Place
Dien Triet
The lake where Ly Bi camped against the Liang army, building so many warships that they filled its surface (in 546 by the Tongjian and the Complete Annals); his army was badly broken after a night when the river suddenly rose and poured into the lake.
At a glance
- Location
- At Tan Xuong, that is Phong Chau — according to a note by Hu Sanxing that the Cuong muc passes on through the Qing-era Tongjian jilan1
About the place
The old chronicles say
The Tongjian records that Ly Bi brought twenty thousand men out of the land of the Lao and camped at the Dien Triet lake, building so many warships that they filled its surface. The Chen shu describes the position in more detail: Bi pitched camp on the border of Khuat Lao, built boats until they filled the lake, and the Liang armies were afraid, and camped at the mouth of the lake, not daring to advance. By the Chen shu, Duong Phieu had to ask Tran Ba Tien for a plan; Ba Tien made a long speech, the generals fell silent, and then his troops alone charged ahead.24
Then comes the strange part: that night the river suddenly rose seven zhang and poured into the lake, its current fierce; Ly Bi's army was badly broken and fled into the Khuat Lao cave. The Complete Annals tell of the same battle but differ in two places: they place it in the eighth month rather than after the ninth, and the river rises only seven chi — one character apart, and the figure ten times smaller. The Cuong muc follows the Complete Annals, and also writes seven chi.435
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