(The previous periods of Chinese rule in the Vietnamese lands, collectively known as Bắc thuộc, lasted much longer and amounted to around 1000 years.)

In mid-late 14th century, the kingdom of Đại Việt (north Vietnam) faced a series of troubles resulting in an ecological breakdown.

The Yongle Emperor of the Ming Empire issued an edict reprimanding the usurper and demanding the restoration of the Trần throne.

As the party crossed the border into Lạng Sơn, Hồ's forces ambushed them and killed the Trần prince that the Ming convoy were escorting back.

In November 1406, 215,000 Ming troops under skilled generals Zhang Fu and Mu Sheng departed from Guangxi and Yunnan respectively to launch an invasion of Đại Việt.

[7] In the meantime, anti-Chinese activists used the heroic deeds of their martyrs to support Vietnamese patriotism and keep up the struggle against their colonial masters.

[10] When in 1426, Zhang Fu requested permission to resume command of Ming Jiaozhi army to deal with the worsening situation there, the emperor refused.

[11] In early November 1426, Lê Lợi's 3,000 Vietnamese rebels achieved a surprise victory over the Ming army led by Wang Tong with about 30,000 Chinese soldiers were killed or captured in Tốt Động (32 km south of Hanoi).

In return, Lê Lợi sent diplomatic messages to the Ming imperial court, promising Vietnam's loyalty as a nominate tributary state of China and cooperation.

The case of Vietnamese monarch Lê Lợi showed that it was possible to satisfy Chinese pride while maintaining political independence.

In major towns and cities throughout the occupied regions had moats and walls added, and troops alternated between defence and farming duties to provide their own food needs.

[19] The Ming occupying army of Jiaozhi consisted 87,000 regulars, scattered in 39 citadels and towns in Northern Vietnam, but clustered in the Red River Delta area.

The Artillery Camp was thus built around these Vietnamese firearm specialists, who instructed Ming soldiers under the supervision of palace eunuchs.

[21] The first record of firearm usage in Đại Việt was in 1390 when Vietnamese soldiers used cannons and killed the Cham king Chế Bồng Nga.

[22] The Ming government enjoyed some support from the Vietnamese, at least in the capital of Thăng Long, but their efforts to assert control in the surrounding countryside were met with stiff resistance.

"[28][29] Cultural incorporation was pursued with the new Jiaozhi administration advising the Ming court: The yi people of Annam venerate the law of the Buddha, but do not know to worship or sacrifice the spirits.

[30] For the first time, Đại Việt experienced the sustained influence of Neo-Confucian ideology, which not only included the traditional doctrines of filial piety but also demanded an "activist, state-oriented service" based on officials' absolute loyalty to the dynasty and on the moral superiority of the "civilized" over the "barbarian" as the Ming viewed the Vietnamese as barbarians.

[27] Yongle brought Vietnamese students to the National Institution at the Ming capital and appointed more natives to the minor local offices in Jiaozhi.

[32] The Mongol, Cham, and Ming invasions of 13th-15th centuries destroyed many Vietnamese important sites, buildings, artifacts, and archives of the Postclassical period.

[27] Imperial orders dispatched in early 1407 required that: When the troops overcome Annam, enquire far and wide within the borders for knowledgeable and moral men, as well as those who have abilities which can used or skills which can be employed.

Yongle also repeatedly exacted from his newly conquered subjects such as local specialties as tropical green feathers, gold, paints, fans, silk fabrics, and a special sandalwood called the sumu that was used for building doors in the new palace and from whose bark a red dye was extracted.