Lê Thái Tông (黎太宗 22 December 1423 – 28 August 1442), birth name Lê Nguyên Long (黎元龍), was the second emperor of the Later Lê dynasty from 1433 until his early death nine years later. Biography Lê Thái Tông was the second son of Lê Lợi. Although his mother died when he was at a young age, he was considered as bright and capable as his father was. When Lê Lợi became sick in 1433, he summoned his closest advisors (Lê Sát, Trịnh Khả, Pham Van Sao, Nguyễn Trãi, Tran Nguyen Han, and Le Ngan) to name Lê Thái Tông as his heir to the throne. At the time Lê Thái Tông was only ten years old. Upon Lê Lợi's death, Lê Sát assumed the regency of Vietnam. Lê Sát ruled Vietnam more for himself than for the young emperor. He eliminated many of his rivals by various means and tried to further solidify his power base within the government. Lê Thái Tông became increasingly unhappy with his regent's actions and sought support from rival factions. He struck an alliance with Trịnh Khả, who had been exiled to a distant locality due to not getting along well with Lê Sát. One of his first acts upon officially taking the throne in 1438 was to bring Trịnh Khả back and installed him as the head of the Palace Guards - against Lê Sát's strong objections. A few months later, Lê Sát was accused of lacking in virtue and usurping the power which belonged solely to the emperor. The erstwhile Grand Chancellor was then arrested, tried and executed shortly after. In spring 1440, an ethnic chief named Hà Tông Lai rebelled in Thu Vật sub-prefecture in Tuyên Quang (Northwest Đại Việt). Lê Thái Tông launched and personally led a campaign against Hà Tông Lai. After only one week of fighting, the young emperor emerged victorious as Hà Tông Lai was beheaded and his son Tông Mậu was arrested. Not long after that, in 1440 another ethnic chief named Nghiễm broke loyalty with the court and gathered troops in the Gia Hưng prefecture, also in the nation's northwest area. Lê Thái Tông again personally led troops to the northwest. The imperial armies defeated Nghiễm, who subsequently presented the emperor with a buffalo as a clue of submission. That satisfied the emperor enough and he ordered the army to retreat, partly due to the