Ho Dinh Trung Temple and Tomb

(Baonghean) - The Temple and Tomb of Thai Bao Ho Dinh Trung are located at the foot of Dong Ao Mountain, Ma Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District. In front of the temple is the flat, airy, and lush Cuoi field. Bau Canh Dam has clear water all year round and is used as a Minh Duong. Behind the relic to the west is Dong Mong Mountain, which protects it from the strong winds. On both sides of the temple and tomb are rows of eucalyptus trees that shade the relic grounds, creating an ancient and solemn beauty. Far to the north is Hon Chua Mountain, and to the south is Hon Mong Mountain, which looks like two arms of a throne protecting the temple and tomb.

Tomb of Ho Dinh Trung.

Ho Dinh Trung was born around the beginning of the 15th century in Ke Cuoi village (now Tam Tho village, Tho Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district), the 4th generation descendant of the first-ranking scholar Ho Tong Thoc. Ho Dinh Trung held the position of Imperial Commissioner of Nghe An at the beginning of the Le Dynasty; and held the position of Northern Military Admiral. Currently, the relic preserves a number of important documents recording and affirming his contributions to the Dai Viet nation in the 15th century, especially his role in defending the northern border and maintaining security and order in the Nghe An borderland in the first decades of the 15th century. These are the 5 royal decrees of the Le - Nguyen dynasties bestowed upon him, of which the earliest decree was dated in the 14th year of Canh Hung (1753) and the latest decree was dated in the 13th year of Thanh Thai (1901). Through the content of the royal decrees, it can be seen that under the Le Dynasty, he held important positions in the country. Therefore, after his death, Ho Dinh Trung was awarded the title of Thai Bao (belonging to the Tam Cong) and the title of My Quan Cong by the Le Dynasty.

According to the royal decree of Canh Hung 14 (1753), Ho Dinh Trung was honored with the beautiful titles Tan Tri, Dong Duc, Duc Van, Duong Vu (4 words). These are beautiful titles reserved for honoring meritorious officials according to the regulations on the official system issued on September 26, Tan Mao year, Hong Duc 2nd year (1471).

Ho Dinh Trung once held the position of Imperial Commissioner of Nghe An at the beginning of the Le Dynasty, representing the court to inspect and supervise all work (military, civil, and government) in Nghe An. In the early 15th century, Nghe An (including present-day Ha Tinh) was still considered a southern borderland and had to constantly guard against the Champa army that often invaded and robbed Bo Chinh district, and invaded Nghe An to plunder. In 1434, the Champa lord Bo De, seeing that Le Thai To had died, thought that there was a disturbance in our country, so he sent troops to Cua Viet area to capture people and rob property. King Le Thai Tong ordered the Royal Tu Ma Le Liet, the governor of Nghe An, Tan Binh, and Thuan Hoa, to lead troops to patrol the border.

Continuously in the years 1444, 1445, 1446, the Champa army came to plunder Hoa Chau citadel. Le Nhan Tong ordered Le Boi and Le Kha to lead the army to attack, and sent people to transport food to Ha Hoa district. In May 1446, the Le army entered Cha Ban citadel and captured the Champa king Bi Cai. From then on, the Champa army surrendered.

However, during the reign of King Le Thanh Tong, the lord of Champa, Tra Toan, sent troops to plunder Hoa Chau. At the end of 1470, King Le Thanh Tong commanded a large army to attack Champa, entered Cha Ban citadel and captured Tra Toan. In 1471, Le Thanh Tong took Champa land and established it as Quang Nam town. From then on, the southern border was pushed deep into Thang Hoa - Tu Nghia (present-day Quang Ngai), and Nghe An land was freed from frequent plunder by the Champa people. In his position as the Imperial Commissioner of Nghe An, Ho Dinh Trung and officials of the Nghe An government commanded the army and people to maintain the fenced land, creating the material foundation for the large-scale southern expansion: on November 6, 1470, King Le personally summoned 260,000 elite soldiers to march south to conquer Champa; Ho Dinh Trung was given a war horse by King Le and commanded a vanguard army to attack the enemy's lair. He rode a white horse to command the army to wipe out the Champa invaders...

Mr. Ho Khai - a son of the Ho family introduces ancient vestiges.

Nowadays, people in the area often remember him by telling a legendary story: While Ho Dinh Trung was fighting in the battle to chase the remnants of the Champa army out of Dai Viet's territory, he was ambushed by the remnants of the army from behind. As a result, he was seriously wounded in the neck area. At this time, the war horse saw that its master was wounded and neighed loudly, making the enemy army terrified and disbanded. After that, the horse turned around and took him back to his hometown to recuperate. When he reached Hoan Chau (now Dien Binh commune - Dien Chau - Nghe An), the horse stopped at an old woman's tea shop on the side of the road.

Ho Dinh Trung immediately asked the old woman selling water: "Have you ever seen anyone who was seriously injured and almost had his head separated from his neck and still lived? The old woman replied: "If you are injured and your head is almost separated from your neck, you cannot live. Chiến Mã heard that and continued to carry him on his back and galloped straight back to his hometown. After traveling a distance, his body fell off the saddle, creating a mountain in the shape of a human body (called Lén hai vai today). However, the horse continued to run back to his hometown until reaching the Ma Thành area (today), the saddle fell off, and then a mountain range in the shape of a saddle arose (called Yên Mã mountain today). After that, the head was carried by the horse to Dong Ao mountain, and was buried by the people of the area on this mountain. The white horse, because it missed its master so much, lingered around his grave all day, sadly and regretfully refusing to eat or drink anything, and then breathed its last at the foot of Dong Ao mountain. The people admired the wisdom and loyalty of the war horse, so they buried the white horse at the foot of the mountain in front of the temple to gather with their master every day. Today, at the foot of Dong Ao mountain, in front of his temple and mausoleum, there is still a horse grave, on the grave is a statue of a white war horse.

Because of his great merit of "Protecting the nation and billions of people", King Le Thanh Tong and later feudal dynasties assigned Chan Canh village, Thach Ru village and Cuoi village (now Tam Tho) of Trang Mong Son to worship him. When Trang Mong Son was divided, his tomb and temple were in Dong Nhan hamlet, Ma Thanh commune - Yen Thanh district now.

Thu Huong - Trong Cuong