Later Trần dynasty

The Ming conquest of Vietnam of 1406–1407 in attempt to remove Ho Quy Ly and to bring the previous Tran family back to the throne of Dai Viet, however resulted in the destruction of Dai Viet and the creation of Ming province of Jiaozhi. The Ming's chronicles said that when they did not see a Tran heir, they incorporated the Vietnamese kingdom into Ming Empire, but when Tran royal family members appeared and challenged the Ming rule, the Ming ignored them, even hunted down and executed them.[1] The first Vietnamese uprising against the Ming Chinese rule in 1408 was led by Prince Tran Ngoi. Vietnamese annals recognized him as the second son of the former Tran king, while the Ming considered him to be a Hmong imposter.[3] The Ming emperor ordered Mu Sheng mobilized 40,000 from Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Sichuan to repress the rebellion, but was utterly defeated by Tran Ngoi's guerrilla bands.[4] Yongle, being preoccupied with the Mongol wars, appointed Zhang Fu to replace Mu Sheng on February 23, 1409. Mobilizing 8,600 boats he had captured in 1407, along with 47,000 troops, Zhang Fu overwhelmed Tran Ngoi's 20,000 men and 600 ships in a naval battle in September 1409.[4] While Tran Ngoi was captured in December and being delivered to Nanjing for execution, his nephew Tran Quy Khoang continued leading the struggle against the Ming dynasty.[4] Tran Quy Khoang sent two missions to the Yongle emperor seeking recognition. The first pair of envoys were executed, but the Ming accepted the second pair, who carried statues of gold and silver to substitute for Tran Quy Khoang's personal presence. Yongle, who had promoted Ho Quy Ly's son Ho Nguyen Trung to a high court position, appointed Ho Nguyen Trung to speak to the envoys and find out more information. One of the envoys revealed the "true" situation to Ho, then accepted the Ming's offer to appoint Tran Quy Khoang as the Province Commissioner of Jiaozhi Province and appoint that envoy as the magistrate of Nghe An. However, upon returning, the envoy who accepted the offer was executed by Tran Quy Khoang, who was displeased at the envoy accepting the lower position on his behalf.[5]

Tran Quy Khoang eventually renewed his movement, rally more people into his rebellion. Zhang Fu was ordered to returned Jiaozhi to suppress the Vietnamese, and learned that Tran Quy Khoang had high ambitions in that part of the world and would not allow the Ming emperor to dictate the destiny of his people.[6] Zhang Fu again mobilized a strong force of 24,000, battled Tran Quy Khoang's forces in Nam Định on February 12, 1411, killed 4,500 and captured 2,000.[7] On August 6, the Ming army under general Zhang Sheng won fiercely battle in Thanh Hóa, sank 160 vessels, captured 120 boats and killed hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese.[6][8]

Outgunned and outnumbered, Tran Quy Khoang and his partisans continued fought against the superior Ming forces by utilizing Vietnam's terrains against the Ming regulars, and retreating into Cambodia when necessary.[6] By end of 1413, his force lost 60% to 70% and was forced to steal food from the Ming granaries for survival. He, his wife, and his brother were captured by the Ming on March 30, 1414, and was executed in Nanjing on August 16.[9]

• Baldanza, Kathlene (2016). Ming China and Vietnam: Negotiating Borders in Early Modern Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-44055-1.
• Sun, Laichen (2006), "Chinese Gunpowder Technology and Đại Việt, ca. 1390–1497", in Reid, Anthony; Tran, Nhung Tuyet (eds.), Viet Nam: Borderless Histories, University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 72–120, ISBN 978-1-316-44504-4
• Tsai, Shih-shan Henry (2011). Perpetual happiness: The Ming emperor Yongle. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-98109-1.
• Taylor, K. W. (9 May 2013). A History of the Vietnamese. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-24435-1.