After the death of Ngô Quyền, the nation lost its wise ruler. Dương Tam Kha usurped the throne, Ngô Quyền's two sons fought for power, and the country descended into a state of two simultaneous courts, causing the people's allegiance to fragment. Generals everywhere rose up to defend their territories, raised armies, and proclaimed themselves warlords twelve banners fluttering in the sky.
There was no longer a royal court, nor a national title, only suffering people who still carried the Dragon and Fairy bloodline. Heaven looked down, the earth remained silent, waiting for a person strong enough to unite the rivers and mountains, and rebuild the nation from scratch.
In the rocky mountains of Ninh Bình lived a poor young boy named Đinh Bộ Lĩnh. From childhood, he was brave, often using reeds as banners and gathering local children to play mock battles. People jokingly called him the "General of the Reed Flag", little did they know, that reed would later become a real banner.
As he grew up, Bộ Lĩnh followed Trần Lãm in Bố Hải Khẩu, a wealthy local hero considered one of the Twelve Warlords (Sứ Quân). Trần Lãm, recognizing his righteousness and talent, gave him his daughter in marriage and entrusted him with his entire military authority.
When Trần Lãm died, Bộ Lĩnh brought his entire army back to Hoa Lư, gathering heroes from all regions. He quelled the chaos of the warlords one by one, like sudden thunder, like surging waves. In just a few years, the nation was united once more.
In the year 968, when the last banner submitted, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh ascended the throne, proclaiming himself Đinh Tiên Hoàng Đế (The First Emperor Đinh), and establishing the national title ĐẠI CỒ VIỆT (Great Việt). He set the capital at Hoa Lư, a place encircled by mountains and protected by water.
During the enthronement ceremony, he knelt before the ancestral altar, proclaiming loudly to the assembled populace:
"The blood of the Dragon and Fairy has been spilled too much; today, let Heaven and Earth bear witness. This land, the Việt people shall defend. This nation, the Việt people shall build. From now on, the national title is Đại Cồ Việt, the rivers and mountains are one continuous stretch, and our will shall never again be divided!"
The shout "Long live Đại Cồ Việt!" echoed throughout the plains. The bronze bells chimed, the drums reverberated off the mountains, and in the sky, clouds gathered into the shape of a Dragon curling around Hoa Lư.
Đinh Tiên Hoàng not only founded the nation but also established the foundation for the central court.dividing the country into lộ, phủ, châu (provinces, prefectures, districts) establishing civil and military officials setting taxes, and issuing laws. From this point on, the Việt people truly had a central court, a King, a nation, and a name. Yet, he still reminded everyone:
"Independence is not the end, but the beginning of responsibility. Whoever loves the nation is a descendant of the Dragon and Fairy."
That night, the drums of Hoa Lư still echoed, and the history of Việt Nam turned a new pagethe first page of the Đại Cồ Việt dynasty, a nation bearing its own name, and the soul of the Dragon and Fairy officially revived.