Coming to Nghia Mon village, Lam Son ward (Bim Son town), we visited the tomb of General Nguyen Thien - a general under the early Le dynasty, the village's patron saint who founded the village in the 15th century. Nghia Mon village was formerly called Cua Doi village, later changed to Cua Lang, the name Nghia Mon appeared in the 18th century and still exists today.
According to the content of the legend: God Nguyen Thien, born on February 9, Canh Ty year, from Nguyen Xa village, Thien Phuc district, Nghe An town (now Nghi Phuc commune, Nghi Loc district, Nghe An province). God was born into a family of 3 sisters, the first two sisters and God was the third. God was intelligent, talented in both literature and martial arts, and became an official to the position of district chief of Yen Mo district (now Ninh Binh). In the first year of Hong Duc (ie in 1470), the Champa invaders came to harass, King Le Thanh Tong personally led the army to suppress them. God followed the king's order, when the king was besieged in Do Ban citadel, God and his family bravely advanced to relieve the siege and captured many generals of the Champa army.
When he returned in triumph, the God was granted the title of "General Binh Di, Chief of the Five Armies" by the king's decree. Later, the king sent him to fight the Bon Man army. In that battle, the God won and captured many weapons, elephants, horses, and documents. The king also granted the God the title of "General Binh Chuong Quan Quoc Trong Su, General Eunuch, General Commander". At the same time, the king also allowed the God to choose land to establish a village. The God immediately recruited militiamen from the Nguyen, Vu, and Pham families from all over the country to gather in the Cua Doi area, where there was a favorable terrain for the development of dukes and marquises, to establish a village. Residents from all over the country followed the God to establish the Cua Doi village, reclaiming the wasteland to create a field with 330 fertile fields. The God also instructed them to do business and make a living, and the population grew day by day. The land of the Cua Doi village was the God's village, so the Le king exempted him from taxes for six years. When he was old, the God asked King Le to retire and live in the Cua Doi village. After a year of receiving the king's grace and the country's blessings at Cua Doi village, Than unfortunately fell ill and passed away on September 11 (the year is not yet clear). The villagers mourned and reported to the court. The king sympathized, gave money to the villagers to organize the funeral, built a mausoleum and built a temple in the village. The villagers of Cua Doi worshiped Than as the village's tutelary god (the person who founded the village) and worshiped him every year.
During the reign of King Le Chieu Tong, Mac Dang Dung led his army to attack Thanh Hoa, captured King Le, and then had people kill him. When the Mac army passed through Cua Lang village, they saw that the land here could be used for resistance, so they immediately burned it down and set up camps here. The people had to scatter everywhere. During the reign of King Le Than Tong, once the king went on a tour of Thanh Hoa, passed by Am Phuc pagoda and set up a temporary residence. That night, the king was shocked in a dream in which a mandarin, dressed in neat clothes, came to him and told him his name and career. When the king woke up from his dream and asked the villagers, he learned that the gods had helped him. The king immediately rewarded them with money and recruited those who had previously scattered to return to their hometowns to make a living. After that, 43 people from Cua Doi village returned to settle down and establish their homes and villages.
Thanks to the divine dream, when the king and his subjects returned safely, they granted 60 quan of money to the villagers and built a temple next to Am Phuc pagoda. The Thanh Hoang Quang Duc Linh Thong Chuong Hien was honored with the title of Do Thien Eunuch Thuong Dang Than Dai Vuong. He approved Cua Lang village, Tong Son district, Ha Trung prefecture, Thanh Hoa town to be the villagers and burn incense to worship at the main temple. Later emperors who initiated the cause of praying for rain and seeing it come true were also given beautiful titles.
... In Nghia Mon village, the tomb of General Nguyen Thien was renovated and embellished by the villagers and socialized sources, regularly burned incense, and commemorated the merits of the village's patron saint who founded the village. The tomb of General Nguyen Thien is currently located on a rectangular plot of land, surrounded by a protective brick wall. In the yard, there is the general's tomb and an altar placed at the head of the tomb. The round mushroom-shaped tomb is filled with dirt, about 30 - 40cm high, in the yard is planted a lush banyan tree, surrounded by the Nam Co Dam residential area that is gradually taking shape.
Mr. Trinh Xuan Hai, a cultural officer of Lam Son ward, Bim Son town, said: With the traditional morality of "When drinking water, remember its source", in recent years, the Party Committee, government and people of Lam Son ward have paid great attention to preserving and promoting the value of historical relics in the area. Regarding the tomb of General Nguyen Thien, this is a place to educate historical traditions for generations. In recent times, with contributions and support from the people of Nghia Mon village and socialized sources, the tomb of the general has been restored and embellished, commemorating the merits of the village's tutelary god, and is regularly burned incense by the people. Every year on the 20th day of the second lunar month, Lam Son ward organizes the traditional festival of Cay Vai temple. Cay Vai Temple was recognized as a national historical relic in 1993. This is the main place to worship three angels: Princess Ngoc Thuy Tinh, Princess Dao Hoa, Princess Bach Hoa and two Phuc Than: General Nguyen Thien (early Le Dynasty) and Emperor Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue (18th century). The festival attracts a large number of local people and tourists from all over to worship and enjoy the scenery.
Ngoc Huan
(The article uses some documents in the book "Bim Son Gazetteer" of the Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee of Bim Son town, Hanoi National University Publishing House, 2020).
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