Doc Thiet, the hero of the village

(Baonghean) - Doc Thiet was the leader of the Can Vuong movement against the French of the Thai people in Nghe An in the years 1886 - 1897. For the villagers in Chau Hoi and Chau Nga communes (Quy Chau district), Doc Thiet is a hero who always lives forever in the minds of everyone...

According to some historical documents, Doc Thiet's real name was Lang Van Thiet, the son of military officer Lang Van Thu who served under the Tu Duc dynasty. He was born in 1850, in Chieng village, Gia Hoi village, Dong Lac commune, now Chau Hoi commune, Quy Chau district. Since childhood, he was fond of practicing archery and sword dancing. When he grew up, he had a strong body and a wide network of friends, so he had great prestige in the community. He was considered to have made great contributions in suppressing the Xa people's rebellion that came to disturb the Muong villages in Western Nghe An. During a trip to China, Ton That Thuyet and King Ham Nghi stopped at Doc Thiet's headquarters. Here, he was assigned by Ton That Thuyet to coordinate with Cam Ba Thuoc's army in Western Thanh Hoa to establish a base against the French. The resistance war that lasted more than 10 years in the Western Nghe An and Thanh Hoa regions, commanded by Doc Thiet, ended with his heroic sacrifice in Thanh Nga village (Chau Nga commune - Quy Chau). That year, he was only 47 years old.

In addition to the stories told to later generations by veterans, there is also a legend about Doc Thiet among the people. Mr. Luong Xuan Lien, former Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Chau Hoi commune, recounted: People say that Doc Thiet had a protective object that the Thai people in Quy Chau called "chong chet". Thanks to this protective object, when he was captured, the enemy had no way to kill him, because when wearing this protective object, people became very magical. Bullets and knives did not harm him. People put him in a rice pounding trough, used a pestle to stab him, poured boiling water on him, but he still lived. Later, someone devised a plan to use a sharp spear and used it to stab him from the anus to the stomach. In this way, the traitors killed Doc Thiet and then brought his head to show to the public, and buried his body in Thanh Nga village, now Nga Son village, Chau Nga commune (Quy Chau).

According to Mr. Lang Van Thang (Doc Thiet's great-grandson), the story of his sacrifice is somewhat different from what is recorded in history books: In the final stage of the uprising, Doc Thiet's army was in a difficult situation, so he wanted to run to his brother-in-law, Cam Ba Thuoc, who was also rising up to fight the French in the mountains of Thanh Hoa. At that time, Cam Ba Thuoc was also captured by the enemy and shot. When he lost his alliance, he had to retreat to Trinh Van base in Chau Nga commune today. At that time, the mandarin agreed that whoever killed Doc Thiet would have everything buried underground in the village belong to that person, the mandarin only took what was visible such as fields, gardens, etc. Although he was careful, he did not know that the enemy had taken a shortcut to ambush under the floor. That night, he heard some movement, went to the window to check the situation, and saw 4 guns sticking up to shoot. He was shot and wounded. After stopping the bleeding with opium, he ran away. At the mouth of the stream where Chau Nga stream flows into Hieu river, he was chased and killed by the enemy.

Doc Thiet tomb

After Doc Thiet passed away, the anti-French movement in the mountainous region of Nghe An - Thanh Hoa gradually subsided. The village lost an outstanding son. But he will always be the pride of the next generation. For more than ten years, Doc Thiet's remains have been moved from Chau Nga to Chau Hoi, where he was born. The village still retains the ancient features of the time when Doc Thiet led the army to fight against the French, with thatched roofs nestled under green palm trees. Next to the village is the Lang Van Thiet tomb relic site, recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a Historical - Cultural Relic in 1998. The tomb is located on an area of ​​about 800 square meters. Next to the tomb, which was moved from Chau Nga commune, is an apple tree, which is said to be the place where the French army hung Doc Thiet's head to show to the public. Later, this apple tree was cut down many times, but from the base of the tree, new shoots sprouted and grew into a tree. The villagers believe that this is a sacred tree, a symbol of the community's indomitable will. The relic site was built, and every month people come to burn incense to commemorate the talented leader of the village. Every year, on War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27), excellent local students come here to listen to veterans tell stories about the nation's tradition of fighting against foreign invaders, about the hero Doc Thiet.

Huu Vi - Ngoc Lan