He was a brilliant general during the Trần Dynasty. He was an adopted son of King Trần Thánh Tông. Unlike any kings or generals who were highly praised for treating the citizens of Đại Việt as their children, he came in for criticism when calling himself a hawk and proclaiming that citizens of Đại Việt were just ducks used to feed him. But, no matter how arrogant and cruel he was, he remained one of the most important generals contributing to the victory of the third war against the Great Yuan. Humorously referred to as a “Bad boy” in Vietnamese history, he was Trần Khánh Dư.
A SCANDALOUS LIFE
Trần Khánh Dư’s life was somehow full of scandals, which made him one of the main targets of historians’ criticism. He was infamous for the extramarital affair with Princess Thiên Thuỵ, wife of Trần Quốc Nghiễn and daughter-in-law of Trần Quốc Tuấn (Trần Hưng Đạo). After this scandal, he was stripped of all of his titles and went to Cát Linh to sell charcoal. In 1282, King Trần Nhân Tông found Trần Khánh Dư and decided to return his titles to him.
A CLEVER BUT SELFISH BUSINESSMAN
Another thing to say, he was also a clever businessman, if you don’t want to call him a mean person. Businessman was considered a shameful job in the feudal society, and Trần Khánh Dư again came in for a lot of criticism. During the time he ruled Vân Đồn, Quảng Ninh, he banned the use of Northern clothes and necessaries because soldiers would not easily recognize Northern enemies and Vân Đồn citizens wearing Northern hats. Therefore, he told people to wear Ma Loi hats instead. What made people call him a greedy businessman was that he bought a large amount of Ma Loi hats and sold them to the people, starting from a low price and going up to an unbelievable price: a Ma Loi hat at that time was equivalent to a piece of high-quality fabric.
It seems everyone could be a pitiful victim of Trần Khánh Dư.
A BRILLIANT GENERAL
But do you ever wonder why Trần Khánh Dư was still alive and contributed to the victory of the third war against the Yuan Dynasty? Because he was a genius on the battlefield, and King Trần Nhân Tông had no choice but to keep him alive. And do you ever wonder why I mention he was an arrogant and cruel general? Because his personalities will play an important part in his most famous battle – the battle of Vân Đồn.
If I tell you that without the battle of Vân Đồn, there would be no Bạch Đằng success, will you believe it?
Well, you should.
On the 30th of December in 1287, Omar brought 650 warships attacking Vân Đồn. Trần Khánh Dư, with only 100 warships, couldn’t resist and he was believed to lose the fight, which infuriated King Trần Nhân Tông. Trần Khánh Dư then gathered the alive soldiers and waited for Zhāng Wénhǔ’s food supply ships to arrive. Trần Khánh Dư, together with the soldiers, destroyed those ships and stole the food and weapons. To sum up, he lost to Omar, but he defeated Zhāng Wénhǔ.
But things were not that simple. He was considered a brilliant general during the Trần Dynasty. How could he easily lose to Omar like that?
Go back to the details: “he came in for criticism when calling himself a hawk and proclaiming that citizens of Đại Việt were just ducks used to feed him” and “he was also a clever businessman”. That’s it. Trần Khánh Dư just used a number of soldiers for the fight with Omar, which led to many deaths and injuries. The remaining soldiers would deal with the supply ships.
Talking about the Mongolian warriors, they were well-known for conquering the world on horseback. The lightning speed of Mongolian warriors was what other empires feared. But because they were too fast on the battlefield, the supply wouldn’t keep pace with them. Trần Khánh Dư clearly noticed this disadvantage and attacked Zhāng Wénhǔ. If food was stolen, what would happen to Omar and his soldiers? I will leave this question to you.
In the end, Trần Hưng Đạo seized control of the land attacked by the Mongolian and defeated the enemy. Mongolian soldiers tried in vain to return to China, and died on Bạch Đằng river, hence one of the greatest victories in Vietnamese military history. Trần Hưng Đạo’s battle was the same as the battle of Bạch Đằng in 938 against the Nanhan.
CONCLUSION
Trần Khánh Dư might be a cruel person, as he didn’t treat his people like his children and used them as preys, but the victory proved his talent. He was not a protagonist, and he was not an antagonist. So let’s just call him an antihero.
Lady Valencia 