In 1428, after ten years of long term resistance, Lê Lợi ascended the throne, proclaiming himself Lê Thái Tổ, ushering in the Later Lê Dynasty one of the most glorious dynasties in Vietnamese history. He spoke at his coronation:
"The blood of the people has cleansed the land, and the tears of mothers have rebuilt the mountains and rivers. Now, Đại Việt no longer fears any storm, for the people's hearts are an unbreakable citadel."
From then on, Đại Việt entered a period of great peace. Thăng Long Citadel shone brightly, the bronze drums rang again, and rice grew golden across the Red River Delta.
But peace was not just the silence of swords it was the reconstruction of the national soul after a thousand years of fire and smoke.
King Lê Thái Tổ traveled throughout the country, observing the people, asking about the harvests, and teaching his descendants:
"To defend the nation is to keep the people's hearts; without the people, the nation ceases to exist."
He redistributed land, granted communal fields to farmers, abolished unjust taxes, rebuilt schools, and encouraged Confucian studies.
Nguyễn Trãi, his close confidant, was honored as "Ức Trai Tiên Sinh" (Scholar Ức Trai) and helped the King write the "Edict to Encourage Agriculture," laying the foundation for the renaissance of a new nation. One night, while gazing at the stars over Lam Sơn, Lê Thái Tổ whispered:
"This nation, this land, should only belong to those who know how to love the people like parents."
After Lê Thái Tổ, enduring years of turbulence, Đại Việt strongly revived under the reign of Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497).
He was a King accomplished in both literary and military arts, the one who laid the groundwork for the "Hồng Đức Era" the golden age of ancient Việt civilization.
He promulgated the Hồng Đức Code, a body of law that protected justice, human rights, and women's rights, even before humanity widely spoke of equality. He declared:
"The people are the water, the King is the boat. Water can raise the boat, but it can also overturn the boat."
Under his reign, literature, civil examinations, arts, and sculpture flourished brilliantly. The poems in the Hồng Đức National Language Poetry Collection sang the praises of the land, human sentiment, and the spirit of Đại Việt.
On the world map, the nation of Đại Việt extended its reach to the borders of Laos, Champa, and the Northwest. Northern countries had to send envoys to offer tribute, and in their eyes, there was no longer contempt, but respect.
The capital Thăng Long became a symbol of knowledge. Students from all regions flocked to the Imperial Academy (Quốc Tử Giám), where every written character was a seed of wisdom.
He ordered the steles for Doctoral Graduates to be carved, so that all future generations would remember the merits of the learned. A scholar of that time wrote:
"Looking up, one sees the words of the Sages; looking down, one sees the Việt land and rivers."
The Hồng Đức Era was also the time when the Việt people deeply realized that the nation existed not only by arms, but by ethics, by benevolence, and by knowledge.
The Later Lê Dynasty was the peak of civilization, proof that after war, the Việt people not only knew how to wield a sword but also how to hold a pen, plant trees, build schools, and sow the seeds of talent. King Lê Thánh Tông once stated before the court:
"Governing the nation by virtue is better than by law. Teaching the people by benevolence is better than by fear."
From Lam Sơn to Thăng Long, from the peasant to the scholar, everyone understood: Freedom is not just about not being dominated, but about being able to live with righteousness and compassion.