The "warriors" in the battle of Bo Dang

(Baonghean) - It is said that in the spring of 1424, following the advice of Nguyen Chich - a talented general of Le Loi, the Lam Son insurgents marched from Lam Son base (Thanh Hoa) through the forest into Nghe An to defeat Bo Dang fort, opening the campaign to attack Nghe An citadel. From there, they expanded the attack to the North to defeat the invading Ming army, liberating the country.

Bo Dang Mountain seen from Chau Tien - Quy Chau.

Bo Dang garrison – now in Chau Hoi commune (Quy Chau) is a dangerous base of the Ming invaders under the command of Tran Trung – a notoriously vicious and arrogant general. The garrison is located on a high mountain with a continuous arrangement based on the rugged mountain terrain, the camps can support each other. The mountainside has many steep places, very convenient for using the "catapult" - a type of tool that rolls boulders to destroy and prevent the progress of any army attacking the Ming invaders' camps.

With the wholehearted support of the ethnic people in the Chau Nga - Chau Hoi region (Quy Chau), who provided the exact key positions that the Ming invaders had arranged for a defensive stone formation, the Lam Son insurgents under the direct command of Le Loi were supported by the local people with hundreds of goats - an animal that is very good at climbing mountains. Thanks to careful reconnaissance, the insurgents secretly tied beeswax candles to the goats' horns before entering the battle. Taking advantage of the darkness and thick fog, our army lit candles and drove the herd of goats up the mountain with countless cheers and diversions. The Ming invaders on the hill saw the flickering fire hidden in the night mist and the intense sound of trumpets, gongs and drums, thinking that our army was attacking the fort, immediately activated the stone rolling trap machines to fight back. Hundreds of boulders were thrown down by them to destroy and block the advance of our army. And so, wave after wave, rocks fell like waterfalls, but being clever and agile creatures, and good at climbing and jumping on cliffs, the “goat warriors” carried fire towards the Ming army’s camp and advanced, causing the Ming army to fall into their trap, panicking and throwing all the large piles of rocks they had stored to block the herd of goats. However, they could not stop the goats, who were excitedly acting as “warriors” carrying fire, jumping over each cliff, creating a fire lantern formation surrounding the four sides of Bo Dang citadel.

When they “heard” the sound of the Ming army’s rocks rolling down, knowing that those were the last rocks, the Lam Son army really used their main force to attack the Bo Dang fort. At this time, the enemy’s catapults had lost their effectiveness, our army rushed forward and in a flash, stormed into the center of the Bo Dang fort, beheaded the enemy general Tran Trung, annihilated the entire Ming army stationed there… creating a “Bo Dang battle with thunder and lightning” followed by the attack on the Ming army at “the Tra Lan area (Con Cuong, Nghe An) where bamboo split and ashes flew” that echoed forever.

Up to now in Bo Dang, at the foot of the dangerous positions where the Ming army had camped in the past, there are still countless piles of boulders arranged in rows that the Ming army used to defend the battle that year. The piles of boulders lie silently covered with green moss as if covering a historical relic, at a strategic and dangerous high point full of pride of the Ming army. With the wholehearted support of the ethnic people in the Nghe An highlands, along with the ingenious strategies of the insurgents and the contribution of the gentle goats, when brought into the battle as "warriors", they neutralized the powerful weapon in the defense of the Ming army, creating a resounding victory, starting the next victories in the Lam Son insurgents' resistance to fight against the Ming army.

Le Ba Duong