Lam Sơn uprising

The Lam Sơn uprising (simplified Chinese: 蓝山起义; traditional Chinese: 藍山起義; Vietnamese: Khởi nghĩa Lam Sơn; chữ Hán: 起義藍山, also known as simplified Chinese: 蓝山蜂起; traditional Chinese: 藍山蜂起; Vietnamese: Lam Sơn phong khởi; chữ Hán: 藍山蜂起) was a Vietnamese rebellion led by Lê Lợi in the province of Jiaozhi from 1418 to 1427 against the rule of Ming China. The success of the rebellion led to the establishment of the Later Lê dynasty by Lê Lợi in Đại Việt.

Lam Sơn uprising
Date 1418–1428 Location Jiaozhi Province (Modern-day Northern Vietnam, Central Vietnam), Laos Result Lam Sơn rebel victory Independence of Đại Việt under the Later Lê dynasty
Belligerents
Ming dynasty Lan Xang (1422–1423)	Vietnamese Lam Sơn rebels
Commanders and leaders
Li An Fang Zheng Chen Zhi Li Bin † Cai Fu (POW) Wang Tong Wang Anlao Liu Sheng † Mu Sheng Liang Ming † Li Qing † Huang Fu (POW) Lương Nhữ Hốt	Lê Lợi Lê Thạch † Đinh Lễ † Lý Triện † Lưu Nhân Chú Lê Sát Lê Ngân Nguyễn Chích Phạm Vấn Trịnh Khả Phạm Văn Xảo Lê Văn Linh

Background

Further information: Fourth Era of Northern Domination and 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.^[1] The Ming army guarding in Jiaozhi consisted of at least 87,000 regular troops, scattering in 39 citadels and towns in Northern Vietnam.^[2]

History

Revolt in Thanh Hóa 1418–1423

On February 7, 1416, a group of 18 men including Lê Lợi and Nguyễn Trãi, banded together discussing a revolt against Ming forces.^[3] 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 (平定王; "Prince of Pacification"). Lê Lợi divided his army into small bands of partisan fighters and utilized guerrilla tactics to fight against regular Ming units.^[4]

In February, a Ming army under general Ma Ji attacked Lam Sơn, but was ambushed by Lam Sơn partisans near the Chu River.^[5] 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.^[4]

In 1419, the forces of Lê Lợi attacked and seized a Ming garrison near Lam Sơn. In late 1420, the competent Ming commander Li Bin led a Ming army to attack Mường Thôi, but was defeated. The Lam Sơn partisans later gained control of the upper Mã River.^[5]

In the next year, a large Ming army under General Chen Zhi marched to the Mã River valley to attack the Lam Sơn rebels.^[6] From the opposite direction, a Laotian army with 30,000 men and 100 elephants from Lan Xang approached down the valley.^[7] Lê Lợi initially had the impression that the Laotians were allied to him. Lo Van Luat, an officer of Li Bin, however viewed Lê Lợi as a rival. He persuaded the Laotians to join the Ming to attack Lê Lợi.^[8] 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.^[9]

Capture of Nghệ An and southern provinces (1425)

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.^[10] By the end of 1425, the rebel army had already conquered all lands from Thanh Hóa to Quảng Nam.

Pushing north (1426-27)

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.^[11] 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.^[10]

Battle of Tốt Động-Chúc Động

Main article: Battle of Tốt Động – Chúc Động

The Ming army under General Wang Tong 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.^[12] The battle ended with a decisive Vietnamese victory. Most of the Ming firearms and weapons were captured.^[13]

Siege of Đông Quan

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.^[13] Cai Fu, a Ming commander-in-chief and an engineer, surrendered to Lê Lợi, and began teaching the Vietnamese how to make siege weapons.^[14]

Siege of Xương Giang

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).^[15] The siege took six months and the citadel felt to the rebel hands.^[15]

On March 29, 1427, around 120,000 Chinese reinforcements led by Liu Sheng 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.^[16]

Battle of Chi Lăng

Main article: 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.^[17] 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."^[18] 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).^[19]

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.^[20]

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 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.^[21]

References

1. Tsai 2011, p. 183.
2. Anderson 2020, p. 92.
3. USAFA 1998, p. 208.
4. Tsai 2011, p. 184.
5. Taylor 2013, p. 182.
6. Tsai 2011, p. 185; Taylor 2013, p. 182.
7. Simms 1999, pp. 47–48.
8. Taylor 2013, p. 182; Stuart-Fox 2006, pp. 20–21.
9. Taylor 2013, p. 182; Tsai 2011, p. 185.
10. Taylor 2013, p. 184.
11. Taylor 2013, p. 183.
12. USAFA 1998, p. 209.
13. Sun 2006, p. 85.
14. Sun 2006, p. 86.
15. Kiernan 2019, p. 196.
16. Sun 2006, pp. 88–89.
17. Sun 2006, p. 88.
18. USAFA 1998, p. 210.
19. Baldanza 2016, p. 80.
20. Sun 2006, p. 89.
21. Sesame (4 April 2023). "Discover the Legendary Vietnamese Tale of Le Loi, the Magic Sword, and the Giant Turtle". medium.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.

Bibliography

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• Taylor, K.W. (2013). A History of the Vietnamese. Cambridge University Press.
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