The Prince

"I am prince Tran Hung Dao, nephew of the king," the man said.

"Hmm, sorry but I haven't heard of you" the ambassador being honest.

"That is fine. Let's eat breakfast. I already ate mine so I will be waiting outside until you finish yours." Hung Dao left and the servants brought up breakfast. It is the common dish of the Yuan to make the ambassador feel like home. The ambassador noticed this, but from the conversation last night, now he wants to test the capabilities of the Nam.

Three hours had passed, and Hung Dao was still waiting outside. Take into account that Dai Viet is close to the equator, the country was surrounded by extreme heat all year. Added to that, it is now noon after three hours since the ambassador and Hung Dao first met.

After he finished his breakfast, the ambassador stood at the door and peeked out. He was astonished to witness Hung Dao still standing tall, with sweat covering his face, but he showed no expression of tiredness or impatience. The ambassador then compared Hung Dao to the princes of Yuan

"None of them would have this much patience," the ambassador said to himself, shaking his head.

He then looked pass Hung Dao to the soldiers and witnessed the most majestic scene he had ever seen in his life. The soldiers, all standing tall and in order. Even though their bodies are small compared to Yuan's, the aura they give off could not be underestimated. From the soldiers' expression, the ambassador noticed that none of them were forced to stand, Hung Dao was facing away from them all this time to show that he will overlook if they take a rest. But yet they chose to stand there and wait.

The ambassador now decided to walk out, but in his first steps, he noticed one of the soldiers collapsed. He once again hid himself to see what will this lead to.

"You must be dehydrated. Here, I'll guide you to the tree in the corner," a fellow soldier next to him said.

"Thank you, brother, for helping me, but I want to stand," the collapsed one replied.

"You are exhausted, don't push yourself," the soldier worried.

"Even so. I know that the ambassador is testing us, I can't let the ambassador see Dai Viet have a weak soldier who can not stand for only three hours. Help me stand brother."

The other soldiers were boosted by his words. It gave them more energy to stand longer. From the front, Hung Dao turned back and handed the soldier that collapsed his water bottle, "Here, it should help you."

"Oh, no need to my prince, I am fine, I will only dirty your bottle," the soldier replied.

"Do you think I am such a bad person?" Hung Dao asked.

"No sir" the soldier replied quickly.

"Then drink," Hung Dao said with a smile.

He once again handed out the water holder to the soldier, and the soldier respectfully took it, but he drank very little. He handed the water bottle back to Hung Dao. Hung Dao saw this and was unhappy,

"Drink more," he said, leaving no space for the soldier to refuse. The soldier finally obeyed. He took a big gulp of water and handed it back to Hung Dao.

"Keep it and share to other soldiers when they are thirsty"

"What about you sir?" the soldier asked.

"I have another one," Hung Dao replied. Then they all return to their original position.

Inside, the ambassador observed around his uniform and saw that Hung Dao actually didn't have any extra bottle. After witnessing this touching play, he couldn't help himself but smile. The ambassador then turned to his trusted servant, who have followed him for more than a decade,

"Get one more water bottle," he said.

"Why is that sir?" the servant asked.

"Just do it."