The magic crossbow protects the country.

The countless bronze arrows of yesteryear keep the bloodline of Lac Hong flowing in the heroic footsteps of today, demonstrating the immortal vitality of the Vietnamese people.

National Day on September 2nd always reminds us of the historical flow of our nation's founding and defense. Amidst the marching music and the resounding footsteps of the parade, memories transport us back to the glorious victories of the past.

Over 2,300 years ago, at Co Loa, the warriors of the Hung Dynasty used a magical crossbow to defeat 500,000 Qin troops, preserving the independence and the bloodline of Lac Hong. From that victory to the present day, descendants continue to follow in the footsteps of the nation, proud of the indomitable tradition and the wisdom that transcends time, ensuring the enduring existence of the Lac Hong bloodline.

General, Academician, Doctor, Hero of the People's Armed Forces Nguyen Huy Hieu; Lieutenant General, Professor, Doctor Nguyen Dinh Chien (the crossbow shooter); Colonel, Professor, Doctor Le Dinh Sy; Colonel, Professor, Doctor Vu Tang Bong, archer Pham Quang Minh and engineer Vu Dinh Thanh shooting the reconstructed magic crossbow. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

The heroic spirit of Co Loa preserves the bloodline of Lac Hong.

General, Academician, Doctor, Hero of the People's Armed Forces Nguyen Huy Hieu and engineer Vu Dinh Thanh, technical expert of NPO ALMAZ (Moscow, Russia – the unit that produces the S300 and S500 air defense systems), believe that the victory against 500,000 Qin troops is the most important milestone in the history of our country's defense.

"Without that victory, the Lac Hong bloodline would probably have been severed more than 2,000 years ago," said engineer Vu Dinh Thanh.

The principle of shooting tiny bronze arrows is clearly depicted on the Co Loa and Ngoc Lu bronze drums: the image shows an archer stepping on the string holding the arrow shaft. Photo: Provided by the author.

General Hieu and engineer Thanh pointed out verifiable evidence. Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian and Huainanzi, two of China's most prestigious historical works, both record that the powerful Qin army, after conquering six states and possessing superior combat experience and discipline, failed when advancing south. Hundreds of thousands perished, and their commander, Tu Thu, lost his life. The Qin army had never been afraid of any opponent, but when faced with the Hung Vuong warriors and their divine crossbows, they suffered an unprecedented defeat.

After years of research, General Hieu and Engineer Thanh presented technical and experimental evidence showing that the Co Loa crossbow and bronze arrows were overwhelming weapons with high destructive power at long range, enabling our army to eliminate the enemy from a distance they could not reach.

In particular, the penetrating power of the bronze arrows from Co Loa far surpassed that of the Qin Dynasty arrows, capable of piercing multiple layers of iron armor simultaneously. Because of this unprecedented strength, many people today, without a thorough understanding of the technique, might mistakenly believe it to be mere legend. Archaeological evidence remains: tens of thousands of bronze arrows discovered at Co Loa confirm the superior military prowess of our ancestors.

To achieve this feat, our ancestors created military inventions far ahead of their time, which even enemies thousands of years later would find difficult to imitate. While other civilizations typically fired the entire arrow shaft, our ancestors only fired the arrowhead, utilizing its lightness and small size to fly farther and with greater force. The image of an archer stepping on the string holding the arrow shaft, allowing only the arrowhead to fly, is vividly depicted on the Ngoc Lu and Co Loa bronze drums, demonstrating the unique military techniques of the ancient Vietnamese people.

The Divine Crossbow, a superweapon ahead of its time.

Engineer Vu Dinh Thanh explained that what made the divine crossbow legendary was not only its long range, but also its completely different principle of destruction compared to contemporary weapons. The divine crossbow didn't just shoot straight; it fired thousands of bronze arrows upwards, using gravity to create tremendous destructive power. This gravitational force made its destructive power hundreds of times greater than that of the enemy.

The bronze arrows from Co Loa were exquisitely designed, with the center of gravity concentrated at the pointed tip and three wings forming a screw-like ring that caused the arrow to rotate around its axis. When dropped from a height of 15 meters, they were powerful enough to penetrate a skull, much like the "flechette," a type of lethal weapon dropped from aircraft during World War I, which could penetrate German helmets from a height of only 56 meters.

Compared to the nail-laying artillery used by the American empire in the Vietnam War, or the "lazy dog" nail bombs and bunker-busting bombs used more recently, it is clear that our ancestors knew how to exploit gravity to increase destructive power more than 2,300 years ago.

The Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư (Complete History of Đại Việt) records that the Cổ Loa citadel was as high as Mount Côn Lôn, with nine concentric walls. If we take a minimum height of 90 meters as a standard, and add the angle of the crossbow's firing, the arrow's velocity reached approximately 65 meters per second, more than enough to penetrate any type of armor. Chinese historical records frequently mention scenes of "one shot killing ten thousand soldiers" and "three shots killing thirty thousand," confirming the terrifying power of the crossbow.

The magic crossbow fired thousands of bronze arrows high into the air, then, aided by gravity, they fell rapidly and steadily around their axis, striking the enemy soldiers. (Photo: Provided by the author)

If fired from a high mountain, the destructive power of the Co Loa bronze arrow could be compared to that of American bunker-busting bombs because they had the same acceleration; thus, the destructive power of the Co Loa bronze arrow was hundreds of times greater than that of the enemy using crossbows to fire directly.

The magic crossbow was a super-engineered military feat, a technological marvel of a powerful empire. To manufacture and operate it, the Hung Kings had to build an entire system: a workshop for producing bronze arrowheads (archaeological remains still exist); a Royal Archery Tower for adjusting the firing angle; a team of blacksmiths, military engineers, and archers who received thorough training; the majestic Co Loa Citadel as an ideal launching pad; and undoubtedly, a workshop for manufacturing and repairing the magic crossbow.

China Central Television (CCTV9, 2017) once attempted to recreate the crossbow firing test but failed, with the arrows falling right in front of the crossbow. This evidence shows that the secret technology never fell into the hands of the Han Chinese, but was lost in Vietnam. The divine crossbow was called by the people of the North with all due reverence: "Kim Quang Linh Trảo Thần Nỏ" (Golden Light Divine Claw Crossbow), likening the metallic gleam of thousands of bronze arrows flying out from Co Loa Citadel to a divine lightning flash.

The Lac Hong lineage, from the Hung Kings warriors to the present day.

General Hieu and engineer Thanh assessed that the victory against the Qin army was not just a battle, but a life-or-death confrontation that determined the survival of the nation. If Co Loa Citadel had fallen, the Vietnamese people could very well have shared the same fate as many other assimilated ethnic groups. At that time, the Vietnamese language, Vietnamese culture, and Vietnamese identity could have vanished from history.

The Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association placed the reconstructed version of the "Divine Crossbow" by engineer Thanh at the Cao Lỗ temple. Photo: Provided by the author.

Today, genetic research conducted by Vingroup has proven that Vietnamese people have a different genetic structure from the Han Chinese.

Several studies by other reputable organizations have yielded similar results. This raises the question: are there gaps, or points yet to be fully deciphered, in the thousand-year period of Chinese rule as recorded in Chinese-language historical texts? Could the history of the descendants of the Hung Kings be much richer and more profound than what is currently presented in textbooks?

If so, what was the reason? Could one of the important reasons be that the Han army never had the opportunity to penetrate deeply and assimilate into the territory of Au Lac? The "thousand years of Chinese rule" mainly took place in the Liangguang region, which was originally the land of the ancient Vietnamese people, but after centuries of assimilation, the Northern and Central regions of Vietnam today, with their super-weapons, the divine crossbow, preserved the Lac Hong lineage.

General Nguyen Huy Hieu believes that scientific research can verify this. “Try dropping a bronze arrow from Co Loa from a height of 15 meters, study the flechettes used in World War I, participate in the experiment of firing hundreds of bronze arrows simultaneously from the divine crossbow, investigate the patent for the crossbow that could fire ten thousand arrows at once invented by engineer Thanh, reread historical records… All of this shows that the divine crossbow was real and Trieu Da may never have conquered Au Lac,” General Hieu expressed his opinion.

Powerful strides during the State-level rehearsal for the parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of National Day. Photo: Mai Loan.

Therefore, according to General Hieu, the powerful strides in today's September 2nd parade are not only a direct continuation of the indomitable spirit from the time of the Hung Kings, but also concrete biological evidence proving the immortality of the Lac Hong bloodline of the warriors on the Ngoc Lu and Co Loa bronze drums. In the middle of Ba Dinh Square, tens of thousands of eyes looking up at the red flag with a yellow star also affirm that the Lac Hong bloodline still flows, remains vibrant, and will endure forever.

“From the dazzling golden gleam of thousands of bronze arrows of yesteryear to the resounding marching music of today, the nation's history is like an endless stream, connecting the past and the present. The divine crossbow preserved the soul of the nation, safeguarding the bloodline of Lac Hong from the threat of extinction. And it is that very bloodline that is empowering the descendants of the Hung Kings warriors today,” engineer Vu Dinh Thanh affirmed.

Engineer Vu Dinh Thanh said that on many of the Ngoc Lu and Co Loa bronze drums unearthed, archaeologists have noticed a special detail: the image of an archer stepping on the bowstring to hold the arrow shaft, letting only the small arrowhead fly. This shooting method is completely different from the conventional crossbow shooting techniques of the ancient world, where people shot the entire large and heavy arrow shaft.

The intricate carvings on the bronze drums are not merely illustrations of daily life, but direct evidence of the unique military techniques of the Vietnamese people more than 2,000 years ago. This, along with archaeological evidence, forms the basis for future generations to believe that the divine crossbow not only existed in legend, but was truly a "super weapon" that played a decisive role in the historical victory that preserved the nation's spirit.

And from the markings on that bronze drum, today, amidst the marching music of September 2nd, we once again deeply feel the heroic spirit of Hung Vuong still flowing in every step of the descendants of Lac Hong.

Video: The magic crossbow fired exactly like modern-day nail-dropping cannons. The destructive power of the magic crossbow can be compared to that of nail-dropping cannons; the magic crossbow was more powerful because the arrows from Co Loa were larger than nails and were fired from the Co Loa citadel, as recorded in the Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu (Complete History of Dai Viet) as "towering like Mount Con Lon". Source: Engineer Vu Dinh Thanh (using footage from VTV1).

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/no-than-giu-nuoc-post2149049769.html