the Giant Turtle |url=https://medium.com/illumination/discover-the-legendary-vietnamese-tale-of-le-loi-the-magic-sword-and-the-giant-turtle-6597eea4a83a |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=medium.com |language=en}}

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{{Refend}}

{{Ming dynasty topics}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lam Son uprising}}

Category:1410s conflicts

Category:1420s conflicts

Category:15th century in Vietnam

Category:15th-century rebellions

Category:Peasant revolts in Asia

Category:Rebellions in Vietnam

Category:Wars involving the Ming dynasty

Category:Wars involving Vietnam

Category:Wars between China and Vietnam

Category:China–Vietnam relations

Category:Military history of Vietnam

Category:Rebellions in the Ming dynasty