Comrade Le Canh Nhuong (1902-1933): Shining revolutionary will and belief

Le Canh Nhuong's father, Le Canh Nhuong, died early, when Nhuong was 8 years old and Ton (Nhuong's younger brother) was not even half a year old. Nhuong's mother, Nguyen Thi Vinh, had to work as a hired hand every day to raise her children. In Phong Nam, almost the whole village worked as hired hands, plowing the fields for free, so Nhuong's mother had to go to Bach Ha commune (Anh Son) to find a job. Every time the mother went upstream, Nhuong's brothers and sisters were left alone at home, lacking both the warmth of their mother and food. There was a time when the mother left past her scheduled time and didn't return, and for 4 days the Nhuong brothers and sisters only ate jicama instead of rice.

However, no matter how hard she worked, Mrs. Vinh still could not earn enough to feed her two children. As for her, because she worked so hard, she fell ill and was sick all the time. Her family situation forced her to consider letting Nhuong find a job to earn a living. As for her, she had to remarry, hoping to rely on others to raise Ton.

At the age of 11, Nhuong entered the life of a servant. After 5 years of being a servant, Nhuong returned to follow his uncle to learn carpentry. From then on, every day, Nhuong carried saws, planes, and chisels with his uncle to the villages to find work. The 15-year-old boy stood next to a tree that was twice or three times bigger than a person, and had to stretch his whole body to pull the saw. Nhuong had to exchange his daily meals with sweat and even tears. Working as a carpenter, Nhuong traveled a lot, heard a lot, and his knowledge was expanded.

At that time, patriots in Thanh Chuong were setting up “Newspaper Associations” to propagate the revolution and gather progressive youths. Working as a worker during the day and listening to newspapers at night, Nhuong did not miss any of them. The leaflets of the Youth Association and the Indochinese Communist Party came to Nhuong. Reading the leaflets, Nhuong did not understand much, but knowing that the revolution was to drive out imperialism and feudalism, the revolution was to liberate the poor…, Nhuong was very happy. Nhuong and some others mobilized the Phong Nam patrol brothers to fight with the landlords to harvest first, to harvest enough rice to guard their fields. Helpless and angry, the Phong Nam landlords and village chiefs had to invite their masters in the district to come and judge. But, in the end, both masters and servants had to give in to the joint efforts and hearts of the patrol brothers and the villagers of Phong Nam. However, the victory of the struggle only demonstrated the power of solidarity and could not fundamentally change the lives of poor farmers.

Then, news of the protests that broke out in Vinh-Ben Thuy and Thanh Chuong on International Labor Day, May 1, 1930, blew like a breath of fresh air to Phong Nam, exciting people like Le Canh Nhuong.

Just a few days later, in the middle of a dark night, Comrade Phu, a Party cadre, came to see Nhuong. It was like a drought meeting a shower of rain. Nhuong listened attentively to every word Phu said. He said that to escape from oppression and exploitation, one had to make a revolution, become communist like Soviet Russia, and overthrow the capitalist empire, feudal landlords, and mandarins. He did not hide from Nhuong the hardships he would encounter, and sometimes even sacrifice his life. Initially, Phu assigned Nhuong some urgent tasks to prepare for the mass mobilization of the entire district.

On June 1, 1930, for the first time, more than 3,000 Thanh Chuong farmers, a large number of women and students participated in a demonstration and brought demands to the district office to protest against the French imperialists’ suppression of the demonstrations in Ben Thuy and Hanh Lam, demanding the release of those who were arrested and compensation for the families of those shot dead during the demonstrations; demanding a reduction in taxes and a postponement of taxes until October; demanding the abolition of the patrol fee and other taxes. Joining the demonstration, Nhuong considered himself a revolutionary mass, “a soldier fighting for the future” – as Mr. Phu said.

After the demonstration, one night in July 1930, Nhuong was invited to a meeting in Xuan Tuong village. It was a memorable night. Nhuong was admitted to the Communist Party. He became one of the first party members in Phong Nam village.

Having awakened to class interests and been illuminated by the light of revolutionary truth, Le Canh Nhuong entered the fight with miraculous strength and a peaceful mind. He, along with party members and the masses, urgently prepared for a large-scale struggle by farmers in the entire district, continuing to make demands and demand the implementation of the terms that District Chief Phan Thanh Ky had signed in the previous demonstration.

On September 1, 1930, Le Canh Nhuong and the Phong Nam people along with 20,000 Thanh Chuong farmers rushed to Thanh Chuong district like a flood, burned down the district office, destroyed the prison, smashed the French capitalists' Fontaine liquor store in Ro market, and destroyed the house of the district chief Phan Sy Phang. After that, they planned to march to Thanh Qua station, determined to find the escaped district chief. But when they heard that a group of soldiers from Vinh had just arrived, the protesters immediately turned back to surround them. An order was immediately issued from Le Canh Nhuong's heart:

- Every 4 guards with one soldier.
- Ask the soldiers to point their guns at the ground!
- Workers and Peasants Union!

The cheers of thousands of people echoed like waves of sound into the conscience of the gunmen. The guns in their hands slowly bowed to the ground…

The district-wide demonstration was victorious. Politics and power were in the hands of the village committees and the red peasant associations. Nhuong's joy was mixed with the pride of a man who had just begun to breathe the air of freedom. He devoted all his mind and energy to working for the people and the Party.

Although Nhuong had a hot temper, he was flexible in his thinking and very determined and resourceful in his actions. When he saw someone hesitate before a group task, Nhuong immediately became angry. But after a while, he calmly explained: "You can't be timid when making a revolution, comrade! The imperialists and tyrants don't respect us at all!"

Nhuong was tall, had a broad forehead, and big eyes; wherever he went, he had a habit of carrying a spear with him. Therefore, his comrades often compared him to a soldier in battle. Whatever work he did, with Nhuong participating, the comrades felt secure. Nhuong always took the lead and took on the most difficult and dangerous tasks in demonstrations to suppress the tyrants and secret agents, as well as in struggles to borrow rice to relieve hunger for the people...

In January 1931, Phong Nam established a separate party cell, and Nhuong was appointed deputy secretary in charge of self-defense. Shortly after, in the midst of difficult circumstances, he was assigned the responsibility of being the party cell secretary.

The enemy could no longer hide their sinister faces after being struck by the hammers and axes of the Nghe Tinh workers and peasants. They concentrated their forces to carry out brutal terror in the rural districts, especially Thanh Chuong. They also staged a "yellow flag parade" and "issued surrender cards".

At that time, in Xuan Lam district, the enemy had set up posts at Rao Gang, Xuan Bang, Cho Con, Xuan Tuong, and Ngoc Son. They set up a gang ta station in every few villages. Day and night, they sent soldiers and porters to search and arrest Phong Nam cadres and party members who were being pressed by the enemy from many sides.

Faced with that situation, based on the policy of the District Party Committee and the General Party Committee, along with consolidating the Party cells, Le Canh Nhuong knew how to consolidate mass organizations and especially paid attention to consolidating the self-defense force. He knew how to rely on the people, mobilize the people to fence off villages to fight against the enemy, protect the people, and protect the cadres. He also mobilized the youth, educated and organized the children's force to do the work of protecting security. The children were quite sharp eyes and ears, effectively assisting the Phong Nam self-defense team in many cases.

In April 1931, Nhuong was appointed to the Executive Committee of Xuan Lam headquarters, moved from Xuan Duong to Phong Nam and stationed right in Nhuong's house.

While neighboring villages were strictly controlled and supervised by the enemy, ensuring the safety of the General Committee's office and communication between the General Committee and the Party cells became an important task for the Phong Nam Party cell.

Le Canh Nhuong took the lead, persistently organizing and leading the Phong Nam mass party members to demonstrate and march, to demonstrate and suppress reactionaries who burned surrender cards and tore down yellow flags to destroy the enemy's sinister plot and maintain the movement. He commanded the Phong Nam and Nguyet Bong militia to relieve the siege on Xuan Tuong village, freed cadres captured by the enemy and retrieved documents...

Facing the severe challenges caused by the enemy's white terror policy, until the days of May 1931, the party members in Phong Nam cell still showed their steadfast loyalty, the Phong Nam masses remained steadfast. Comrade Le Canh Nhuong, the movement leader, was devoted, loyal, and experienced in commanding the fight against the enemy and in mobilizing and organizing the masses. The headquarters office in Phong Nam was still safe. Although it was sandwiched between two enemy posts: Xuan Tuong below and Ngoc Son above, Phong Nam was still a temporary shelter for cadres from neighboring villages.

From the end of May 1931, the enemy sent soldiers to surround Phong Nam village twice. Both times, party members and cadres who were sheltered by the people escaped.

The situation did not allow the Party cell to stay in the village, so Nhuong brought all exposed Party members to Trang Ri camp (now in Nam Hung commune, Nam Dan district), 7km from the village to preserve forces and continue the fight.

During the day, Nhuong and his brothers went into the mountain ravines to print leaflets; at night, they brought them back to the village to distribute. The rulers were both afraid, panicked, and furious. They searched hard, hoping to "weed out" all the communists. Unable to catch any cadres, they robbed and tortured the people. However, every night, Nhuong from Trang Ri, carrying a spear in his hand, his pants rolled up, led his brothers back to the village to distribute leaflets and meet with the people to encourage them to keep their spirits up.

In July 1931, the Trang Ri base was exposed, and the General Committee assigned Nhuong to contact the Provincial Party Committee. The remaining comrades changed their names, gradually moved upstream to find work, and waited for contact.

Nhuong took 3 quan of money with him and made his way to Anh Son. He spent the money very sparingly but eventually it was all gone. Many days he had to go hungry or eat figs instead of rice. Many nights, he did not dare to sleep in the village, he had to go into the forest to sleep on tree branches. In each village, he used the excuse of looking for work to find the Provincial Party Committee office. When he reached Thanh Son, he made contact.

The Provincial Party Committee gave him some money to go back and find his brothers. Despite the enemy's hawk eyes watching and investigating every hour and every minute, Nhuong still went to the villages of Anh Son district to gather the brothers who were waiting to be connected, and organized them to build bamboo rafts down Do Luong to Vinh Giang, where the Provincial Party Committee office was located.

Not long after, the gang leader Luc, the gang deputy Anh Son, got wind of the location of the provincial headquarters. He asked the Do Luong station chief to mobilize the legionnaires, green-clad soldiers, and porters to surround the headquarters from Vinh Giang to Truong Dong. The headquarters had to move into the Dong village forest.

Less than a month later, their new residence was discovered. The agency moved to another forest. From then on, they did not stay anywhere for more than a week. Each time they moved, those who still had some strength tried to help their sick brothers follow them. Illness and hunger were destroying their bodies, but their faith in the Party and the revolution still shone brightly in their hearts.

Nhuong was always quick and active. He worked hard, not letting any idle thoughts discourage him. Every time he moved to his new residence, he encouraged everyone to persevere and prepare to rekindle the movement.

In August 1931, the Provincial Party Committee only had comrade Lieu left. The representative of the Regional Party Committee directly commanding the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee at that time was comrade Phuong (ie Le Xuan Dao). The comrades decided to assign cadres to the districts to grasp the situation, prepare for the consolidation of the Provincial Party Committee and set out the direction and policies for the work. Comrade Nhuong was assigned to Nam Dan district with comrade Le Xuan Dao. While they had not yet established contact with the base, the two comrades stayed in Thay Pagoda. During the day, they printed leaflets, and at night, the comrades went into the village to distribute and establish contacts, gathering information.

After establishing contact with some districts such as Anh Son, Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, in September 1931, comrade Le Xuan Dao convened a conference at Cay Truong cave to elect the Provincial Party Executive Committee. Comrade Nhuong was allowed to attend the conference and was appointed to the Finance Committee headed by Le Xuan Dao.

Faced with the enemy's frenzied terror, the agency had to constantly change its residence. The enemy sent out wanted notices to many places for Le Xuan Dao and Le Canh Nhuong. Once, all three comrades Le Xuan Dao, Nguyen Cong Ta and Le Canh Nhuong were almost arrested.

According to the policy of the Regional Party Committee, the Provincial Party Committee office must be gradually moved closer to the plains to closely follow the direction of the district movements. So the office decided to move to Trang Ri.

In December 1931, Nhuong was assigned to build a base in Nam Dan. The enemy set up a net to capture him. But he escaped to a camp in Yen Phuc.

“By all means, continue to operate!” - that thought of Le Canh Nhuong during the days of living in hiding in Yen Phuc camp urged him to find contact with the Provincial Party Committee. He had just reached Con Xam when he fell into the enemy’s hands. That day was April 18, 1932.

Unable to coax and bribe Le Canh Nhuong, the enemy tortured him extremely viciously. They forced him to kneel on a bamboo pole. If his knees slipped off the pole, they would beat him. They tied his hands tightly behind his back and hung him from a beam. In front of him, they buried a bamboo pole with its knots stripped clean. When he was too tired from hanging, he pressed his toes against the bamboo pole, his legs were twisted, and his pain became even more intense...

No blow could make Nhuong cry out or reveal a single word. Despite the pain of the beatings, he still loudly denounced the officials until he passed out. Every time he regained consciousness, the enemy would interrogate him. But in the end, they only received one answer: “I don’t know.”

Although they could not get any words out of Nhuong, they still sentenced him to life in prison and sent him to Vinh prison.

During his days in prison, he never showed any sign of wavering or fear. At Vinh prison at that time, there was a notorious and evil captain named Ba. He often brought a whip with a nail on the end into the cell to beat the prisoners. Every time he was beaten, Nhuong was indignant and cursed loudly. Captain Ba was angry and threatened to shoot him. He led him in front of him, raised his fist:

- Shoot if you can!

Nhuong's drastic actions made Team Three wary. But his fellow prisoners still advised Nhuong to be less hot-tempered in unnecessary fights.

In prison, the prisoners spontaneously organized activities such as listening to stories and publishing an oral newspaper called “Prison San”. The newspaper was published without paper or ink. The editorial office assigned each person to be in charge of an article. When the newspaper was “published”, each person was assigned to read his or her article. Nhuong loved listening to the newspaper and collecting news in prison to tell his or her fellow prisoners. Nhuong never got tired of listening to stories about the revolutionary struggle told by Truong Van Linh. He found there confidence and hope for the future.

In prison, Nhuong told himself that he had to study culture thoroughly so that when he got out of prison, he would have enough "capital" to do his work.

He “invented” a special type of pen: a sharpened stick stuck in a bottle of Nhi Thien Duong oil filled with water. Paper was already on the prison floor. After writing for a while, the water would dry, and he could write again…

In early January 1933, on a cold late winter morning, the north wind whistled through the cracks in the prison, several soldiers opened the cell door, called Nhuong out, and took him away. No one in the prison knew where they were going or what they were doing, but the sound of a car starting up made them certain that they were taking Nhuong to be shot.

The gray car took Nhuong to the entrance of Phong Nam village. There were guards standing every 5 meters, flags hanging down on both sides of the road. The officials were both excited and scared, whispering to each other: "Today there is a party."

From the car, Nhuong leisurely stepped down, his eyes were blindfolded with a red cloth, his hands were chained tightly behind his back, making his chest slightly arched out. Nhuong still cursed the enemy:

- You are cowards, you punish innocent people...

He walked slowly and calmly to the stake that had been planted. At that moment, there were officials and soldiers who were nervous and anxious; there were also his fellow countrymen who were looming behind the bamboo groves, looking at him with sorrowful eyes, tears welling up in their eyes.

Hearing the gun being loaded, he was afraid of wasting time, so he quickly gathered all his strength and shouted loudly:

- Down with French imperialism and the feudal Southern Dynasty!
- Long live the Communist Party of Indochina!

Five soldiers knelt before him. They aimed at him and opened fire.

The despicable French and feudal Southern Dynasty brought Le Canh Nhuong back to be executed right in his hometown. They flaunted their power with bayonets and guns. They turned the green fields of Phong Nam into an execution ground. But, right here, Le Canh Nhuong, a 31-year-old communist party member, turned the execution ground into a battlefield, exposed the Southern Dynasty, condemned the colonialists, maintained the spirit, and strengthened the confidence of the revolutionary masses.