Sad story at the foot of Ke Den citadel

A family with rich traditions in Ke Den land

Recently, when looking up information about the family, and at the same time visiting the Trang Ke Relic Site (My Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District), looking at the list of 3 martyrs in the family who died on the same day (April 30, 1931) and thinking about the story of Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang's family, residing in Van Yen Hamlet, Van Thanh Commune (Yen Thanh), sent petitions to many places about beingencroachment on land to worship martyrs who died in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, making us feel the frustration they are going through.

Opening the file of the Nguyen Gia Dai Ton Church (the great church of Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang's family), in Van Yen hamlet, Van Thanh commune, which has now been recognized as a provincial historical and cultural relic, we learned that this is a family of scholars, and the individuals worshiped at the great church or the branch church in the Nguyen Van Hoang family compound, are all people who achieved high results in feudal times, or have made many contributions to the nation's revolutionary movement.

Accordingly, the ancestor of the family in Van Thanh commune was Nguyen Gia Nghi, originally from Huu Ngan village, Sieu Loai district, Thuan Thanh prefecture (Bac Ninh), born around the 90s of the 17th century. He was the son of Thang Le Marquis Nguyen Vy, who held the position of Kim Ngo Guard Commander, Do Chi Huy Su under the Le dynasty. When he grew up, Nguyen Gia Nghi passed the exam and was appointed as an official under the Le Thuan Tong dynasty (1732-1735), promoted to the position of Tan Tri Cong Than, then promoted to the position of Do Chi Huy Su.

During the reign of King Le - Lord Trinh, Nguyen Gia Nghi asked to retire, then brought his family to Ke Den land (in present-day Van Thanh commune) to settle down. Ke Den is also the land associated with Ke Den citadel, which was twice chosen as the headquarters of Chau Dien (Tien Le dynasty 980-1009 and Tran dynasty 1269-1400).

Trang Ke relic (My Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district), where 72 martyrs of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement were murdered by the French, including 3 relatives of Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang. Photo: Tien Dong

The relic file also mentions Mr. Nguyen Van Tuong (the 5th generation ancestor), who is currently being worshiped at Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang's family. At the age of 30 (1864), Mr. Nguyen Van Tuong passed the Giap Ty provincial examination in the 17th year of Tu Duc at Nghe An examination school with excellent results. After that, he was appointed as a teacher in Ha Dong. When the French colonialists invaded our country, facing the ideology of the peace faction, he wrote a memorial to dissuade the King. Although angry, King Tu Duc had to respect and admire his talent, so he summoned Mr. Nguyen Van Tuong to work as a teacher in Thuy Duong district in Hue for easier control. During his time working here, he had close relationships with patriotic scholars who shared the same ideology of fighting against the French.

However, knowing that King Tu Duc was still trying to monitor and control his activities, Mr. Tuong resigned from his position and returned to his hometown and, together with his younger brother Nguyen Sinh Duong, went to Dao Dong mountain (present-day Quang Thanh commune) to set up camp, reclaim land for farming, recruit militia, store food, and wait for the opportunity to revolt. When King Ham Nghi issued the Can Vuong edict and Mr. Nguyen Xuan On was appointed to the position of "An Tinh Hiep Doc Quan Vu Dai Than", Mr. Tuong and his younger brother connected with Mr. Nguyen Xuan On's army at Dong Thong citadel (present-day Dong Thanh commune), organizing a resistance war against the French colonialists.

3 certificates of merit from the Fatherland are currently placed in the church on the land of Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang's family. Photo: Tien Dong

After participating in the Can Vuong movement for a while, the insurgents were suppressed by the French colonialists. Mr. Nguyen Van Tuong, who was then the "Director of Military Food Transport" of the insurgents, was captured by the enemy and taken to the provincial capital and murdered at the end of 1888. Some time later, Mr. Nguyen Sinh Duong also passed away, along with the failure of the Can Vuong movement.

Although Mr. Tuong and Mr. Duong failed in the Can Vuong movement, their nephews, Nguyen Quoc Linh (born in 1894), Nguyen Quoc Lung (born in 1897) - real brothers, and Nguyen Quoc Hinh (born in 1900) - cousins ​​of Mr. Linh and Mr. Lung, also grew up and followed their father's revolutionary path. In October 1930, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Linh was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party. By the end of 1930, both Mr. Lung and Mr. Hinh were also admitted to the Party.

The church also worships two heroic Vietnamese mothers, Nguyen Thi Thai and Nguyen Thi Kinh. Photo: Tien Dong

During the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement in 1930-1931, while on duty, all three of them were unfortunately captured by the enemy and taken to Dap Lang stream (now Trang Ke, My Thanh commune). This was also the place where the French colonialists and their henchmen executed 72 revolutionary soldiers from November 7, 1930 to September 1931, mainly the children of Nam Dan, Do Luong, Yen Thanh, in order to demonstrate their power and suppress the people's will to resist.

Coming to Trang Ke Relic Site, the memorial site for 72 martyrs who were killed by the French during the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, one day recently, looking up at the stele with the names, we could not help but be moved by the sacrifice of the martyrs for the revolutionary movement of the nation in the early days of the young Party. It was even more moving to know that all 3 brothers in a family who joined the revolution were executed on the same day (April 30, 1931). Imagine how the mothers, wives, and relatives of that day felt when they heard that their husbands, children, and brothers were publicly executed by the French colonialists to show their power and suppress the boiling revolutionary fire?

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Anh (father of Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang and son of martyr Nguyen Quoc Linh) also participated in revolutionary activities early. Later, he was recognized by the Standing Committee of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee for his revolutionary activities before the August Revolution of 1945. Photo: Tien Dong

Later, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kinh (Mr. Hinh's mother) and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thai (Mr. Linh and Mr. Lung's mother) were both awarded the title of Vietnamese Heroic Mother by the State. In addition, the son of martyr Nguyen Quoc Linh, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Anh (Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang's father), also actively participated in revolutionary activities before 1945. On April 1, 2015, the Standing Committee of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee issued a Decision recognizing him as a person who participated in revolutionary activities from January 1, 1945 to the August 1945 uprising. In particular, from August 1945, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Anh held the position of Viet Minh Secretary of Trung and Thuong villages.

On the stele inscribed with the names of martyrs at Trang Ke Relic Site are the names of Mr. Nguyen Quoc Linh, Nguyen Quoc Lung and Nguyen Quoc Hinh. Photo: Tien Dong

On the stele inscribed in Trang Ke, on April 30, 1931, in addition to the execution of 3 men Nguyen Quoc Linh, Nguyen Quoc Lung and Nguyen Quoc Hinh, there was also Mr. Phan Van Tho, also from Van Thanh commune (the stele currently records that 5 people from Van Thanh commune were executed in Trang Ke). This is also something that the people of Van Thanh commune have long been proud of about the revolutionary spirit of their homeland.

To the sad story of land encroachment

It is even more sad that at present, the church grounds, the place of worship of 2 Can Vuong martyrs, 3 Soviet martyrs of Nghe Tinh and 2 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, managed by Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang (grandson of martyr Nguyen Quoc Linh), are being encroached upon. This has also been reported by Nghe An Newspaper in recent issues.

The land where the ancestors of Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang's family are worshiped is being encroached upon. Photo: Tien Dong

Specifically, Nghe An Electronic Newspaper issue dated April 1, 2023 published an article“The loss of ancestral land in Van Thanh commune (Yen Thanh): Encroaching on the land of a family with revolutionary contributions?”and post“Land encroachment in Yen Thanh: Has the local government fulfilled its responsibility?”, posted on May 17, 2023, reflects the story of Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang's family having to submit petitions everywhere to "reclaim" the land to worship the ancestors of the family and clan that is being encroached upon.

According to Mr. Hoang, the land where the family's church was built has existed for a long time, and Mr. Hoang is the 7th generation. In 1995, when the State had a policy of granting land use right certificates to the people, Mr. Hoang's family was granted land use rights, which stated 200m²residential land and 680m²Garden land. In 2007, when the State conducted a general inspection of land resources nationwide, it re-measured land plot No. 765 with an area of ​​1,076m2 according to the technical design documents.²In 2013, when the State reissued the Land Use Rights Certificate, the area was shown as 1,076m2.².

Initially, Mr. Hoang's family's land plot (numbered 428) was located away from Mr. Than's family's land plot (numbered 436), with plot 437 (highlighted in red) belonging to Mr. Xung and Ms. Tiu in the middle. However, after occupying Mr. Xung and Ms. Tiu's land, Mr. Than's family has now encroached on Mr. Hoang's land. Photo: Tien Dong

“Originally, the land left by our ancestors, to the west bordered the land of Mr. Nguyen Van Xung and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tiu (shown in map 299), after Mr. Xung and Mrs. Tiu passed away, it was encroached upon by Mr. Nguyen Van Than, causing our family's land to border Mr. Nguyen Van Than's land. During the time I was away on business, mainly to perform duties at embassies, at home, Mr. Than's family brazenly cut down a row of ancient elm trees, then encroached on 72 square meters of my family's land" - Mr. Hoang said.

When the People's Court has rejected the petition, where can we turn to...

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang

According to Mr. Hoang, the basis for determining that Mr. Than's family encroached on the land is map 299. According to map 299, Mr. Nguyen Van Than's land plot has number 436 and an area of ​​260m2.²After occupying the land of Mr. Xung and Mrs. Tiu's family, this plot of land increased to 501m2.²(number 764 according to cadastral map number 19). In 2021, when Mr. Hoang's family invited the Yen Thanh branch of the Land Registration Office to re-measure, Mr. Than's family's land plot continued to increase to 573.9m², of which, there are more than 72m²is said to have encroached on Mr. Hoang's family's land. However, this problem was not completely resolved by the local government, and was allowed to exist. This caused the boundary of Mr. Hoang's family's land from being adjacent to Mr. Xung's and Ms. Tiu's land to being adjacent to Mr. Than's family's land.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang presented his family's concerns to Nghe An Newspaper reporters. Photo: Tien Dong

What made Mr. Hoang's family sad was the way the local government handled the situation. In particular, after an unsuccessful mediation attempt, the local government instructed Mr. Hoang's family to file a lawsuit with the People's Court at all levels. However, both the first instance trial at the Yen Thanh District People's Court and the appeal trial at the Nghe An Provincial People's Court rejected Mr. Hoang's family's petition. "When the People's Court has rejected the petition, who can we turn to?" - Mr. Hoang sighed.

The death anniversary of the three martyrs Nguyen Quoc Linh, Nguyen Quoc Lung and Nguyen Quoc Hinh has also passed (April 30). War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27) is also approaching. To honor and repay the generations of fathers and brothers who sacrificed themselves for the Fatherland, our Party and State always pay attention to building and leading the full and effective implementation of policies, preferential regimes for those who have contributed to the country and launching the movement "Repaying gratitude", mobilizing the combined strength of each locality to organize many good deeds, good models to take care of families of war invalids, martyrs, families with meritorious services to the revolution... Therefore, local authorities need to pay more attention and have solutions to promptly resolve this problem. Avoid making families with meritorious services to the revolution sad and sending "cry for help" everywhere like now.