Trần Thiêm Bình

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Trần Thiêm Bình was a man who claimed to be a prince of the Trần dynasty during the Hồ dynasty. Chinese records called him Chen Tian-ping. Some sources say his real name was Nguyễn Khang or Trần Khang. He used to be a servant of Trần Nguyên Huy. Bình led a rebellion against the Trần, but was defeated in 1390 and fled to Ming China, where he changed his name. In 1404 he went to the Ming court in Nanjing and asked the emperor to restore the Trần throne. In 1406 the Yongle Emperor sent 5,000 soldiers to bring him back to Vietnam. The Ming army led by Huang Zhong was attacked by Vietnamese soldiers at Chi Lăng and lost badly. Huang Zhong fled back to China, and Bình was captured. He was executed by Hồ Quý Ly. Chinese records say Huang Zhong handed Bình over as part of a bargain that Hồ would restore the Trần dynasty, but the bargain was broken, angering Yongle and helping lead to a planned invasion of Vietnam.