King Quang Trung's skillful use of talented people

Ngo Thi Nham was born on September 11, Binh Dan year (1746) in Thanh Oai village, Thanh Tri district, Ha Dong province (now Ha Tay, located in Hanoi city). He was the son of Doctor Ngo Thi Sy (1726 - 1780). In Ky Dau year (1765), he passed the provincial examination. In Ky Suu year (1769), he passed the Sy Vong examination and was appointed as Deputy Inspector in Hai Duong. In At Mui year (1775), he passed the doctoral exam and was appointed as Ho Khoa cap su trung, then promoted to Inspector of Son Nam region, to Right Deputy Minister of Public Works.

The Le - Trinh situation was chaotic, so he resigned and returned to his wife's hometown. In 1788, Nguyen Hue ordered to find a talented and virtuous former Le - Trinh official to appoint. He was recommended by Tran Van Ky, and was highly respected by Nguyen Hue, appointed as Left Deputy Minister of Personnel, with the title Trinh Thai Hau. This was an absolute trust of Emperor Quang Trung in his subordinates. For the first time, we see that Ngo Thi Nham was recommended by Tran Van Ky and was immediately appointed and given important responsibilities by Emperor Quang Trung.

King Quang Trung Temple on Quyet Mountain - Vinh City; Photo: Sy Minh.

According to the summary of the Vietnamese Historical Chronology by Ha Van Thu and Tran Hong Duc (Culture - Information Publishing House, Hanoi, 1996), King Can Long promised to marry the Princess to the King of Vietnam (Emperor Quang Trung Nguyen Hue) and the province of Guangxi would be ceded to the King's son-in-law to establish the capital close to Can Long... As for the abolition of the golden man tribute, according to the book New Discoveries about Emperor Quang Trung by Dr. Do Bang, after receiving the news of Emperor Quang Trung's death, Can Long wrote a poem to pay tribute to Quang Trung and ordered 3,000 taels of silver to be taken out of the treasury to pay for the funeral. All were given to the Quang Tay Provincial Judge Thanh Lam to bring to pay his respects to Quang Trung. The poem burned by Can Long in front of the tomb (fake tomb) has the following passage (translated into Vietnamese):

Old ceremony of state relations to elect ministers

Friendship is getting closer and closer

Remember the old reunion

Funny Ming Te Kim Nhan...

Thus, thanks to the meeting of the three wisdoms of Emperor Quang Trung, Tran Van Ky and Ngo Thi Nham, our country was able to overcome the "Lieu Thang disaster", washing away the humiliation of the country for hundreds of years.

Emperor Quang Trung's strategic vision of seeking the wise was truly vast, tolerant, and generous, as shown in the last paragraph of "Chieu cau hien": "...So the edict was issued to the high and low officials and the common people. Anyone with academic talent, good plans to help the world, was allowed to submit a letter expressing their work. Those whose words could be used were specially appointed.

Words that cannot be used are left there, and no one will accuse them of slander. Those who have talents that can be used for the world will be recommended to civil and military officials. They will also be brought to an audience, and depending on their talents, they will be appointed. Or those who have kept their talents hidden and no one knows about them are also allowed to submit a letter of recommendation, so that no one is afraid that this is "selling jade".

Oh! When heaven and earth are at a standstill, the wise and talented take refuge. That was true in the past, but now heaven and earth are at peace, the time when the wise and talented meet the wind and clouds. Those who are talented and virtuous should strive to shine in the royal court, with all their hearts respectfully enjoying the blessings and honor.

Announce to everyone near and far to know!

Emperor Quang Trung's treatment of talented people was not only patient and persistent in inviting talented people to help the country, but also knew how to utilize each person's talent and assign them important tasks appropriate to their abilities.

The talent of using people also lies in the strict rewards and punishments. La Son Phu Tu - Nguyen Thiep was the person Emperor Quang Trung had to kneel down to invite him to become an official to help the country and to be a teacher for the Emperor to worship. But when Nguyen Thiep was the Dean of the Sung Chinh Institute but his work was not done thoroughly, Emperor Quang Trung still criticized him frankly.

On April 11, the 5th year of Quang Trung (1792), Emperor Quang Trung sent a document to La Son Phu Tu saying: "Last year, the annotations on elementary school books appeared to be very sketchy and crude, not worthy of the imperial edict.

As for the Four Books' profound meaning, it was promised to be submitted this spring, but if it is not sent now, it is a delay. It is ordered to quickly annotate the sounds and meanings and compile them into a volume to send back for further development. It is necessary to pay attention to the explanation of the sounds and syllables to be precise, not to make them rough and sketchy like the previous one. Through the text, we see that Emperor Quang Trung was a talented person in both literature and martial arts. Because scholar La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep was a learned man in Confucianism and good at literature, well-versed in the history of our country at that time. But when annotating elementary school books, the Emperor said that: "The sounds and meanings are very sketchy and rough, not worthy of the imperial edict". If the Emperor was not proficient in Chinese and Nom characters, how could he know that the translation and annotations were very rough and sketchy?!

Thanks to the criticism, after a month, the book Four Books (a Chinese masterpiece) was translated and bound into 32 volumes and sent to Phu Xuan. Upon receiving the book, Emperor Quang Trung was very pleased and, after reading it, issued an edict of commendation.

The edict reads: "The edict informs the Head of the Chongzheng Institute of La Son, Nguyen Khai Xuyen: In the previous period, the translation of the elementary school books was completed and submitted. This period, the translation of the Four Books has been completed and a total of 32 volumes have been sent to the capital for submission. I have seen Mr. Sinh lecture and explain, and he has worked very hard. The assistants Nguyen Cong, Nguyen Thien, Phan To Dinh, and Bui Duong Lich have all contributed. Therefore, the reward of 100 quan of ancient money will be given to the town officials to follow and receive, and they will all enjoy the grace.

When I finished my busy work, I rested and enjoyed reading books. Sir, you are very learned, so you have published many books for me to make them more useful.

Quang Trung year 5, June 1 (1792)".

Through historical data, we see that Emperor Quang Trung's virtue of recruiting wise men and skillful use of people was not much in the past dynasties. When he saw the talented people of the country, as Emperor, this king was still patient and persistent, kneeling down to invite talented people to help the country and become his teachers.

But not only did he recruit talented people one-sidedly, but he also criticized and used strict reward and punishment policies. The Emperor was truly a master of using talented people and recruiting talented people. Many researchers have said that Emperor Quang Trung was not only a genius in military and diplomacy but also a genius in the art of using people!

HBQ