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The
oppressive occupation soon triggered fierce resistance.
As early as the end of 1407, many uprisings began to
occur. A descendant of the Tran Dynasty proclaimed
himself king in 1407, taking the name Gian Dinh and
setting up his headquarters in Nghe An Province.
In late 1408, his army
marched on the capital, attracting enthusiastic crowds
of supporters along the way. Gian Dinh defeated the Ming
forces at Bo Co in
Nam Dinh Province,
but the resistance was weakened by internal dissension
due to the murder by Gian Dinh of his able lieutenants
Dang Tat and Nguyen Canh Chan, whose sons and followers
rallied around another Tran prince, Quy Khoang, in 1409.
Starting from Ha Tinh, the movement then spread to other
provinces.
Meanwhile, 47,000
reinforcements allowed the Ming general Truong Phu to
launch an offensive and push the insurgents back to Nghe
An. In 1410, hostilities between the Ming court and
Mongols made it possible for Quy Khoang to reoccupy
Thanh Hoa; however, in 1411, having defeated the
Mongols, the Ming counter-attacked and in 1413 drove the
insurgents back to the southern provinces. Early in
1411, the latter's leaders were captured. The Tran
princes and aristocrats had proved themselves incapable
of providing effective leadership for the resistance,
which finally achieved victory under the leadership of a
commoner, Le Loi. |
