The capital is an important place of the country, the intersection of the four directions, the central position to easily control the inside and outside, mobilize the North and South, and convenient for attack and defense, so choosing a good piece of land to build the capital is always the first thing a wise king and holy emperor do.
Since the founding of the country, through many dynasties, our people have had many lands that were once famous capitals: Phong Chau from the time of the Hung Kings, Thang Long was the capital of 3 great dynasties and lasted continuously for nearly 800 years; or the capital Phu Xuan is now the peaceful and poetic ancient capital Hue...
Few people know that before the Hung Kings, Nghe An was Viet Thuong country, with its capital located right at the foot of Hong Linh mountain. In the 8th century, King Mai Hac De raised the flag of uprising, built Van An citadel in Sa Nam (Nam Dan) to fight against the brutal domination of the Tang Dynasty, showing us that Nghe An at that time was the center of the country.
During the period of independence and autonomy, Nghe An was still a place of poor land and poor people, and history often considered it a remote border area. During the Ly Dynasty, Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang - a prince of the Ly Dynasty, became a district governor, and within 16 years, he transformed Nghe An from a remote border area into a strategically important area of the country; during the Tran Dynasty, when the court had to abandon the capital Thang Long and retreat to the South, King Tran Nhan Tong realized that Nghe An land was a solid support for the resistance war against the Yuan - Mongol army:
The memoirs of the former military commander of Coi Ke
Hoan Dien still has 100,000 soldiers
Rough translation:
Old things (in) Coi Ke (you) should remember
Hoan Dien still has hundreds of thousands of troops.
During the Ming Dynasty, Nghe An land was the headquarters of King Tran Trung Quang to fight against the invading Ming army. However, the Later Tran uprising did not last long, so Nghe An's mark in this uprising was not special.
In 1418, Le Loi and his generals raised the flag of uprising in Lam Son, Thanh Hoa. This time, Nghe An showed its image in the cause of repelling invaders and restoring the Fatherland; thereby, showing us more clearly the position and importance of Nghe An land in the history of the nation. We know that after more than 5 years of operation in Thanh Hoa, Le Loi and Lam Son generals not only failed to develop their forces, failed to expand their base, but also encountered many difficulties and losses, so in October 1424, Binh Dinh King Le Loi and Lam Son insurgents followed Nguyen Chich's plan to bring troops to Nghe An (now Nghe An - Ha Tinh). At that time, Nguyen Chich said:“Nghe An is a dangerous place, with a large land and a large population. I have been to Nghe An before so I am very familiar with the roads. Now let's attack Tra Lan first, occupy Nghe An as a foothold, then rely on the human and financial resources of that land to attack Dong Quan, then we can consider pacifying the world.”
Nguyen Chich's strategic plan to abandon Thanh Hoa and move to Nghe An immediately showed results: Within just a few years of implementing that plan, the Lam Son insurgents controlled a large area stretching from Thanh Hoa to Thuan Hoa (present-day Hue). If compared with the 6-year period from 1418 to 1423, which only revolved around a few districts in Thanh Hoa, the effect of changing tactics to advance into Nghe An was extremely great. From Nghe An, the insurgents continuously defeated the enemy in resounding battles such as the "Bo Dang thunder and lightning" battle, the "Tra Lan bamboo splits ash flying" battle, the Tra Luu battle, the Bo Ai battle, the Trai citadel attack... advancing to liberate Thuan Hoa... then advancing to liberate Dong Do, completing the task of repelling foreign invaders and restoring national independence.
However, it is necessary to clearly see one thing, the position of Nghe An in the Lam Son uprising was that of a capital - a resistance capital, not a capital in the time of independence and development. It was not until the end of the 18th century that Nghe An was officially chosen by a national hero, an emperor, to be the capital, that was Phuong Hoang Trung Do under the Tay Son dynasty and Emperor Quang Trung.
Regarding this, Hoang Le Nhat Thong Chi said:“King Quang Trung believed that Nghe An town was located in the middle of the country, the roads from the South to the North were equal, and his ancestral homeland was also there, so he ordered the requisition of many workers, transporting wood, stone, bricks and tiles, to build palaces and castles. He built a surrounding earthen wall and ordered soldiers to dig up local laterite to build the inner wall. He built a three-story Dragon Tower and two corridors of Thai Hoa Palace, to be used during court ceremonies. This citadel was called Phuong Hoang Trung Do or Trung Kinh Phuong Hoang Thanh. Quang Trung wrote an edict inviting Nguyen Thiep to come and see the land. In the edict, there was a passage that read: “Nowadays, Phu Xuan capital is in a difficult position, far away from Bac Ha, making it very difficult to govern. According to the court, only Nghe An is the capital, the road is balanced, can control both the South and the North, and will make people from all directions come to complain, convenient for going back and forth”.
In 1788, Long Nhuong General Nguyen Hue invited La Son Phu Tu to rule the country together, and sent the following "heartfelt letter":
(Translation) “I respectfully send this letter to La Son Phu Tu to share with you. Now, the world is in chaos. If it is not Phu Tu, who will help me resolve it? Qua Duc personally came to this area and specially sent the civil minister (who is) Binh Phien Pho Tri Phien Can Tin Hau Nguyen Quang Dai to pay his respects. And I respectfully invite Phu Tu to come [to see me] so that I can hear your instructions. [If that happens], it will be very fortunate for Qua Duc, and also fortunate for the whole world. I respectfully send this letter. March 18, year Thai Duc 11 (1788)”.
Even in the years before ascending the throne, General Long Nhuong Nguyen Hue had paid attention to finding land to build the capital of the dynasty in Nghe An. After inviting La Son Phu Tu to rule the country, he assigned Phu Tu to Yen Truong to inspect and choose the land between Quyet Mountain and Con Meo Mountain because he saw that this place had all the favorable factors for construction. Thus, although the capital in this land was still in its infancy, the foundation had actually been built. Regarding this matter, the most notable is the letter General Long Nhuong sent to La Son Phu Tu dated June 19, year Thai Duc 11:
(Translation) “I hereby inform La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep: on June 19th of this year, I read Phu Tu's decree. It fully describes the good and bad terrain along with the suffering of the people. Phu Tu also used famous sayings and stories of the ancients to advise. That logic is like a good medicine that is very much in line with my ideas. (But) in the beginning, when the country was just established, the people's hearts were just following, (if) I did not stay in Nghe An to regularly control the upper region, then where would I be able to control inside and outside? (I) Surely Phu Tu also clearly understood this. Now I am very happy to hear Phu Tu's words, so the great construction should be postponed accordingly. But the place where I am going, I cannot help but plan early to implement. Please Phu Tu take charge of the work and choose the date. If it is completed, it will also be a plan to protect the country. I ask Phu Tu to make a decision. I respectfully listen. Special edict. June 19th, year Thai Duc 11th (1788)”.
Through this letter, we clearly see the determination of Long Nhuong General Nguyen Hue to build the capital in Nghe An. Most notably, just a few dozen days after this letter, the then Governor of Nghe An, Than Truc Marquis Nguyen Van Than, sent La Son Phu Tu another letter with the intention that La Son Phu Tu quickly carry out the construction work:
(Translation) “The Imperial Commissioner of the Town, Than Truc Hou, respectfully writes to La Son Phu Tu for review. Now [we] respectfully obey the imperial edict to establish the capital. In it, the districts and communes have been ordered to complete the excavation and construction. We respectfully invite (Phu Tu) to move his jade steps to the temporary palace, to clearly determine the direction for the construction period, to avoid causing the people to stay for a long time and cause waste. Now respectfully write. July 4th, year Thai Duc 11 (1788)”.
In the above document, the very first sentence clearly states: "The Imperial Commissioner of the Town (is) Than Truc Hau" and the seal on the letter is "Nghe An Town Palace Chapter" which tells us that this is the Town Governor in Nghe An with the title of Than Truc Hau. Nghe An land is an important town, so under each dynasty, the town governor position here is held by talented generals and confidants of the royal family. Following the letters exchanged between the Tay Son court and La Son Phu Tu about the construction of the capital in Nghe An, we see that in early 1788, on the way from Phu Xuan to the North, when passing through Nghe An, Long Nhuong General Nguyen Hue asked La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep to search, examine and select suitable land plots. At the end of May 1788, when Long Nhuong General stopped in Nghe An on the way from Thang Long back to Phu Xuan, La Son Phu Tu had not yet started working. General Long Nhuong continued to write an imperial edict (like the one above) ordering La Son Phu Tu to immediately carry out the work. In addition, to be more certain, he also gave a separate order to Than Truc Marquis Nguyen Van Than, who was then holding the position of Nghe An Governor, to directly urge La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep to quickly carry out all work related to the construction of the capital.
This is the reason for the birth of the above letter. Through the letter, we can clearly see that the construction of the capital in Nghe An was carried out urgently and seriously by the chief mandarin.“…has been passed down to the districts and communes to complete the excavation and construction…”, and especially urged La Son Phu Tu to quickly get to work.“…to avoid making people stay for a long time, causing waste”. Thus, the construction of the capital in Nghe An was carried out. Although the bricks to build the capital in Nghe An were still rudimentary, the foundation had actually been laid.
About Than Truc Marquis Nguyen Van Than. When he went to the North for the first time in mid-1786, Nguyen Hue appointed him as the Imperial Envoy of Nghe An and he held this position throughout the Tay Son Dynasty. Unfortunately, history books did not record much information about him. The construction of the capital in Nghe An, which he was in charge of, was unfinished when a year later, King Quang Trung had to devote all his energy to fighting the invading Qing army. Until 1792, King Quang Trung suddenly passed away, and King Canh Thinh succeeded to the throne. On the one hand, King Canh Thinh was not strategic enough to recognize Nghe An's position and decided to move it, on the other hand, he had to devote all his efforts to resist the increasingly strong revenge force of Nguyen Anh, so the continued construction and transfer of the capital from Phu Xuan to Nghe An was completely abandoned. On May 28, Nguyen Anh's navy went to Dan Nhai seaport to attack and destroy Quan Moc fort. The army also advanced to the south of Lam River and then crossed to the north bank. Both the water and land forces attacked, the Tay Son army lost the battle. Nguyen Anh's army then rushed to rob the Ky Lan granary. The garrison commander Nguyen Van Than, along with the deputy garrison commander Nguyen Triem, commander Nguyen Van Dai, and Lieutenant Dang Van Dang had to abandon the citadel and flee to the North. At Tien Ly garrison, Nguyen Triem hanged himself; while Nguyen Van Than continued to flee to Thanh Hoa town, the Nguyen army completely occupied Nghe An citadel. King Canh Thinh was captured and killed, the Tay Son dynasty collapsed, Nguyen Anh ascended the throne, the Nguyen dynasty was established, the capital was Phu Xuan, while Phuong Hoang Trung Do was forgotten and faded into the past. And until now, the only mark left about Phuong Hoang Trung Do and Nghe An garrison commander Nguyen Van Than is this letter.
To express gratitude to the national hero and the civil and military mandarins of the Tay Son dynasty, on July 23, 2004, the People's Committee of Nghe An province decided to build a temple to worship Emperor Quang Trung on Dung Quyet mountain - a location in the land where King Quang Trung chose to establish his capital nearly 230 years ago. Currently, at the temple of Emperor Quang Trung, there is an altar to worship Than Truc Hau Nguyen Van Than to show gratitude to the mandarin who guarded Nghe An during the Tay Son dynasty for his contribution in building Phuong Hoang Trung Do.