Le Dai Hanh was one of the eminent kings of Vietnam, he is the first king who did not kneely when receiving letter from the Northern.
According to “Dai Viet su ky toan thu”, Le Hoan (941-1005), his father, is Le Mich, and his mother is Dang surname. His parents died early, he was adopted by an officer of the Le family. Growing up, Le Hoan became a servant of King Nam Viet, Dinh Lien.
Defeat the invaders
Being a smart and liberal man, he was very well liked by Dinh Bo Linh. Dinh Bo Linh finished defeating the 12 warlords (968), establishing the Dinh Dynasty. Le Hoan was only 27 years old, was promoted to the rank of shogun (commander of the ten army forces), and later became the supreme commander of the Dai Co Viet army.
When King Dinh Tien Hoang and his son Dinh Lien were murdered (9/979), the Tong aggressively prepared to invade our country. The new King Dinh Toan was too young, Queen Duong Van Nga and the courtiers made him become the king.
Under the leadership of King Le Hoan, the army and people of Dai Co Viet defeated the Tong invasion war in 981, led by General Hau Nhan Bao, firmly defending the independence of the country.
After the victory against the Tong invaders, Le Hoan defeated the Chiem Thanh army in turn, as well as crushed the rebellion, completing the unification of the country.
In addition to military stability, Le Hoan pays great attention to economic development. He became the first king to conduct a plowing ceremony to set an example for the people and stimulate agricultural development in 987. Under the reign of Le Hoan, Dai Co Viet became stronger about the army, business, politics, and diplomacy.
Victory on the diplomatic front
Not only an outstanding talent in the military, the king had a broad vision in economic development and national stability, but Le Hoan also opened and established the basic principles of the country’s diplomacy.
It is a foreign policy that is both flexible and ingenious, but equally tough. That clever foreign policy forced the Tong Dynasty – the most powerful feudal dynasty in Asia at the time – which had a heavy ideological expansion to gradually recognize the power of the independent nation Dai Co Viet.
According to Dai Viet su ky toan thu, each time he welcome the envoy of the Tong Dynasty, Le Hoan will has the different policies, he always made them admire.
In 987, welcoming the Tong envoy, Le Hoan used Buddhist intellectuals to respond to the Ly Giac – the good envoy of Tong Dynasty- made him to surprise with the wisdom of Dai Co Viet. Even after this trip, Ly Giac praised King Le as Tong King.
In the year of Canh Dan (990), King Tong Thai Tong ordered Tong Cao to bring the letter to confer the title of “Dac Tien” to Le Hoan. Having known the arrogant of Tong Dynasty envoy, Le Hoan changed the welcome way. He also wants to show the military strength of Dai Co Viet at this time.
The King Le ordered the some people go to the border to welcome the envoy. On the other hand, he did not forget to show his national power to the Tong envoy.
The Tong Dynasty’s delegation to the Hoa Lu capital saw a strange jubilant scene, the battleship parked close together on the river. On the slopes of the mountain, the soldiers were the correct clothing, the spear was shining brightly. In the fields, thousands of buffaloes and cows roam and make a dense black space, dust flying blindly. Tong envoy see the strength and wealth of Viet country.
According to the ritual, when receiving the royal letter, the king of the vassals country had to prostrate, but Le Hoan sought reasons to refuse. This is the first time, the king of our country received a letter from the Tong Dynasty without having to kneel and bow. This action shows Le Hoan’s tough policy.
According to the documents, during the 30 years of existence, the Le Dynasty went to Bac Tong 7 times and 11 times welcomed the Tong porcelain. In particular, we had 2 times to receive ambassadors and one time to porcelain in 980.
From 983 to 1009, the Le Dynasty only dispatched the porcelain to Bien Kinh for 6 times. In contrast, the Tong Dynasty dispatched porcelain to Dai Co Viet to keep the southern harmonious relationship for 9 times.
In these times, Le Hoan always demonstrated to the ambassador the power of Dai Co Viet, as well as the will of independence, resilience, autonomy and determination to protect the country of the Tien Le family. It is a diplomatic path of full intellect and scholarship.
Le Hoan – The talented general
Le Hoan was one of the people who had the first merit in helping Dinh Bo Linh to eradicate rebellion. Later, he became king, leading the people to defeat the Tong army.
Commenting on Le Hoan, historian Ngo Si Lien wrote: “The king who fights where – wins that, slash King Chiem Thanh to wash the humiliation which arrested our envoy, defeated Tong army, he could be called the most heroic person in all generations”
