Early Lê dynasty

Out of his many princes, Lê Hoàn appointed his first prince Lê Long Thâu as the crown prince in the early years of his rule. Thâu died in 1000, and Lê Hoàn was forced to choose another crown prince. The fifth prince Duke of Khai Minh, Lê Long Đĩnh, nominated himself as crown prince. According to the Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, Lê Hoàn viewed him as the favourable to become the next emperor, but imperial court mandarins suggested him not to do it because they viewed other candidates as more viable. Lê Hoàn followed the advice and chose his older brother Lê Long Việt, the duke of Nam Phong. In 1005, Lê Hoàn died after reigning for 24 years at Trường Xuân Palace. After the death, there was a succession dispute between the princes Lê Long Đĩnh, Lê Long Tích, and Lê Long Kính and crown prince Lê Long Việt, preventing a government to take control over the entire country for eight months. In the winter of 1005, Lê Long Tích was defeated by crown prince Lê Long Việt. He fled to Thạch Hà province, now Hà Tĩnh Province, and ordered the massacre of the locals there. After a few months, Lê Long Việt was able to proclaim himself emperor Lê Trung Tông but was assassinated after ruling for three days by Lê Long Đĩnh, who replaced him as emperor.

Lê Long Đĩnh mustered large military forces, defeating the other princes. After stabilizing his rule through war, he enhanced foreign relations with the Song dynasty with a gentle and friendly policy. The emperor gave full support for Buddhism and sought Chinese Buddhist canon and scripture for practice in Vietnam. He also supervised the national economy and began the construction of bridges, roads, and other infrastructure for easy transportation of people and commodities, especially water. In 1009, he established the exchange of goods and products in Nanning with the Song dynasty, albeit it was limited as the Song emperor only allowed Vietnamese businessmen to trade at specific locations near the border like Hepu County, Guangxi.

The emperor was famous for suffering from hemorrhoids, which made him unable to sit on the throne and instead forced him to lie on his throne. His famous lying sessions earned him the name Lê Ngọa Triều throughout his reign, meaning "the one who rules while lying on the throne."[5]

The Early Lê dynasty retained the traditional government form of the Đinh dynasty, although it modified some parts of it. In 980, Lê Hoàn appointed several men to court positions: Hồng Hiến as the grand chancellor, known in Vietnamese as Thái sư; Phạm Cự Lạng as the vice-chancellor, or Thái úy; Từ Mục as grand governor of court, Đại tổng quản; and Đinh Thừa Chinh as imperial capital interior military commander, in Vietnamese Nha nội đô chỉ huy sứ. A major reform, however, was the distribution of specific duties and powers to each mandarin in contrast to the Đinh dynasty's centralizing all power to the emperor. [6]

Temple of Đình Yên Thành, Hoa Lư, Ninh Bình.

In the ruling era, Lê emperors often faced the revolts of some local Tribal chief and viceroy, especially in remote areas, retaining the specific authorization to quell them. In 980, Lê Đại Hành ordered Dương Tiến Lộc to collect taxes from Hoan and Ái province, now Nghệ An Province and Thanh Hóa Province. However, Dương Tiến Lộc opposed it and seized the two provinces, proposing to place them under the control of the Kingdom of Champa, which refused him in order to maintain a friendly relationship with Đại Cồ Việt. Lê Đại Hành led an army to defeat and kill Lộc along with a general massacre of citizens in those two provinces. This, however, is only an example of rebellion: there were more than ten rebellions against the imperial court during a reign of five years.

After victory over Champa in 983, Lê Đại Hành merged the seized territory into the country and started to build more roads from the south estuary to Quảng Bình Province at the south of his realm. Then he ordered the dredging of the Đa Cái canal in 1003. In 1009, the country started the massive construction of transportation infrastructure for trading among the regions and to facilitate travel for soldiers heading south.

The Early Lê dynasty imposed taxation based on land property. Taxes included a public benefit tax, which was ten days' worth of labor for public projects; a household tax on property paid annually; and a military tax added to the household tax specifically for military operations, including public security at home. The taxation on property was borrowed from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties of China, only collecting goods and not money. Simultaneously, the government implementing trade-promoting policies by not taxing the property of traders except for land owned.[7]

Agriculture was the fundamental element of the economy of Đại Cồ Việt during the Early Lê dynasty. Most of the land of villages was under the control of the imperial court and owned by it by law. Land was given one of four types. The emperor's land was cultivated with a spiritual significance, intended to have the people to take part in agricultural activities, mainly prisoners and peasants, with all products going to the imperial court; it was first implemented by Lê Đại Hành in 987. Meanwhile, distributive land was distributed to mandarins for the benefiting and contributing to the country or to princes as an accommodation. It was not private property and was returned to the imperial court when the landowner died. Religious land was set aside for the practices of Buddhist monks; private land was owned and sold freely between individuals without government interference. Besides that, the government encouraged subjects to exploit wild and untouched land by settling it, providing property at a lower cost while simultaneously expanding its influence in unsettled regions. Peasants shared the land equally and cultivate it, regularly paying taxes to the government for the government's budget.[8]

Temple of Hoa Xá – Minh Ngự Lâu

The emperors were focused on an open new trade route through roads and waterways. Records report that such infrastructure projects were undertaken mainly in the years 983, 1003, and 1009. The main trade partner of Đại Cồ Việt was China, and both sides agreed to establish bilateral exchanging of goods at borders. Some local high officials supported commercial activity among local parties. A delegation of Đại Cồ Việt acted as a government arbitrator in trade disputes. Some typical exports of Vietnam were gold, silver, and bronze products.[9]

There are not much sources describing the culture under Early Lê dynasty. However, it is known that Buddhism was the most widespread religion, affecting the flourishing of Buddhism in China's Tang dynasty. Monks were given an elevated status in government affairs, being allowed to participate in politics and national planning.

Đại Cồ Việt was a tributary state of the Song during the Early Lê dynasty, maintaining a delicate balance of peace with China and independence. Lê emperors, however, were sometimes threatened by the nomadic Khitan people in the north of China.[1][2]

After a failed invasion in 981, the Song emperor accepted Lê Hoàn as the ruler of Đại Cồ Việt but just regarded him as the Jiedushi, or regional military governor, of the Annam protectorate, as the Chinese called the Đại Cồ Việt.

Between 982 and 994, Lê Hoàn sent five tribute-bearing diplomatic envoys to the Song dynasty requesting title investiture.[3] In 986, Emperor Taizong of the Song dynasty appointed Lê Hoàn as Annan duhu, or Superior Prefect of Annam.[3] At the end of 993, the Song emperor appointed Lé Hoàn as Giao Chi Quan Vuong, or King of Giao Chi, after being convinced of his future loyalty.[3]

The relation of Đại Cồ Việt in the north and Champa in the south was regarded as hostile. In 981, Lê Đại Hành sent an envoy to Champa, who was captured by them. The diplomatic incident sparked a war between the two countries. In 982, Lê Hoàn victoriously took part in the campaign against Champa, killing the Cham king at the battlefield. Then he sacked the capital of Cham and captured a hundred soldiers and concubines along with one Indian monk, taking home precious goods such as gold and silver. Moreover, he burned the fortresses and tombs of former Champa kings. In 992, the Champa king Harivarman II sent an envoy to Đại Cồ Việt to ask for the release of 360 prisoners back to the homeland.