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Story 12: General Thuong Kiet Ly


His birth name is Tuan Ngo, an offspring of Quyen Ngo. He was borned in 1019 at Thai Hoa ward, Thang Long (now Hanoi). When he was child, he early showed brave and martial spirit what were inherited from his family who had been generals, dedicating to Ly dynasty. His father, An Ngu Ngo was also one of them he was a great general. When he was 13 years old, he lost his father and was taken care by his aunt and her husband. Tuan Ngo was taught by Cong An Ly, a royal great teacher at that time. His teacher complimented that he had talent but he headed to be a general instead of a mandarin. Therefore, he studied literature in daytime and research art of warfare in night time.
vietnamese fairy tales
When he was enough 18 years old, he opened a martial class. People coming and studying were crowded. The news came to the recent king who summoned him to castle and conferred him to be a low martial mandarin. Two years later, he became the king’s guard staying by the king entire day. That time, the king realized that Tuan Ngo was a person who had many good qualities, tough, hard work, assertive, talents and having many great ideas. Therefore, the king gifted him the name, Thuong Kiet Ly with royal family name in it, Ly.
When Thanh Tong Ly ascended the throne, he was ordained to become the fourth powerful mandarin in the country and when Nhan Tong Ly ascended the throne, he was mandarin who commanded all soldiers, his power, that time, was only below Empress Dowager Linh Nhan.
When the child King Nhan Tong Ly had just ascended the throne, An Thach Vuong, the most poweful mandarin of Tong which was strong country in the north of Dai Viet, made a policy, applying high tax policy to supply for armies and national budget. The policy was protested by almost people. Therefore, An Thach Vuong planned to invade Dai Viet to lead peope's attentions to other direction and he also wanted to reave things from Dai Viet. They prepared carefully. Food and weapons were massed in Ung Chau citadel, the citadel stood by the road which led to Dai Viet and two sea ports of Tong, Liem Chau and Kham Chau which were place Tong accumulated food and weapons. All armies were summoned for the battle.
Dai Viet immediately discussed about battle plan. They were the young king Thanh Tong Ly, the most powerful mandarin Dao Thanh Ly, Empress Dowager Linh Nhan and the most powerful general Thuong Kiet Ly. Thuong Kiet Ly had a daring idea that they would destroy their enemies before they attacked them.
Before he and General Tong Dan brought armies to the north, Thuong Kiet Ly had spread a notification which explained their purpose, detroying preparation of Tong to attack Dai Viet which helped people living in Tong understand that they were led and also help soldiers of Dai Viet not be misunderstood. Thuong Kiet Ly also ordered soldier not to annoy people where they walked pass. Therefore, soldier of Dai Tong walked in Tong without protest of Tong's people. After 42 days fighting, Thuong Kiet Ly and his armies had destroyed three military logistics base of Tong. The failure made Tong’s king demote An Thach Vuong. But, Tong’s king didn’t give up the plan, invading Dai Viet.
In 1076, Tong Than Tong, the king of Tong, summoned one hundred thousand soldiers, ten thousand horses and two hundred thousand people who went with soldiers and were responsible for building, carrying and all other things which served soldiers. Besides, a fleet of warships went to Dai Viet on waterway. Two general who led armies were Quy Quach and Tiet Trieu, two famous general in Tong that time.
Early 1077, foot-soldiers of Tong went to north shore of River Nhu Nguyet and were prevented at there. The river with one hundred kilometer from foot of the Mountain Tam Dao to River Luc Dau challenged them. Therefore, they stopped waited for warships. They planned to get pass the river by warships and influxed in Thang Long with marines at the same time. But, warships had been sunk into East Sea when they found the way to go in Dai Viet at Outfall Bach Dang because they fell into the trap soldiers of Dai Viet had prepared for them. Soldiers of Dai Viet also prepared other traps on the other side of River Nhu Nguyet to prevent soldiers of Tong.
When General Quy Quach knew that warships had been destroyed, he ordered soldiers built a pontoon bridge to cross the river. But, soldiers of Dai Viet didn’t let them do it easily, they trebuchets, archeries shot large rocks and arrows toward the pontoon bridge. None could count how many soldiers of Tong had died but their general still forced them to go straight. Some of them passed the river and landed on the other side of river but they had to fight against soldiers of Dai Viet at one they had no chance to notice that some soldiers of Dai Viet went over them and broke the pontoon bridge. Later, all of Tong’s soldiers who had passed river were destroyed.
But they didn’t give up. They continued crossing the river on wooden rafts but wooden rafts could bring no many soldiers and besides, they moved very slowly. That was disadvantage when soldiers of Dai Viet started again, shooting rocks and arrows toward them. Rocks made rafts broken, soldiers fell into water and died after that. Arrows made them injured and killed them. Too many corpses floated on water and massed on others that made the river stuck.
Two times failure, Quy Quach felt depressed, he immediately notified: “Anyone talks about battle, I will cut off his head immediately”.
Tong’s soldiers were in case that they couldn’t continue fighting and also couldn’t go back their country. Besides, they were not supplied enough food, medicines that made many of them got sick and died. Others were killed by people living around when they parted from their fellows. Therefore, they always had to force themselves not to catch off guard a second that made them exhausted. 
Thuong Kiet Ly, on other side, had an idea to encourage his soldiers. That was a poem, Mountains and Rivers of the Southern Country (Nam Quoc Son Ha). The poem turned famous after that and now, is considered as the first manifesto of Vietnam.
The poem was translated to English but I don’t know who he or she is. It is
“The mountains and rivers that carved the southern empire,
dwelled by the Southern Emperor.
Its sovereignty is of nature's will and is allotted in script from the heaven.
If these invaders dare trespass They are going to get a huge beating.”
Every night a person was ordered went in Truong Hat temple standing by River Nhu Nguyet (the temple was also where worshiped the god reigned River Nhu Nguyet) and read aloud the poem. And all things were done in secret that made soldiers of Dai Viet thought that was gods’ words.  Therefore, Dai Viet’s soldiers seemed to be encouraged very much while Tong’s soldiers turned scared.
After two months preventing Tong’s soldiers not to cross river, in March 1077 Dai Viet decided to attack them. While Hoang Chan and Chieu Van led soldiers on boats rowed cross river toward camps where soldiers of Quy Quach stayed and attracted their notice, Thuong Kiet Ly led his soldiers attacked directly main force of Tong, led by Tiet Trieu. Their attack happened at night and Tong’s soldiers were completely surprised so they separated and found the way, heading toward the north, to save their life.
The next morning, Thuong Kiet Ly ordered a person to bring a letter to Quy Quach. That was ceasefire letter. Quy Quach was still frightened agreed immediately. He summoned his soldiers and walked toward Tong without his king’s order.
When invaders were chased away country, Thuong Kiet Ly continued being responsible to solve inside national problems. He built and repaired dikes, roads, temples, houses which were destroyed in the war. He was the person who had reformed the national administrative apparatus.
In the end time of his life, he asked the king to let him come to Thanh Hoa and managed the place. In 1101, King Nhan Tong Ly invited him to come back capital and conferred his old position. That time, he was 82 years old. He himself still brought soldiers fought against enemies in Dien Chau (1103) and enemies in Bo Chinh (1104). In the time, he also reformed army ranks.
Thuong Kiet Ly had served for three kings (Thai Tong Ly, Thanh Tong Ly and Nhan Tong Ly) for whole his life.
In 1106, Thuong Kiet Ly died at 86 years old and was worshiped in many places in Dai Viet.
THE END 
"Translator:  Hung Nguyen"

Read more:
Historical stories
Story 11: King Nhan Tong Ly 
Story 13: Van Thinh Le
Story 14: King Than Tong Ly
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Truyện cổ tích Việt Nam
Vietnamese fairy tales
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