Lê Lợi (, chữ Hán: 黎利; c. 10 September 1384/1385 – 5 October 1433), also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖) and by his pre-imperial title Bình Định vương (平定王; "Prince of Pacification"), was a Vietnamese rebel leader who founded the Later Lê dynasty and became the first emperor of the restored kingdom of Đại Việt after it was conquered by the Ming dynasty. In 1418, Lê Lợi and his followers in his homeland rose up against Ming rule, was called the Lam Sơn Uprising. He was known for his effective guerrilla tactics, including constantly moving on the wing and using small bands of brigands to ambush the regular Ming units. Nine years later, his resistance movement successfully drove the Ming armies out of Vietnam and liberated the country. Lê Lợi is among the most famous figures of Vietnamese history and one of its greatest heroes. Background From mid-1300s, Đại Việt faced serious troubles that damaged much of the kingdom. The fourteenth century ecological breakdown led to a social crisis as the ruling Trần dynasty weakening. Even in the capital, Thăng Long, turmoil broke out in 1369–70, provoking a princely coup and a short, bloody civil war. From the south, the Chams under Chế Bồng Nga repeatedly were fighting off Đại Việt, sacked Viet capital Thăng Long in 1371. In 1377 Champa defeated and killed Đại Việt's king Trần Duệ Tông in a battle near Vijaya, then marched north and against sacked Thăng Long four more times from 1378 to 1383. The sacks of Hanoi led to the rising of a radical intellectual and reformer, Hồ Quý Ly (c. 1336 – 1408). In 1399 Hồ Quý Ly deposed the Trần royal family and established himself as ruler of Đại Việt. This led to the massive military response from the Chinese Ming dynasty to the north, who inherited some interests in the world empire. In November 1406, 215,000 Ming troops under skilled generals Zhang Fu and Mu Sheng invaded Đại Việt and quickly defeated Hồ Quý Ly's army, annexing Dai Ngu and renaming it to Han-era name Jiaozhi. The Ming Chinese began building up their colonial administration in Jiaozhi Province, encouraging the Ming Confucian ideology, bureaucratic and Classic Chinese study to the local people, forced the Vietnamese to wear Chinese clothes and adopt Chinese culture. The Ming government enjoyed some support from the Vietnamese, at least in