莫登庸
The Nguyễn-Trịnh alliance sent a formal embassy to China that denounced the usurpation of Mạc Đăng Dung and asked for help. In 1536, the Chinese delegation concluded that Dung had usurped the throne of the Lê Emperors. After hearing the report, the Jiajing Emperor dispatched an army that arrived on the border of Vietnam in 1537. However, with protestations of loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and the offer of a piece of north Vietnam to the Chinese, Mạc Đăng Dung convinced the Chinese to leave. The official position of the Chinese government was that the Mạc Dynasty should rule in the north and the Lê government should rule in the south. The Nguyễn-Trịnh alliance refused to accept this settlement, continuing the war.