The oppressive occupation soon triggered fierce resistance. As early as the end of 1407, many uprisings began to occur. A descendant of the Tran Dynasty proclaimed himself king in 1407, taking the name Gian Dinh and setting up his headquarters in Nghe An Province.

In late 1408, his army marched on the capital, attracting enthusiastic crowds of supporters along the way. Gian Dinh defeated the Ming forces at Bo Co in Nam Dinh Province, but the resistance was weakened by internal dissension due to the murder by Gian Dinh of his able lieutenants Dang Tat and Nguyen Canh Chan, whose sons and followers rallied around another Tran prince, Quy Khoang, in 1409. Starting from Ha Tinh, the movement then spread to other provinces.

Meanwhile, 47,000 reinforcements allowed the Ming general Truong Phu to launch an offensive and push the insurgents back to Nghe An. In 1410, hostilities between the Ming court and Mongols made it possible for Quy Khoang to reoccupy Thanh Hoa; however, in 1411, having defeated the Mongols, the Ming counter-attacked and in 1413 drove the insurgents back to the southern provinces. Early in 1411, the latter's leaders were captured. The Tran princes and aristocrats had proved themselves incapable of providing effective leadership for the resistance, which finally achieved victory under the leadership of a commoner, Le Loi.