Mạc Đăng Dung
In 1540, Mạc Đăng Doanh died and Mạc Đăng Dung reclaimed the throne. The Ming dynasty threatened Mạc Đăng Dung with an invasion of 110,000 men ready to invade Vietnam from Guangxi. Mac caved in to Chinese pressure and accepted their bitter demands, including crawling barefoot in front of the Chinese officials, giving up land to China, downgrading his status from the Emperor to Governor ("Đô thống sứ" 都統使) and giving up official documents like tax registers to the Ming. The Ming official position was that the Mạc should rule over the northern half of Vietnam, while the Lê should rule over the southern half (in other words, below the Red River). The Nguyễn and the Trịnh refused to accept this division of the country and the war continued.