On the royal road to Thang Long to defeat 290,000 invading Qing troops, King Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue (1753-1792) and the Tay Son army left many marks on the land of Thanh.
According to historical records, at the end of 1788, upon receiving a request for help from Le Chieu Thong, the Qing Dynasty sent 290,000 troops to invade our country to destroy the Tay Son movement. Receiving urgent news from Ngo Van So and Ngo Thi Nham, who were at that time commanding the Tam Diep - Bien Son defense line, on November 25, Mau Than year (December 22, 1788), Nguyen Hue ascended the throne, taking the reign name Quang Trung; at the same time, he held a ceremony to send troops to the North to stop the Qing invasion. The great defeat of the Qing army was carried out in 5 days, starting on New Year's Eve and ending on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year, Ky Dau year 1789, Nguyen Hue entered Thang Long on an elephant with a royal robe to the joyful welcome of the people.
Along the way, Emperor Quang Trung's army stopped at Bien Son (present-day Nghi Son), Tho Hac (Thanh Hoa city), Tam Diep - Bim Son (Bim Son town)... in Thanh land.
“Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi”, National History Institute of Nguyen Dynasty recorded: From the beginning of Gia Long Dynasty, Nguyen Dynasty built Bien Son island at Bang estuary “circumference 58 truong, 8 thuoc, 8 tac; height 8 thuoc 2 tac, has a flagpole, a military house, 12 cannons, 1 gunpowder warehouse”. In Minh Mang Dynasty (9th year), built “Tinh Hai fortress in Bien Son, circumference 11 truong 8 thuoc; height 5 thuoc, 5 tac; has a flagpole, a military house and 4 cannons”. With a dangerous terrain, located in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by mountains, sheltered from the wind, easy to observe the enemy from above, Bien Son land was identified by Emperor Quang Trung as an important military defense line.
After the resounding victory, Quang Trung did not forget the graces bestowed upon some localities where the army stopped, including Bien Son, a land that held an important strategic military position. And to remember his merits, the people built a temple on the coast, near the Bien Son naval base at that time (now Nghi Son commune, Nghi Son town).
Arriving at Nghi Son island commune, we were led by Mr. Le Van Cuong, a cultural and social officer of Nghi Son commune, to visit artifacts such as stone steles, a pair of ancient stone elephants, stone statues and cannons that were identified to have been built since the beginning of the temple; to see and introduce the square wells built by the Cham people to serve the daily life of the Tay Son army. In 2024, the Quang Trung Temple Festival in Lach Bang and Cu Lao Bien (Bien Son), Hai Thanh ward and Nghi Son commune, Nghi Son town was included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
On the way to the North, Emperor Quang Trung highly appreciated the plan of Ngo Van So and Ngo Thi Nham: “You have known how to be patient to avoid their sharp points, divided to block the dangerous places, inside to stimulate the army's morale, outside to make the enemy army arrogant, that plan is very correct!” (Hoang Le Nhat Thong Chi). In the strategy of “retreating one move” to take the initiative, in addition to the navy “loading the boats with food, setting sail with the wind straight to the sea gate, to the Bien Son area to camp”, the army “prepared weapons, beat drums to set out, retreated to guard Tam Diep mountain. The two sides communicated with each other, holding the dangerous places on the way to the North to destroy the Qing army”.
The stop in Tam Diep - Bim Son was only 10 days (from December 20 to 30, Mau Than year). Although the time was too short, the Tay Son army left many historical and cultural marks in Bim Son land. Here, the Tay Son army command spent time examining the situation of the enemy and us; carefully prepared logistics; confidently formed, supplemented and decided on combat strategies.
It has been 236 years since Quang Trung and the Tay Son army stopped at Tam Diep - Bim Son, but the mark of the emperor in cloth is still present at Gao village communal house, Ong Tap hill, Ong Dung hill, Chan Voi dam, Khoi Thuy stream, Ngoc stream, Can Chuoi field, Cam Co field, Tuong Son mountain, Ky Son mountain, Trinh cave, Cua Buong cave, Chin Gieng temple, Song Son temple, Cay Vai temple (Tra Son Mieu), Ba Doi stele house (also known as Tam Diep - the border between Thanh Hoa and Ninh Binh provinces)...
Today, when coming to these relics, people still tell each other about Song Son temple, where Emperor Quang Trung and his generals came here to pray for the protection of the Holy Mother Lieu Hanh; Gao village communal house - where the insurgents stored food; Nghia Mon village communal house - where the fairy Ngoc Thuy Tinh princess appeared in a dream to advise Quang Trung to march quickly to Thang Long to destroy the Qing invaders; Cua Buong cave - where the emperor and his generals discussed strategies to fight the enemy; Khoi Thuy stream with its cool and special water that never dries up, which is likened to the spirit of determination to fight and win of the Tay Son insurgents...
Visiting Cua Buong cave, located in Ba Dinh ward (Bim Son town), where Emperor Quang Trung planted the flag when he stopped, we heard many thrilling historical stories. Cua Buong cave is a cave system including Dao Nguyen cave, Trinh cave, Nguoi Xua cave, Co Tien cave and Quang Trung toi linh cave. In which, Trinh cave, is where Emperor Quang Trung met with his generals and discussed military affairs. The generals often came to see and report to the emperor about the military situation, receiving new soldiers to prepare to march to Thang Long citadel to defeat the enemy; Quang Trung toi linh cave - where the emperor set up an altar to worship heaven and earth and pray for the gods' support, so that the Tay Son army could march quickly to Thang Long, repelling the invading Qing army.
Wherever Emperor Quang Trung and the Tay Son army stopped and recruited more soldiers, they left clear cultural marks. From Bien Son to the present-day Quang Nham area, Nguyen Hue - Quang Trung stopped twice. The first time, when marching to the North with the flag "Phu Le die Trinh", Nguyen Hue entered Mom temple to offer incense and gather the army by land and water. After returning victoriously, Nguyen Hue issued an edict to restore the temple, and at the same time had people compose and engrave a stele on the stone, giving it a gift and changing its name to Phuc temple from then on. The second time was the lightning march to the North, Emperor Quang Trung stopped again at the temple to offer incense and recruit more young men to join him in conquering the Qing army.
In addition, Tho Hac (Thanh Hoa City) also "witnessed" the oath-taking ceremony of Emperor Quang Trung. Here, he boldly declared: "My lords, whoever is willing to fight, please kill all the enemy troops for me. If anyone does not want to, then watch me kill tens of thousands of them in one battle, that is not a rare thing" (according to the book: "Le Quy Ky Su" - author: Nguyen Thu). Also in the grand ceremony, Emperor Quang Trung firmly affirmed his determination: "Fight until their hair grows long/ Fight until their teeth turn black/ Fight until they never turn back/ Fight until they never return with their armor/ Fight so that history knows that the Southern nation has a hero".
Through the changes of time, many places that were recorded in history books may still exist or may disappear, but the long road that the hero in red robes and flags - Emperor Quang Trung - once traveled on Thanh land has left many marks, many legends and many historical works and relics.
Article and photos: Kieu Huyen
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/dau-an-cua-hoang-de-quang-trung-nbsp-tren-dat-xu-thanh-238944.htm
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