When Nguyễn Trãi joined the Lam Sơn uprising, he proposed a brilliant plan to spread the reputation of the rebel army. Nguyễn Trãi had the clever idea of using animal fat to write eight words on forest leaves:
“Lê Lợi vi quân, Nguyễn Trãi vi thần”
(“Lê Lợi as king, Nguyễn Trãi as his loyal minister”).
Ants, drawn to the fat, would eat away at the writing, carving the words into the leaf surface. These leaves would then fall and float downstream, carrying the message of Lê Lợi’s rebellion far and wide, building belief and support among the people.
He is also known to be the one behind the following legend
The Legend of the Returned Sword
A long time ago, during a time when the people of Vietnam were suffering under foreign rule, a brave man named Lê Lợi wanted to help free the country. He was kind, smart, and cared deeply for his people. One day, something magical happened that would change everything.
There was a fisherman named Lê Thận, who was good friends with Lê Lợi. One night, while fishing, Thận saw something glowing in the dark water like a torch. He threw his net, but instead of catching a fish, he pulled up a long piece of metal. It was strange and heavy, so he brought it home and left it in a dark corner.
Later, when Lê Lợi came to visit, he saw the glow and asked what it was. Thận told him the story and gave it to him. When Lê Lợi cleaned it, he saw magical words on it: “Thuận Thiên”, which means “Following God’s Order.” The blade also had his name on it—Lợi!
Not long after, Lê Lợi found a sword hilt (handle) outside the city. He prayed, “If this is truly a sword from Heaven, may the blade and hilt fit together.” And they did—perfectly! He now knew this sword was a gift from Long Quân, the God Father Dragon of Vietnam, to help him fight for his people.
With the sword in hand, Lê Lợi led his army into many battles. Wherever he went, he won. People believed the sword gave him great power, and soon the enemy fled. Peace returned to the land, and Lê Lợi became the king.
One day, after peace had come, King Lê Lợi took a boat ride on a beautiful lake called Tả Vọng. As the boat floated on the calm water, a giant golden turtle rose from the lake and spoke!
> “Your Majesty,” the turtle said kindly,
“Please return the sword to Long Quân, who gave it to you.”
Lê Lợi understood. The sword was not his to keep. It belonged to Heaven. So he gently raised the sword. The turtle took it in its mouth and dove into the water, never to be seen again.
From that day on, the lake was called Hồ Gươm, or the Lake of the Returned Sword, to remind everyone of the magical gift and the hero who followed God’s will to save his people.
—
In September 1424, after a surprise attack on Đa Căng fortress on the road into Nghệ An, the Lam Sơn army began a string of victories. The defeated Ming troops had to retreat to Tây Đô. Many of their wives and children were captured—but Lê Lợi released them, telling them to go home and farm. This act greatly enhanced the reputation of the Lam Sơn forces.
With strong public support, the army liberated Trà Long district (later Trà Lân) in Nghệ An. The local commander Cầm Bành surrendered, and Lê Lợi ordered:
“The enemy leader has surrendered. Not even a hair is to be harmed. All offenses, big or small, are pardoned.”
On January 25, 1425, as the army entered Nghệ An, Lê Lợi instructed his troops:
“The people have suffered under the enemy for long. Wherever we go, not the slightest harm must come to them.”
According to Lam Sơn Thực Lục (True Record of Lam Sơn), when this order was carried out, “the people were overjoyed, rushing to greet the army with buffalo and wine as offerings for military supplies.”
This strategy of winning hearts—designed by Lê Lợi and Nguyễn Trãi—not only stirred the hearts of the Đại Việt people, inspiring them to rise up, but even caused Ming soldiers to defect and support the Lam Sơn cause.
Nguyễn Trãi cleverly exposed the internal instability of the Ming court to the Ming generals. In a letter to General Thái Phúc, governor of Nghệ An, he wrote:
> “Your country suffers from disasters at home and threats from northern enemies. Floods and droughts follow each other. Evil omens persist. Ministers seize power. The nation is divided. Heaven will bring ruin sooner or later. A wise man should recognize the signs… Your best course now is to follow destiny and seize the moment. You will save our people and earn immortal glory in the annals of history.”
Moved by Nguyễn Trãi’s reasoning, Thái Phúc surrendered in February 1427, bringing tens of thousands of Ming soldiers over to the Lam Sơn side.
His surrender was not out of fear or weakness, but out of respect for Nguyễn Trãi’s logic and humanity.
In early 1428, as Vương Thông withdrew Ming troops from Đại Việt, Lê Lợi and Nguyễn Trãi invited Thái Phúc to remain and serve the new Lê dynasty. He declined, choosing loyalty to his country and returned to China—only to be imprisoned and executed by the Ming court.
Lê Lợi and the people of Đại Việt mourned him deeply. They built a temple—Tuyên Nghĩa Temple—in Rú Thành, Nghệ An, where he had chosen to side with the Vietnamese people.
Nguyễn Trãi explained to his officers:
> “Seeking revenge is natural, but sparing life is the virtue of the noble. If a man surrenders and we kill him, nothing is more wicked. If we act in anger for a moment and are remembered for killing the surrendered forever, how is that wise? Better to save ten thousand lives, end the war, and leave behind a legacy honored for generations in history.”
—
Although he contributed a lot to the dynasty, his role probably make many become jealous. In the end, his whole family ended up in tragedy due to the sudden death of the king in the present of his wife. She was known for her beauty and intelligence. King Lê Thái Tông liked her very much and brought her into the palace to teach court etiquette. She often stayed by the king’s side day and night.
One time, when the king was returning from a trip to the East, he stopped at the Lychee Garden in Đại Lại village. There, he stayed up all night with Nguyễn Thị Lộ. The next morning, the king suddenly died. The royal officials kept the news secret and brought the king’s body back to the capital during the night. Only after arriving at the palace did they announce his death.
At that time, many people suspected that Nguyễn Thị Lộ had killed the king. But this was hard to believe because she was someone the king truly cared for. She had no reason to harm him. After that, there started to be rumors about the origin of his wife, Nguyễn Thị Lộ.
The Legend of the snake revenge
The story begins in the time of Nguyễn Phi Khanh, father of the famous scholar Nguyễn Trãi. One day, while Phi Khanh was teaching, he asked his students to clear weeds around the school. The night before, he had a strange dream in which a woman pleaded with him to delay the clearing—her husband was away, and her children were still young.
However, the task could not be postponed. That afternoon, a student reported that they had found a snake nest. Startled, they killed three baby snakes and injured the mother by cutting off part of her tail, though she and a few other young ones escaped. Phi Khanh realized the woman in his dream had been a spirit in snake form, and he sighed, “So I failed to save them…”
A few days later, as he read, a snake appeared above the rafters. A drop of blood from its tail fell directly onto the word “great” (“đại”) in his book, soaking through three pages. It was an eerie omen of the snake’s revenge continued through three generations.
Nguyễn Anh Vũ was the son of Nguyễn Trãi and his fourth wife, Phạm Thị Mẫn. He was the only survivor of the Lệ Chi Viên case, but had to change his surname to his mother’s, becoming Phạm Anh Vũ, to stay safe.
In 1464, when King Lê Thánh Tông officially cleared Nguyễn Trãi’s name, Nguyễn Anh Vũ—who had by then passed the provincial exam (Hương Cống)—was appointed as a district magistrate and granted 100 mẫu of farmland (approximately 36 hectares).
According to legend, after people discovered that Nguyễn Anh Vũ was the last descendant of Nguyễn Trãi, the vengeful snake spirit still pursued him. It is said that after returning from a diplomatic mission to China, Nguyễn Anh Vũ died. The legend continues that as his envoy ship passed through Lake Dongting, a giant snake was seen chasing the boat.
One day, as Nguyễn Anh Vũ traveled on a diplomatic mission to China, his boat passed through Lake Dongting. Suddenly, a giant snake emerged, its tail as wide as a fan, thrashing the water and nearly capsizing the boat. It shrieked his name: “Anh Vũ!”
Realizing the ancient debt still hung over him, Anh Vũ stepped to the bow of the boat and shouted, “O spirit of the serpent! Let me finish my duty to the nation. When I return, I shall offer myself.”
The waters calmed, and the snake vanished.
Months later, on the return journey, Anh Vũ came prepared. When the snake appeared again, calling his name, he said goodbye to the others, leapt into the lake with sword in hand, and engaged the creature in a fierce underwater battle. People on the boat saw him slashing at the snake as it hissed and coiled, red foam rising on the surface. Then, silence. Both man and beast sank together into the depths of the lake.
Thus ended a tale of three generations haunted by a vengeful spirit, born from a single tragic misunderstanding.
But nowadays, many believe that Nguyễn Thị Lộ was wrongly accused—that she didn’t harm the king at all. At that time, the royal court was full of political rivalries, and she might have been unfairly caught in the middle of these power struggles.
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