After more than two hundred years of the Lý Dynasty's Great Peace, the Trần Dynasty was established in 1225. A clan from the Tức Mặc region (Nam Định) ascended the throne, carrying the wisdom, courage, and resilience of the river and sea people.
Heaven seemed to know a storm was coming, so it gave them the surname Trần, meaning iron and steel in Sino Vietnamese, signifying endurance and indomitability.
The Trần Dynasty was not founded amidst luxury, but in apprehension, as a massive shadow from the North was descending upon the South: the Mongol Yuan Empire, the gigantic global power that Genghis Khan's hordes covered across Eurasia. Only one small strip of land along the East Sea remained unsubdued: Đại Việt.
In 1282, news broke that the Yuan army was preparing to cross the border. King Trần Thánh Tông and King Trần Nhân Tông summoned their generals and mandarins to a meeting at Bình Than Estuary. River smoke curled into the sky, and the golden banner fluttered in the wind. The first person to rise was none other than Trần Quốc Tuấn Hưng Đạo Đại Vương (Grand King Hưng Đạo).
He drew his sword, engraved with the words Trung Nghĩa (Loyalty and Righteousness), and spoke with a voice like thunder:
"If Your Majesties grant me one hundred thousand troops, I promise to slay the enemy general right outside the border gate. But if the people are not united, then even ten thousand swords are useless."
Trần Nhân Tông replied:
"State Duke speaks correctly. To defend the nation, we must first secure the hearts of the people."
The entire court shouted in unison:
"SÁT THÁT!"
The two words meaning "Slay the Tartars (Mongols)" sounded like a divine proclamation across the mountains and rivers, becoming the solemn oath of all Việt people.
Before marching to battle, Trần Hưng Đạo penned the Proclamation to the Officers (Hịch Tướng Sĩ), a manifesto that not only ignited loyalty but became a sacred vow of the nation. He wrote:
"I often forget food at meals, pound my pillow in the middle of the night, my stomach aches as if cut, and tears stream down. I am only angry that I have not yet chopped up the enemy's flesh and peeled their skin! If Your Majesties disregard yourselves for the sake of the Ancestral Land, then I, together with the entire army, swear to live and die together!"
Upon hearing this, every soldier wept, some sharpened their swords, others tightened their bows every hammer strike, every drum beat was the pulse of the Việt heart.
In 1285, the Yuan army poured through Chi Lăng Pass and followed the Red River into Thăng Long. The Trần Kings executed a strategic withdrawal, leaving the capital empty. The enemy laughed arrogantly, believing they had conquered Đại Việt. But when they reached the Đông Bộ Đầu Wharf, the river suddenly roared with battle drums.
Red banners flew high, and fire swept across the water surface. Trần Hưng Đạo, riding a white horse, drew his silver sword and roared:
"Now is the time for the blood of the Việt people to become the river!"
Hundreds of enemy ships burned fiercely, the Red River ablaze like a midnight sun. The Đông Bộ Đầu Battle the opening clash shattered the illusion of the Mongol Empire and began the fiery epic of "SÁT THÁT."
After that defeat, the Yuan mobilized 500,000 troops for a second invasion in 1287. All of Asia trembled. But in Đại Việt, the people were fearless.
From the plains to the mountains, the people hid rice, dismantled bridges, and hid or destroyed boats, choosing to burn everything to save the nation. Trần Quốc Tuấn told his generals:
"The rule for defending the nation lies not just in strategy, but in the people's hearts. As long as the people remain, the nation remains."
The enemy advanced deeply but were starved, exhausted, and attacked everywhere. Trần Khánh Dư ambushed them at Vân Đồn, burning the colossal Yuan supply fleet. The entire Mongol army was left like a headless snake.
In March 1288, the Yuan army retreated. Trần Hưng Đạo laid an ambush at the Bạch Đằng River, the site of Ngô Quyền's victory centuries ago. He ordered hardwood stakes, sharpened and tipped with iron, to be driven into the riverbed, waiting for the high tide.
When the enemy fleet was lured in, drums roared, banners flew, and the Việt fleet attacked from four sides. As the tide receded, the stakes rose, trapping the enemy ships. Fire spread, arrows flew, and the Bạch Đằng River turned crimson like dragon blood.
Ten thousand enemy ships burned; the Yuan general Ô Mã Nhi was captured alive. Trần Hưng Đạo stood amidst the smoke and fire, plunging his sword into the water and declaring:
"From now on, this Southern Nation has only Heaven, Earth, and the Việt people!"
After three victories, the Trần Dynasty not only saved the nation but preserved the national soul. Later generations called that era the Heroic Spirit of Đông A (Hào Khí Đông A), because the character "Trần" (陳) in Han script, when separated, reads Đông A (Eastern Sun/Asia).
That was the light of justice, the flame of a small nation that defeated the world's largest empire without yielding. King Trần Nhân Tông, after the victory, was not intoxicated by power he ascended Yên Tử Mountain to practice Zen, establishing the Trúc Lâm Zen Sect, teaching:
"Defeating the external enemy is not enough one must defeat the enemy within one's own heart."
Three times the nation was saved, three times humiliation was washed away, and three times the Southern Sky was honored. Đại Việt entered an era of confidence and self esteem, no longer fearing any empire. Since then, the common people have continuously sung:
"Whose boat sails against the Bạch Đằng waves?
The waves still remember the crimson blood of yesteryear.
This river, this mountain, this sky,
All bear the name Trần Hưng Đạo."