traumatic impacts on the kingdom and the Vietnamese. In pursuit of their mission civilisatrice (sinicization), the Ming built and opened Confucian schools and shines, prohibited old Vietnamese traditions such as tattooing, sent several thousand Vietnamese scholars to China where they were re-educated in Neo-Confucian classics. Some of these literati would dramatically change the Vietnamese state under the new Lê dynasty when they returned in the 1430s and served the new court, triggering a seismic shift from Mahayana Buddhism to Confucianism. Remains of pre-1400s Hanoi, Buddhist sanctuary and temples, were systematically demolished and reduced to ruins or nothing. Revival Lê Lợi-son of a peasant from Thanh Hoá region, led an uprising against the Chinese occupation in spring 1418. He led a war of independence against Ming colonial rule that lasted for 9 years. Assisted by Nguyễn Trãi–a prominent anti-Ming scholar–and other Thanh Hoá families–the Trịnh and the Nguyễn, his rebel forces managed to capture and defeat several major Ming strongholds and counterattacks, eventually drove the Chinese back to the north in 1427. In April 1428, Lê Lợi was proclaimed as Emperor of a new Đại Việt. He established Hanoi as Đông Kinh or the eastern capital, while the dynasty's estate Lam Son became Tây Kinh or the western capital. Through his proclamation, Lê Lợi called upon educated men of ability to come forward to serve the new monarchy. The old Buddhist aristocrats were stripped during the Ming occupation and gave rise to the new emerging literati class. For the first time, a centralized authority based on proper laws was instituted. Literary examination now became crucial for the Việt state, scholars like Nguyễn Trãi played a large role in the court. Lê Lợi shifted his main affair focus to the Tai people and the Laotian Lan Xang kingdom in the west, due to their betrayal and becoming allies with the Ming during his rebellion in the 1420s. In 1431 and 1433, the Việt launched several campaigns on various Tai polities, subdued them, and incorporated the northwest region into Đại Việt. Resurgent kingdom Succession crisis Lê Lợi died in 1433. He chose the younger prince Lê Nguyên Long (Lê Thái Tông, r. 1433–1442) as heir instead of the eldest Lê Tư Tề. Later Lê Tư Tề was expelled from the royal family and degraded status to a commoner. Lê Thái Tông was only ten years old when he was crowned in 1433. Lê