W.Minh Tuan

According to legend, Vietnamese history began in 2879 BC, from the reign of the first Hung King, King Kinh Duong Vuong Loc Tuc.

This is the first Hung Vuong King.

King Kinh Duong Vuong gave birth to Mr. Lac Long Quan, the second Hung Vuong King.

Mr. Lac Long Quan married Mrs. Au Co, gave birth to 100 eggs, which hatched into 100 sons.

50 sons followed Mr. Lac Long Quan to the sea, expanding the country to the sea.

50 sons followed Mrs. Au Co up the mountain, opened mountains, broke rocks, and expanded the country in the mountainous areas.

Among these 100 children, the eldest son became king in place of Lac Long Quan, the first Hung Vuong king named Hung Vuong, until the last 18th Hung Vuong, in 257 BC (16 kings named Hung Vuong. Hung Vuong king,s remaining the first two men, named Kinh Duong Vuong, and Lac Long Quan).

Since 257 BC, King Hung Vuong 18th ceded the throne to King An Duong Vuong Thuc Phan.

In 207 BC, Trieu Da of the Han Dynasty pretended to send his son Trong Thuy to marry King An Duong Vuong’s daughter My Chau, to act as a spy to steal the magical crossbow – Vietnam’s military secret, and attacked, defeated King An Duong Vuong of Vietnam in 207 BC, ending a period of nearly 3,000 years of living in peace for the Hung Kings of Vietnam.

From then on, from 207 BC, the Han Dynasty ruled Vietnam for 1145 years, until 938 AD.

In early 938, General Ngo Quyen defeated the Southern Han army that ruled Vietnam, establishing the independent State of Vietnam.

The Han Dynasty sent troops to attack King Ngo Quyen to regain control of Vietnam.

In the winter of 938, King Nam Han sent his son Hoang Thao, leading 20,000 troops, traveling by boat, about 200 warships, from Yunnan, China, by sea through Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong to enter Thang Long Vietnam.

General Ngo Quyen ordered a sharpened wooden stake, with an iron tip, placed into the river bed, at the mouth of the Bach Dang river, to wait for the Southern Han army.

Bach Dang River is a river about 20 km long, located between Quang Ninh and Hai Phong provinces, with an estuary connecting to the Quang Ninh-Hai Phong sea.

The tidal water at Bach Dang river mouth usually rises about 4 meters high, rising in the morning and receding in the afternoon, so wooden stakes 2.5 meters and 2.8 meters long planted in the river bed will be covered by high tides, can not be seen.

When the fleet of boats of the Nam Han army passed through the Bach Dang river mouth, the tide rose, covering the wooden stakes, then about 20 small Vietnamese warships swam out to challenge and attack the Nam Han army, then pretended to lose, run away.

The boats of the Southern Han army quickly chased after them, deep into the Bach Dang estuary.

Ngo Quyen’s army waited for the water to recede, then rushed out to counterattack. About 1,000 small Vietnamese boats rushed out to counterattack, causing the Southern Han army to retreat in panic.

But at this time the tide was very low, the wooden piles gradually rose, the boats of the Nam Han army were large and bulky, crashed into the wooden piles, punctured the boats, and almost sank.

Vietnamese boats are small, so they can maneuver between wooden piles and not sink.

General Hoang Thao was captured and beheaded.

The Southern Han army had only a few thousand survivors left, escaping back to China.

Currently, some of these wooden piles have been found, dug up, and put into the Vietnam History Museum, in Hanoi.

Now you can go there and see those wooden stakes.///