He was Nguyen Huu Dat (1603-1681), from Tong Son district, now Ha Trung district, Thanh Hoa province. He was the son of Tham Tuong Chuong Co Nguyen Trieu Van, born in Thang Long, then his father brought the family to the South to follow Lord Nguyen Hoang from 1609.
According to the book Dai Nam Chinh Bien Chronicle: "Before the age of ten, Nguyen Huu Dat already knew how to play a game of setting up a battle formation with children in the region, setting up drums, gongs, flags, and claiming to be a general. Therefore, when he was only 16 years old, Nguyen Huu was noticed by Lord Nguyen Phuc Nguyen and selected to be a civil servant at the Lord's palace. However, because he still had the recklessness of youth, Nguyen Huu Dat was sent by Lord Nguyen to Trieu Van to be brought home to continue training, so that he could be used later."
In 1626, at the age of 23, Nguyen Huu Dat was officially called to the palace to become an official. He demonstrated his intelligence and fighting ability in the first war between Dang Ngoai and Dang Trong in 1627.
Specifically, with his extraordinary intelligence, he used the strategy of sowing discord to spread the news: "Outside Thang Long, traitors are plotting to cause chaos, causing Lord Trinh to be confused and worried about the truth, and finally had to withdraw his troops." In the following wars, the strategy of counter-espionage and sowing discord was used more skillfully and effectively by Nguyen Huu Dat.
History books praise Nguyen Huu Dat as a wise and talented person, compared to Zhuge Liang. (Illustration photo)
Nguyen Huu Dat was also known to be good at astronomy, which helped him a lot in battle. This was recorded in history books through two stories:
The first incident took place in the fall of 1657, when Lord Trinh Can thought that General Thang Nham was stationed at Dong Hon citadel, the land was low and wet, and was afraid that in the fall there would be a flood and he would be ambushed by the Southern army, so he wanted to move the garrison to the foot of Tho Son mountain.
The spy reported the matter back to Huu Dat, and Huu Tien said: "I have calculated that on the 25th, which is Quy Hoi day, the star Chan meets the sun's tide, there will definitely be strong winds and heavy rain, and there will be dark air all the way to the star Dau. White clouds will cover Chan cung, and there will be flood in the north. We will take this opportunity to attack Thang Nham's fort, and we will definitely be able to defeat it."
On that day, there was indeed heavy rain and strong winds, and the river water rose high. Huu Dat led his army straight to Dong Hon, following the flood, and attacked that fort. Thang Nham fled to Tho Son, and Lord Nguyen's army captured many weapons. With a great victory, Huu Tien happily told Huu Dat: " You are as good as a god in your calculations." Huu Dat humbly said: "Thanks to the Lord's majesty and the strength of the generals, I am not good at anything."
The second incident took place in the fall of the following year, the year of Mau Tuat (1658), when Nguyen Huu Tien wanted to harass the Trinh army, so he divided his troops into Dong Thanh, Hung Nguyen and Nam Dan districts (Nghe An) to attack. The Trinh army defended strictly, so the Nguyen lord's army had to retreat.
Suddenly, a man named Pham Phuong came to the Huu Tien military base and said: "Last year, Thang Nham was defending Dong Hon and was defeated by the Governor (Nguyen Huu Dat). Trinh Can ordered the Governor Van Kha to lead the army to defend it. Van Kha is a greedy and violent person, he can find a way to take it."
Huu Tien sent someone to tell Huu Dat. Huu Dat happily said: “ Previously, I watched the sky and saw dark clouds covering the star Khoi. On the 11th of Mau Thin, it is the day of Luc Long, there will definitely be rain and flood. If we take advantage of the rising water to attack, we will definitely win against him.”
General Dat asked Huu Tien to join forces to attack. On that day, it was really raining heavily. Huu Dat had previously led his army and boats to Dong Hon fort and attacked urgently. Trinh's army was terrified and was defeated. Van Kha fled to Yen Truong, Huu Tien led his army back in victory.
Commenting on Nguyen Huu Dat, the book Dai Nam liet truyen praised him as a wise and talented person: “ Initially, he was a civil servant and then a war supervisor, and his reputation was already famous. When he became a general, he repeatedly devised brilliant strategies and won every battle. People at that time respected him very much and often compared him to famous military advisors such as Khong Minh and Luu Ba On. After his death, the people of Quang Binh loved and remembered him, calling him “Bodhisattva”, and built a temple in Thach Xa commune to worship him.”
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/vi-tuong-nao-co-tai-thien-van-sanh-ngang-khong-minh-cua-trung-hoa-ar914640.html
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