At the front, as usual, were the regents. Ton That Thuyet responded with outright defiance, insulting Hiep Hoa in full view of the court, accusing him of selling out to the invaders and refused to kowtow to him; a treasonous show of defiance. Desperate, and perhaps recalling the tragic fate of Emperor Duc Duc, Hiep Hoa tried to enlist the aid of the French to deal with this internal rebellion. Unfortunately for him, he never made it but was discovered and arrested by Ton That Thuyet on 28 November, 1883. In an unprecedented display of who the real powers were in Hue, the regents put the Emperor before a closed, improvised "court" and charged him with lavishly wasting the fortunes of the Vietnamese people, acting against the wishes of the regents and for betraying their country by signing the Harmand Treaty with France. The outcome of this "trial" was never in question and the following day Emperor Hiep Hoa was forced to commit suicide by swallowing poison after reigning 3 months.
Actually, one of the regents, Tran Tien Thanh, opposed such outrageous behavior, and what was, in effect, the second regicide in half a year. However, Thanh was not as fortunate as Phan Dinh Phung. Rather than banishment, the other two regents had Tran Tien Thanh assassinated as well. Yet, the regents still had to rush to enthrone a new emperor once again. This time they went back to the heirs of Tu Duc and chose someone young in the hope of more easily manipulating him. The choice was the 15-year-old Prince Nguyen Phuc Hieu who was enthroned hastily at five o'clock in the morning on December 1, 1883 when the French Resident Superior was out of town. Naturally, when he returned and found Hiep Hoa dead and the young Kien Phuc in his place, all thanks to Thuyet and Tuong, he was less than pleased.
Resident Champeaux claimed that the enthronement was invalid without French approval and cited the Harmand Treaty, even though this agreement gave France to control over Vietnamese succession. The regents however, denied the treaty altogether under the absurd notion that, as the Emperor who signed it, Hiep Hoa, was dead it no longer applied. Naturally, the French would not stand for this excuse and the regents, who had accused Hiep Hoa of cowardice, soon buckled under themselves and humbly submitted the name of Emperor Kien Phuc to the French for approval and recognition, which was given.
Surprisingly, of the three kings of 1883, Emperor Kien Phuc reigned the longest, which was a grand total of about 9 months. Officially under the regency of Prince Gia Hung of the Imperial Family Council, he was quite a sickly youth and never able to have much of an impact on his country at all. He did though gain a bit of a reputation for morality and fairness, qualities which ultimately might not have served him very well. The real power behind the throne was the Emperor's adopted mother Hoc Phi and her secret lover, regent Nguyen Van Tuong. When Emperor Kien Phuc actually caught these two "in the act" he was outraged and, perhaps imprudently, threatened to have their heads when he overcame his illness. Naturally, the two were unwilling to give the upright monarch the chance and Kien Phuc died on August 1, 1884 probably due to poisoning by the queen Hoc Phi.
This was the end of the last of the "Year of the Three Kings". In one year, Emperor Tu Duc had died, Emperor Duc Duc was removed after three days and later assassinated; Emperor Hiep Hoa was deposed after 3 months on the throne and forced to kill himself and the young Emperor Kien Phuc finished out the year and reigned 9 months before also, in all probability, being assassinated. When Prince Gia Hung tried to form an investigation into the death of Emperor Kien Phuc, regent Thuyet had him exiled and he later vanished, perhaps murdered as well. All of this chaos and court struggle finally convinced the French to remove the regents and that the time was right to take direct control of the Nguyen succession themselves. Vietnam was erased from the map, being replaced by three Ky's of Tonkin, Annam and CochinChina. The French had their foot in the door thanks to the chaos of the Nguyen court, they were intent on expanding, and seeing their power slipping away, the mandarins were intent on rebellion. The stage was set for the first major insurgency against the French and it would focus on the next occupant of the golden dragon throne, the young Emperor Ham Nghi.
