he was halted while sailing through Long Xuyên on the Đốc Vàng Hạ River, most of his company was slain, and he was arrested by the southern Việt Minh leader Nguyễn Bình. Sổ was killed, and to prevent the Hoahaoists from recovering his remains and erecting a martyr's shrine, the Việt Minh quartered Sổ's body and scattered his remains across the country; his remains were never found. Post-Sổ period Sổ's death created a power vacuum within the religious leadership. Because he was the sole unexceptional candidate among vying competitors, Sổ's father Huỳnh Công Bộ was hurriedly chosen to succeed him as its leader. He was the former chief of the Hòa Hảo village, and served as the religious doctrine's guardian and movement's leader until his death. Despite this, he lacked his son's charm, authority, political savvy, and ideological obsession. Therefore, the movement began to lose momentum, leading to factionalism, parochialism, and outside organization influence, which caused an increase in violence as the various internal factions engaged in conflicts among themselves. The religious group split into four factions, each led by a former military subordinate of Sổ, while Soái assumed the title of commander in chief of the Hòa Hảo armed forces. The factionalized leaders were far more violent, resorting to public burnings, beheadings, and mass executions of ethnic Khmers and Vietnamese. None of the military commanders were concerned with anything other than their own self-promotion, and none of the civilian leaders had Sổ's capacity to guide them or preach moderation. Their violence was not limited to South Vietnam; they would cross borders and pillage Cambodian villages. Local Khmers responded by creating defense groups to fight the Hòa Hảo, while others converted to assure their safety. Despite this, the Hòa Hảo declared eternal war against the Communists. Haseman argues that Sổ's assassination was a major miscalculation on the part of the Việt Minh, who falsely believed at the time that the Hòa Hảo lacked the strength to fight both the French and the Communists. By mid-1947, the Hoahaoists were committed to armed combat against the Việt Minh. During the First Indochina War, because of their shared antipathy towards the Việt Minh and the need to find a source of financial support to replace French wartime subsidies, Hòa Hảo maintained a level of cooperation with Cao Đài and Bình Xuyên. In the months leading up to the Franco–Việt Minh ceasefire, these shared