2024, according to the lunar calendar, is the year of Giap Thin. On the first day of spring, opening the history of Vietnam, looking back at the arduous yet heroic past of our ancestors, we see many things worth pondering. The ancients often associated the establishment of the nation with the creation of the emperor. And in the years of the Dragon, there were Vietnamese kings who proclaimed themselves emperors, affirming the independence and sovereignty of "Nam quoc son ha Nam de cu"... Dragon is the fifth branch of the 12 zodiac animals, corresponding to the dragon, associated with spring. The ancient Vietnamese believed that the dragon was a sacred animal symbolizing the "Son of Heaven". The appearance of a dragon is a good omen or a wise king is born to bring peace and prosperity to the world. Is that so, that in the past, building and defending Vietnam, many dynasties were born in the year of the Dragon, many wise kings also ascended the throne in the year of the Dragon and became Dragons of Vietnam. After suppressing the rebellion of the 12 warlords, Dinh Bo Linh ascended the throne. The book Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu recorded that: The king named the country Dai Co Viet, moved the capital to Hoa Lu, built a new capital, built citadels, dug moats, built palaces, and established court ceremonies. His subjects gave the king the title Dai Thang Minh Hoang De. That year was Mau Thin 968. In Dai Viet Su Ky - the first national history book, historian Le Van Huu commented: "The first emperor was more talented and wise than others, the bravest in his life, at a time when our country had no ruler, the strong leaders were in charge, he attacked and all the 12 warlords submitted, then opened the country and established the capital, changed the title of emperor, appointed hundreds of officials, built six armies, and established a nearly complete regime, was it perhaps the will of heaven, because our country had given birth to a sage to continue the rule of Trieu Vuong?". The king named the reign Thai Binh, minted Thai Binh Hung Bao coins; established ranks for civil and military mandarins and monks; organized a disciplined army; developed small-scale handicrafts and trade; reclaimed land and established new villages; established national borders, and then sent envoys to the Song Dynasty to establish diplomatic relations. Later historians all assessed that the Dinh Dynasty officially ended the nearly 1,000-year period of Chinese domination of Vietnam, opening a new era of independence and autonomy. When the king died, the court honored him with the temple title Tien Hoang De, the first emperor. The most important mark of the king was that he claimed the title "emperor" to show equality with the emperor of the Song Dynasty in the North, who considered himself the "celestial dynasty" and the king of the South was just an official with the title Giao Chi district king. The Dai Co Viet State was also the first monarchy of Vietnam to establish diplomatic relations with China as an independent nation, with a national name, imperial name, and reign name... The national name Dai Co Viet (meaning Great Vietnam) was used throughout the three dynasties of Dinh, Le, and Ly with eight kings, lasting 86 years (968 - 1054). There were many dragon years, but the most memorable was the dragon year Mau Thin 968! The Dinh Dynasty lasted for more than 12 years before encountering trouble. The Song Dynasty in the North immediately sent troops to invade Dai Co Viet. In the South, the Champa army also took advantage of the situation to attack and occupy the capital Hoa Lu. King Dinh Toan, son of King Dinh Tien Hoang, ascended the throne at only 6 years old. The situation was so dangerous that the generals and soldiers immediately enthroned General Le Hoan. The book Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu recorded: "The Queen Mother saw that everyone was happy to submit, so she ordered a dragon robe to be put on Hoan and invited Hoan to ascend the throne". So exactly one cycle after the First Emperor established the Dinh Dynasty, a new Dragon appeared in Dai Co Viet. Legend has it that one winter day when he was still young, the boy Le Hoan slept in a mortar. At night, a strange light filled the house. When people came to see, they saw a golden dragon coiled up on top. This story was also recorded in Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu. King Le took action to quell the chaos in the country and then personally led the army to fight against the Song invaders, defeating the Champa army. The country returned to peace, the king immediately began to rebuild the country, build the capital, reform the official system, the military system, reorganize the administration, develop the economy, and pacify the people. In the spring of 1005, the king passed away. The court honored him as Dai Hanh Emperor, later generations called him King Le Dai Hanh. He is one of the 14 most outstanding heroes in Vietnamese history, honored by the Vietnamese State in 2013, along with Dinh Tien Hoang and Ly Thuong Kiet. The Later Le Dynasty was founded by King Le Thai To (Le Loi) (in 1428), and after 32 years of prosperity, power struggles began to arise within the royal family, causing chaos in the court. The mandarins thought of King Le Thai Tong's youngest prince, Gia Vuong Le Tu Thanh. The mandarins discussed with each other: "The throne is difficult, the treasure is very important, if one is not a person of great virtue, one cannot bear it. Now Gia Vuong is naturally intelligent, has great talent and strategy, surpasses everyone, no king can compare, the hearts of the people are all in agreement, enough to know that heaven has helped", Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu recorded. In the summer of Canh Thin year 1460, Le Tu Thanh ascended the throne. That year, the king was 18 years old. True to the mandarins' expectations, this young king, both literary and martial, brought the Le Dynasty to the peak of prosperity. Under the reign of the king, Dai Viet became a powerful country in the Central Indian peninsula (according to the book History of Vietnam by the Institute of History - Social Sciences Publishing House 2017, volume 3). He was King Le Thanh Tong, the longest reigning king in the early Le Dynasty with 37 years of reign and two reign names Quang Thuan and Hong Duc. With so many great contributions to the Le Dynasty and Vietnam, Le Thanh Tong is considered one of the greatest kings in Vietnamese history. During his 37 years of reign, he built a powerful political system with the National Dynasty Penal Code (Hong Duc Law) - considered the most typical law in the history of Vietnamese monarchy. The Hong Duc map is also the first geographical map made by the Vietnamese monarchy. The king promulgated the Royal Dynasty Official System to complete the administrative apparatus and strictly control mandarins. The king also set out 24 regulations to teach people to maintain good customs. The king focused on expanding education and expanding the ranks of common mandarins; he established a hospital to treat the people's illnesses. Transportation, agriculture and markets developed strongly under the king's reign. The king was a talented poet and writer, founded the Tao Dan Association and was the Tao Dan General. King Le Thanh Tong was also a talented military man, not only building a regular Dai Viet army with sophisticated and advanced weapons, but he also personally led troops into battle. The king ordered the casting of the "Thien Nam Hoang De Chi Bao" seal to show that Dai Viet was a southern dynasty, like the northern dynasty (Ming Dynasty, China). Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu also recorded the words of King Le Thanh Tong to his officials in 1473: "One inch of our mountain, one inch of our river, cannot be abandoned. You should argue, do not let them gradually encroach. If they do not listen, you can still send an envoy to the North to explain right and wrong. If you dare to take one inch of our mountain, one inch of our land as bait for the enemy, then you must be executed!". Under Le Thanh Tong's reign, the relationship between Dai Viet and Dai Minh was stable. "Looking at the deeds of King Thanh Tong, he was truly a great king. In terms of civil and military affairs in our country, there was no dynasty more prosperous than the Hong Duc dynasty" - historian Tran Trong Kim assessed so in the book Vietnamese History Summary compiled by him in 1919.