The Lam Sơn uprising was a significant rebellion in Vietnamese history, led by Lê Lợi against Ming China's rule. It began in early 1418 and ended in late 1427 with the victory of the Lam Sơn rebels and the retreat of the Ming army after the Đông Quan oath. In 1407, the Ming dynasty annexed the entire territory of Đại Ngu, the short-lived state ruled by the Hồ dynasty in what is now northern Vietnam and established the province of Jiaozhi. Their rule was met with resistance from the Viet people due to the Yongle Emperor's vigorous Sinicization policy, which aimed to assimilate the Viet. This policy caused widespread dissatisfaction and led to a series of uprisings across Jiaozhi, both large and small. After suppressing these uprisings, the Ming dynasty's rule became more stable than ever, but in some areas, there remained a latent risk of rebellion, particularly in the mountainous region of Thanh-Nghệ (modern Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An provinces), where the people were not willing to submit like those in the Kinh lộ region (the lowland Red River Delta). In 1418, Lê Lợi raised an army in Lam Sơn, a rural mountainous area in today's Thanh Hóa province. In the early stages, the Lam Sơn rebels faced many difficulties, often only putting up weak resistance and suffering heavy losses against the Ming army's suppressing campaigns. The turning point occurred when Lê Lợi followed Nguyễn Chích's plan, advancing to liberate Nghệ An—a province in north-central Vietnam—in 1424 and using it as a base to strike out at other locations. After numerous clashes with the Ming army, the Lam Sơn rebels gained control of most of the territory from Thanh Hóa to Thuận Hóa (central Vietnam), tightening the siege on cities that had not yet surrendered. In 1426, with a strengthened army, Lê Lợi gradually mobilized his troops to the north. Utilizing the principle of "avoiding the strong and attacking the weak" and a strategy of mobility, the Lam Sơn army gradually forced the Ming troops to consolidate and defend important citadels. The decisive victory over the overwhelming Ming forces, led by Wang Tong, in the Tốt Động – Chúc Động campaign (near today's Hanoi), allowed the Lam Sơn rebels to gain the support of the majority of the Kinh lộ population, who had previously been intimidated by the might of the Ming. With strong support from the people, the Lam Sơn rebels shifted to the offensive, forcing the Ming troops to take refuge in their citadels and await reinforcements. Taking advantage of the Ming army's low morale after consecutive defeats, Lê Lợi intensified enemy proselytizing and psychological warfare, using diplomatic measures to persuade besieged citadels to surrender. In a short period of time, most of the key citadels in northern Jiaozhi fell into the hands of the Lam Sơn rebels, either through surrender or siege. The Ming army only controlled two major strongholds, Đông Quan (the Ming administrative center in modern Hanoi) and Thanh Hóa, and a few smaller citadels, all of which were under strict siege and completely isolated. In 1427, in a final attempt to salvage the situation, the Xuande Emperor sent Liu Sheng and Mu Sheng with 110,000 troops divided into two routes to reinforce Wang Tong. However, the main force led by Liu Sheng was nearly completely annihilated by the Lam Sơn rebels in the Battle of Chi Lăng – Xương Giang, in present-day Lạng Sơn and Bắc Giang provinces. Liu Sheng himself, along with many other high-ranking generals, was killed in battle. Upon receiving the news, Mu Sheng hastily retreated but was also defeated by the rebels who pursued him. The complete annihilation of the two relief armies marked the end of the Ming's efforts to regain control of Jiaozhi. Wang Tong was forced to surrender and allowed to withdraw his troops safely back to China, in accordance with the agreement made at the Đông Quan oath. After the victory, Lê Lợi ordered the scholar Nguyễn Trãi to write the Bình Ngô đại cáo, announcing the restoration of autonomy to the Viet people after two decades of Ming rule. Lê Lợi ascended to the throne, founding the Later Lê dynasty that lasted for nearly 400 years. [URL=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=38036541]View More On Wikipedia.org[/URL]