Church and tomb of Mr. Vuong Thuc
Vuong Thuc's church, with the advantage of being located on a high and quite large piece of land, in the middle of a prosperous and bustling village, became a gathering place for the masses to protest, typically the struggle on February 7, 1931.
The church and tomb of Mr. Vuong Thuc are located about 50km northwest of Vinh city. To visit Mr. Vuong Thuc's tomb, visitors follow National Highway 1A, turn left at Cau Bung intersection onto Provincial Road 538, go about 7km to Dien Thai commune, turn left and go about 300m to reach the tomb. To visit the church, visitors return to Road 638, continue to Hop Thanh intersection, turn right onto District Road 533 and go about 4km to Xuan Dao village, Hong Thanh commune. From here, visitors turn right onto Lien Huong road and go about 500m to Mr. Vuong Thuc's church.
Vuong Thuc's church and tomb are historical relics, a place to worship and preserve the remains of a person who contributed to the people and the country: Vuong Thuc.
Vuong Thuc was born in 1830, the son of Vuong Ngoc Kinh and Ha Thi Biem. He was from Trang Nuong village, Dong Thanh district, now Xuan Dao village, Hong Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province.
Since childhood, Vuong Thuc was famous for his intelligence, spirit, integrity and decisiveness. His parents gave him a thorough education. In 1859, he took the exam and passed the Khoa Sinh exam. At first, he was determined to study hard and become successful. But then, when the fate of the nation was in danger, the French colonialists opened fire and invaded. After Gia Dinh, 6 southern provinces, then Hanoi and Hue fell into the hands of the enemy. The Hue court was in turmoil, some advocated peace, some advocated war, the people were very confused. Some patriotic scholars and mandarins in Nghe Tinh were dissatisfied and resigned from their positions to live in seclusion, many prepared forces and waited for the opportunity to revolt against the French. Vuong Thuc decided to stop studying and find a way to contribute to saving the country.
In 1866, Vuong Thuc joined the Van Than movement, allied with patriots such as Tran Hoan (Diep Thu Dien Chau), Pho Bang Le Doan Nha... to prepare forces for the opportunity to revolt. He voluntarily sold more than 10 hectares of good rice fields left by his father to buy weapons such as British rifles. He bought the guns, put them in a covered earthenware jar, sealed them and buried them in the ground. He propagated and aroused love for the homeland and country in every citizen of Xuan Dao village so that when needed, they would be ready to sacrifice themselves for the country.
In 1879, the villagers of Xuan Dao elected Vuong Thuc as the Village Chief and Chairman of the Writers' Association. He was also elected by the villagers as the Village Chief, responsible for guarding and maintaining village security. For many years, he held the village register in his hands, but he never coveted any public money. He used all the rice tax and levies paid by the villagers to buy weapons, fence the village, and build guard posts, refusing to hand them over to the French.
In 1885, responding to King Ham Nghi's Can Vuong edict, people across the country, under the leadership of patriotic scholars, enthusiastically participated in the anti-French movement. A typical example was the uprising of Nguyen Xuan On, which made the French colonialists and their henchmen tremble with fear.
When the Nguyen Xuan On uprising broke out, the French colonialists set up a garrison in Con Dong (now in Con Dong village, Hong Thanh commune) and forced the people to build a road from Dap Ve to connect with Yen Ma garrison (now in Ma Thanh commune). That road passed through Trang Nuong village.
After receiving the Can Vuong edict from King Ham Nghi, realizing the important strategic position of Trang Nuong village, Vuong Thuc proactively sought out Mr. Nghe On to discuss ways to fight the French and quickly established an anti-French army in Trang Nuong village.
With the guidance and enthusiastic help of Mr. Nghe On, as the village chief, Mr. Vuong Thuc quickly mobilized militia and weapons. In just a short time, he summoned more than 300 people from the village, commune and the cantons where he was the governor to join the uprising. The main weapons were spears, halberds, 50 muskets and more than 20 rifles that had been buried for a long time.
The launching ceremony of the insurgent army was attended by Mr. Nghe On - An Hiep, the Military Affairs Governor. He advised changing the name of Trang Nuong village to Xuan Dao village and appointed Mr. Vuong Thuc as the Captain of Xuan Nghia Doi.
Xuan Nghia Doi quickly occupied the vital road from Con Sat to Yen Ma. The enemy knew that this was a big danger, so they immediately set up camp at Phu Da (a mountainside village, now in Hong Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district). The French considered Xuan Dao village a dangerous place, an important stronghold of the Can Vuong army. Therefore, they gathered soldiers from Don Sy, Thua Sung, Con Dong, Yen Ma, Phu Da... to sweep and organize strict surveillance.
After several months of training, Xuan Nghia Doi went into battle for the first time. That was the raid on Con Dong post, with nearly 100 soldiers causing the enemy to panic, leaving only a few to escape. The raid created a big echo in the area. From then on, the name of Xuan Nghia Doi became even more famous.
Receiving orders from General Nghe On, Vuong Thuc's army withdrew to Thua Sung to coordinate with the army of Chieu Hoat (the eldest son of Nghe) and Admiral Phan Ba Nien to fight the enemy at Thua Sung - Dong Mom (the place where Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts meet today), destroying hundreds of enemies.
After the victory of Thua Sung - Dong Mom, General Nguyen Xuan On and Deputy General Le Doan Nha organized a ceremony to honor Captain Vuong Thuc and Xuan Nghia Doi and presented the families who contributed to the uprising with the handwriting of the Mandarin with the two words "Cuu Quoc".
It can be said that with the leadership of Captain Vuong Thuc and his flexible strategies, appearing and disappearing, appearing and disappearing, his army caused the enemy many times of trouble. The battle of using the bait strategy of "luring the tiger away from the mountain" to draw the enemy out of Con Dong and using the guerrilla strategy to make the enemy at Don Cong scared out of their wits many times, has gone down in history as a tragic event of Xuan Dao village. People throughout Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Nghi Loc... were filled with excitement.
At the end of 1886, the Can Vuong movement in the provinces of North and Central Vietnam was in a difficult situation. In an unequal battle, the commander Nghe On was seriously injured and had to go to Len Da Vu Ky for treatment.
On July 25, 1887, Toc - a bounty-hungry gangster led the French army to capture Mr. Nghe while he was still on his sickbed. Captain Vuong Thuc used all his strength to block the enemy and protect his commander. But then he himself was arrested and imprisoned in Dien Chau, Vinh for several years. At the end of 1889, he was released and returned to his hometown in a state of physical and mental exhaustion.
On July 1, 1890, Mr. Vuong Thuc passed away. Before he died, he left a will: to be buried at Con Troi, located in Con Sat village, the hometown of Mr. Nghe (now Dien Thai commune, Dien Chau district) and to advise the young and strong soldiers to continue fighting under the uprising flag of Phan Dinh Phung's army.
Vuong Thuc's church is a place that marks many historical events of the nation.
In 1874, when Tran Tan and Dang Nhu Mai raised the flag of uprising, the people of Xuan Dao village, headed by village chief Vuong Thuc, promptly responded. He used his house as a meeting place, calling on the people to fence the village, set up guard posts, and purchase weapons, waiting for the opportunity to revolt. In particular, when the Can Vuong flag flew over the mountains of An Son (Huong Khe, Ha Tinh), the struggle movement of the people of Xuan Dao grew even more. Xuan Nghia Doi was born and the team leader was Mr. Vuong Thuc. Mr. Vuong Thuc's house at this time became the headquarters of the uprising army. This place once welcomed General Nguyen Xuan On at the launching ceremony of Xuan Nghia Doi, was the meeting place, discussed, gathered forces, and all plans of the uprising army were discussed here.
During the fierce resistance wars against the French and the Americans, the people of Xuan Dao village also rose up to fight strongly, especially in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement of 1930-1931. The Vuong Thuc temple, with the advantage of being located on a high and quite large piece of land, in the middle of a prosperous and bustling village, became a place for the masses to gather and demonstrate. A typical example was the struggle on February 7, 1931, when the people of Xuan Dao village, together with the people of the villages in Van Tu commune, broke up the enemy's plot to gather the masses to issue "surrender cards". The victorious struggle not only motivated and encouraged the masses in the district but also resonated throughout the province.
The Vuong Thuc Temple is now the Vuong Thuc Temple, a place for the family's spiritual and cultural activities associated with ancestor worship. Every year, many important festivals take place here, such as: Full Moon of January, Full Moon of July, and Vuong Thuc's death anniversary (July 1st of the lunar calendar).
Vuong Thuc's house was built in the early Nguyen Dynasty, facing the South. At the time of construction, it consisted of a house with 3 rooms and 2 wings, made of ironwood, with a yin-yang tiled roof. Over time, descendants have renovated and restored the church many times. Currently, the relic has an area of 503m2.2, including structures such as: gate, yard, front hall, back palace.
According to the wishes of Mr. Vuong Thuc, his descendants buried him at Con Troi, located in Con Sat village, the hometown of Mr. Nghe On (now in Dien Thai commune, Dien Chau district). The tomb faces East, with an area of 74m2.2.
Over a long period of time, affected by natural disasters, floods and wars, the church and the tomb of Mr. Vuong Thuc were severely damaged. However, with the attention of the government, people and descendants, the relic has been restored, contributing to preserving cultural values, meeting the spiritual and cultural needs of the people. Currently, the church and the tomb of Mr. Vuong Thuc have been recognized as a provincial historical relic.