In the ancient capital of Van An

(Baonghean) - Ngoc Trung village used to belong to Dong Liet commune (1810), now Nam Thai commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province, where Mai Thuc Loan was born and raised, accepting all the bitterness and humiliation of an orphan until becoming the supreme leader of the Hoan Chau uprising (KNHC).

After 12-13 centuries with many ups and downs of nature and human, the top of Con Chen is now just a flat land with dense trees. However, on the anniversary of the death of King Mai's mother and King Mai, the people here often come here to burn incense and remember.

Dr. Nguyen Quang Hong, a lecturer of Vietnamese History (Vinh University), who has made a very elaborate synthesis of the life and career of King Mai, regretted: "For some reason, when surveying and building the complex of Historical - Cultural Relics, the tomb, the temple of King Mai's mother, King Mai, the temple of Dong Duc Dai Tuong Quan Nguyen Huynh - one of the four generals and a person with great merit in the KNHC..., those responsible did not conduct a survey and rebuild the house where the king was born and grew up with his mother in Con Chen cave?". We hope that this work can be completed as soon as possible so that all visitors and descendants will know where the king was born, grew up and soon have a spirit of patriotism and love for the people so that when the opportunity arises, they will be ready to rise up with the community of Nghe An residents and the whole nation to overthrow the domination of the Tang Dynasty to gain independence and autonomy for the country.

What makes Dr. Hong, as well as other historical researchers, who have spent time and effort to research and collect legends and remaining relics, say one thing: This place used to be the headquarters of Van An and the capital of Van An of an independent and autonomous country for nearly 10 years during the period of Chinese domination. According to Dr. Hong, Van An Citadel was the headquarters of the KNHC movement, built in Van An village, in Van Dien commune today.

From the citadel to Lam River is only 1km, so the river becomes a natural moat completely protecting the Van An headquarters in the south.Male. Here, there are still some traces of the rampart built of earth and stone. Less than 1km from the citadel is Con Ve, a flat land located next to Lam River with some remaining sections of the arc-shaped rampart wall, which according to the village elders, was an important defensive position built by the people during the KNHC.

Near Con Ve is Ram valley, located on Hung Son range with an area of ​​several dozen hectares, surrounded by mountains and many small streams flowing into Lam river, convenient for naval training. For generations, the people here have passed on to each other the vestiges of Ram valley, where soldiers were trained, food was stored in the early days of the uprising, where the last battle was led by Mai Thieu De (ie Mai Thuc Huy, son of Mai Hac De) and this is also the resting place of King Mai and his son later. About 1km from Van An citadel to the West and Northwest is the immense Ho Non depression. The entire areaMaleThe citadel is protected by the Thien Nhan mountain range, forming a solid moat system protecting the Van An headquarters.

From the few traces of the place names, researchers have concluded: Van An Citadel was built thanks to the intellectual and labor contributions of the Nghe community. This was also the place where the army of Mai Hac De and the countries of Java, Xao Oa, Chan Lap and 32 surrounding Kimi provinces met, creating a powerful force of up to 300,000 people.

And this, according to Mr. Ho Sy Huy, a teacher of Vietnamese History (Vinh University), explained: Although Mai Hac De's career has not been thoroughly studied, but with Tu Huc, a eunuch who relied on the power of the Tang Dynasty to personally lead troops to fight, it is enough to know how powerful Mai Hac De was. With this great force, Mai Thuc Loan quickly overthrew the entire rule of the Tang Dynasty from the Lam River basin to the Northern Delta, Tong Binh citadel, bringing independence and autonomy to the nation. After overthrowing the Tang Dynasty, Mai Thuc Loan proclaimed himself Emperor, commonly known as Mai Hac De, and his headquarters in Van An became the capital of Van An under the reign of Mai Hac De at that time!

Ho Ha