There needs to be a monument in the Bai Tap area.
(Baonghean) - Bai Tap is a rare flat land of Quy Hop district, including Tam Hop and Dong Hop communes. The name Bai Tap was formed in association with the name and strength of the Lam Son insurgents nearly 600 years ago. According to the book "Nghe An Base in the Lam Son Uprising" by Professor Phan Huy Le and some other historical documents: After 1 year of peace with the enemy, around the end of 1423, the Lam Son insurgents moved from Thanh Hoa to the Bai Tap and Bai Dinh areas (Quy Hop, Nghe An) to operate. The Lam Son insurgents stationed and practiced for 2 to 3 years, until 1426 when their strength was sufficient, they expanded their area of operation and the liberated area.
Elephant pond of Lam Son army
at Dinh hamlet, Tam Hop.
The Bai Tap and Bai Dinh areas were the first locations on the Lam Son insurgents' journey to Nghe An, so they had great strategic significance. Thanks to this solid foothold, the Lam Son insurgents made the "Bo Dang thunder and lightning" battle (now in Chau Nga commune, Quy Chau) and the "Tra Lan bamboo split ash flying area" (in Con Cuong) that terrified the enemy. Next, the insurgents expanded the liberated area to Ha Tinh and down to the plains, capturing the Tan Binh - Thuan Hoa area, capturing Nghe An citadel, Tay Do and finally Dong Quan citadel, liberating the country from the Ming dynasty's domination.
In the early days of Spring Quy Ty, we had a survey and field trip back to Tam Hop commune to visit the land where Lam Son insurgents used to be stationed. Mr. Hoang Xuan Ngu, Chairman of Tam Hop Commune People's Committee, said that in the commune there are still some squares that are said to be used to measure (count) the troops of Le Loi's insurgents. In the Dinh hamlet area, in the past, when plowing the fields, people also dug up weapons, gongs, drums... from the Lam Son insurgents' time.
When we learned about our intention to find the relics of Bai Tap area during the Lam Son uprising, many Quy Hop people said that they had heard about the origin of the name Bai Tap for a long time through the stories told by their ancestors. However, when we expressed our intention to understand more about the above relics, many people, including the professional managers, were confused because there was no specific work to record it. It can be said that Bai Tap has long been a land recorded in history books, so the fact that it has not been recognized as a historical relic and there is no stele to record it is a big shortcoming.
The land is intended to place a monument to Bai Tap.
Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen Tien Canh, Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Quy Hop district, said: "The project of building a monument to the Lam Son army's Bai Tap relic site in Tam Hop commune has been included by the district as one of the investment projects in the district's cultural development project from now until 2015. However, through the survey, we found that one of the difficulties in building a dossier to recognize the relic or, most simply, erecting a monument is that there are very few remaining traces in the field, and the documents are not specific, so the commune and district do not know where to start. In addition, although there has been a plan to invest in building a monument to the Bai Tap area for several years now, due to the district's lack of funds, it has not been done yet. It is expected that the project will have to rely on target programs and socialized sources"...
In order to meet the people's earnest desire to build a monument to Bai Tap of Lam Son's insurgents, Quy Hop district needs to prepare a survey file, organize a workshop to invite experts to give their opinions to submit to the competent authority for consideration of the plan and location of the monument. This is an opportunity to educate the tradition of patriotism, raise awareness of preserving the heritage and vestiges left by our ancestors for all classes of people.
Article and photos: Nguyen Hai