Grand Tutor, Duke Cuong Quoc Nguyen Xi: Shining with loyalty and patriotism
The temple of Grand Tutor Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi is humbled by the rice field. There is no noisy, bustling scene like many famous religious and spiritual works that people often see. Nguyen Xi temple seems as quiet and discreet as the land of Thuong village - where he was born and raised 600 years ago.
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Dao Tuan• 01/02/2025
Located at the confluence of the Cam River and Lo Lach, the intersection between a bustling coastal and agricultural area, Hop Thang village has maintained its peacefulness for generations, even though the village has changed a lot. People from this land leave and return, and each time, beautiful high-rise buildings are built. And that also shows that Hop Thang village is prosperous and full.
Here, 600 years ago, there was a man with great ambition who left the village and was recognized by the nation's history as a man who made great contributions to the cause of defending the Fatherland, contributing significantly to the depth of the country's culture. That excellent son of the ancient village of Thuong, Hop Thang (Khanh Hop, Nghi Loc) today is none other than Grand Tutor Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi.
The temple of Grand Tutor Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi is humble next to the field. Without the noisy, bustling scene like many famous religious and spiritual works that people often see, Nguyen Xi temple seems as quiet and discreet as the land of Thuong village - his birthplace 600 years ago. Even when the Tomb and Temple of Grand Tutor Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi was ranked as a special National Monument 4 years ago (December 31, 2020), that honor did not make the special complex of works of the Nguyen Dinh family in particular and Nghe An in general become more noisy. This is what further enhances the solemnity and majesty like the personality of Nguyen Xi - the pillar of 4 generations of Le kings, twice of which he was recognized in history as a founding hero.
Surrounding the heroic spirit that the general of the early Le Dynasty radiated, there was the shadow of both legends and anecdotes. However, as recognized by history, Nguyen Xi was first and foremost a human being, a historical figure whose talent and personality were truly rare throughout the development process of the country.
Originally from Cuong Gian village, Nghi Xuan district (Ha Tinh), Nguyen Xi was born and raised in Thuong village, Thuong Xa commune, Chan Phuc district, now Khanh Hop commune, Nghi Loc district (Nghe An). According to many historical documents, he was born in 1397. His family lived by farming and salt production. As a child, he often followed his father Nguyen Hoi and older brother Nguyen Bien to transport salt to sell in Thieu Hoa, Thanh Hoa. Thanks to that, he got to know Le Loi's family. At the age of 9, Nguyen Xi became an orphan, followed his brother to Lam Son and became Le Loi's servant. Here, Nguyen Xi proved to be more intelligent, quick-witted and brave than others, and was loved by Le Loi as a descendant of his own family. Seeing Nguyen Xi's intelligence and vivacity, Le Loi assigned him to take care of a pack of more than a hundred hunting dogs. The book Dai Viet Thong Su by Le Quy Don recorded: "The King ordered Nguyen Xi to raise a pack of more than 100 hunting dogs. Morning and evening, he divided the food for the dogs, using a bell as a signal. The dogs followed his command and training, advancing and retreating obediently."
In 1418, Le Loi proclaimed himself King of Binh Dinh and launched the Lam Son uprising. The two brothers Nguyen Bien and Nguyen Xi joined in. At that time, Nguyen Xi was just over 20 years old. He often served Le Loi in times of danger and hardship. Nguyen Xi left many special marks during the resistance wars, making great contributions during 10 years of hardship and life and death with Le Loi.
In 1428, King Le Loi of Binh Dinh ascended the throne with the reign name Thuan Thien the first. Nguyen Xi became one of the founding heroes and was promoted by the king to the title "Long Ho Thuong Tuong Quan, Suy Trung Bao Chinh Cong Than" and was given the national surname Le, called Le Xi. In 1429, when the plaque of meritorious heroes was engraved, Nguyen Xi was ranked 5th and was given the title Huyen Hau. In 1437, during the reign of King Le Thai Tong, he held the position of "Tham Tri Chinh Su Kien Tri Tu Tung".
In 1442, King Le Thai Tong died, Nguyen Xi received the will to assist King Le Nhan Tong.
In 1445, Nguyen Xi became the Imperial Admiral. In 1448, he was appointed Thieu Bao, in charge of military and civilian affairs.
During the Le Dynasty, Nguyen Xi held many important positions, making great contributions to building the country and consolidating the government. In particular, when the Le Dynasty was in a state of fratricidal war (1459), Nguyen Xi plotted to pretend to be blind to eliminate the rebels. He made great contributions to destroying the rebels of Lang Son King Le Nghi Dan and bringing Le Tu Thanh - King Le Thanh Tong to the throne. From then on, the Le Dynasty entered a new page in history, and was evaluated by history books as the most brilliant dynasty in the feudal regime of our country.
In 1460, Nguyen Xi was appointed as: Khai phu Nghi Dong tam ti, Nhap noi kiem hieu Thai pho Binh Chuong Quan Quoc trong su, A hau phu chinh. In October of that year, he was appointed as Sai Quan Cong.
In 1462, Nguyen Xi was appointed as the Right Prime Minister. In 1463, he was appointed as the Grand Chancellor.
During his life as an official serving four Le dynasties for 37 consecutive years (1428-1465), Nguyen Xi was not only a talented military general but also an outstanding politician both domestically and internationally. In the feudal history of our country, there were few subjects who were respected and cared for by the king until the last days of his life like him.
However, all the titles, positions and even the glory that the dynasties of the time gave him were not just that. From the Le Dynasty monarchs to the mandarins and the people admired Grand Tutor Cuong Quoc Cong not only for his talent in both literature and martial arts, but above all, for his respect for the morality of a loyal subject. It can be said that in the history of Vietnamese feudalism, there were few kings who used golden standards and jade rulers when evaluating their subjects:
“Consider this(Nguyen Xi): majestic demeanor, strong personality. Assisted Cao Hoang when he founded the country, fought a hundred battles of hardship. Assisted the first emperor in defending the city, wholeheartedly helped the enemy. Entered and exited all positions of civil and military general. Always kept his loyalty as a subject and son. Kept himself moral, innocent as jade, never showing off. A serious face in court, majestic as a newly drawn sword. All officials admired his demeanor. The four seas looked up to his prestige.….
The wise king who praised his subject was King Le Thanh Tong, and the person who received the king's endless praise was none other than Grand Tutor Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi.
It was no coincidence that King Le Thanh Tong said that his loyal subjects were "kept to themselves, innocent as jade, not showing off their beauty". Firstly, King Le Thanh Tong was able to ascend the throne thanks to Nguyen Xi's great contributions. He even had to sacrifice his personal feelings to revive the Le dynasty. There is an anecdote that after Lang Son King Le Nghi Dan and the rebels killed King Le Nhan Tong and Queen Mother Tuyen Tu, and took the reign name Thien Hung, Nguyen Xi pretended to be blind. When he was suspected, he had to suppress his pain and trample his own son, who was not yet a year old, to cover up the rebels.
When he put Le Tu Thanh - Le Thanh Tong on the throne, Nguyen Xi had all the opportunities and conditions to plan a great career for himself. At that time, he could have taken advantage of the opportunity to seize power and usurp the throne from the Le Dynasty. However, Nguyen Xi did not do so. He remained humble, standing behind to support the young King Le Thanh Tong in governing the country.
Loyalty and patriotism are the highest virtues that people see in Grand Tutor Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi, whether in his time or through the history of the nation.
The outstanding military and political figure Nguyen Xi also demonstrated his loyalty and patriotism through his unique Testament in history.
Testament says:
“The Emperor has decreed to grant me a family land as a meritorious subject. I also purchased more land and ponds in the prefectures and districts, including land for rituals, and land to be divided equally among your descendants as property.
Now when you see beautiful houses, good fields, and wealth, you must think of my past efforts in cutting thorns and clearing bushes. When you see the happy singing and dancing of the singers, you must think of my past hardships of sleeping on sickle-beds and sleeping in the snow.
I have seen that Li Jing was a famous general in the Tang Dynasty (China) but in the end had two sons, Jing and Ye, who committed treason. You should take that as an example and avoid it. During the Song Dynasty (China), there was a good general named Cao Bin who had two sons, Can and Wei, who both became generals. You must strive to be like them.
Your descendants must know how to carefully preserve the family law and use filial piety to establish merits. That is my filial son and good grandson. Or, if there are those who go against the law and cause trouble, you must write a petition to the court to punish them for their unfilial acts.
You all should remember my teachings and not forget them.
After finishing writing, Nguyen Xi presented the Testament to the king and King Le Thanh Tong stamped it with the Hong Duc Tam Nguyen seal to make it known to the whole country.
Regarding Nguyen Xi's Special Testament, Associate Professor Hoang Lan commented:“Nguyen Xi's Testament clearly shows that Nguyen Xi's character is a complete and vivid expression of the basic social relations that existed in the Dai Viet monarchy in the 15th century. Those basic social relations were fixed into a quality of "loyalty": loyalty to Dai Viet country, loyalty to the Le So dynasty.”.
Through the Testament for his descendants, Nguyen Xi also used the words "meaning" to affirm to the king, the mandarins and the people of that time that he and his descendants would remain loyal subjects for life, not coveting the throne or the throne.
Speaking more about this, Mr. Nguyen Van Hao - Deputy Chief of the clan, acting Chief of the Nguyen Dinh clan, said that the spirit of loyalty and patriotism of Grand Tutor Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi was also recognized in that he kept himself like a mirror, like jade, wholeheartedly serving the Fatherland and the People. His 16 sons (8 daughters) all held important positions at that time, many of whom were assigned to guard and protect the coastal areas of the country. Among them, there were prominent politicians and military figures such as: Nguyen Su Hoi - the founder of Cua Lo; Nguyen Xuong - General Nghiem Vo and General of Thuan Hoa; Nguyen Ke Sai - Grand Protector of the Royal Palace, Quoc Sai District Duke. All of his children later kept their father's instructions, wholeheartedly protecting the court, serving the country and the People.
In October of the year At Dau, the 6th year of Quang Thuan (1465), Nguyen Xi passed away at the age of 69. King Le Thanh Tong was deeply saddened when he heard the news, and did not attend court for 3 days, lamenting: "Since the founding of the country, no one has been like you". The king ordered the body to be kept at Kinh Thien Palace, and organized a state funeral with the participation of civil and military mandarins. Then, the coffin was brought back to his hometown in Thuong village, which is Khanh Hop commune, Nghi Loc district today. After the funeral, in 1467, a temple was built according to the national and international system and he ordered the first-ranking scholar Nguyen Trung Truc to write the stele to canonize him as: "The supreme god of fortune, the mighty and righteous Trung Trinh great king". In the 15th year of Hong Duc (1484), he was posthumously awarded the title: Grand Tutor Cuong Quoc Cong.
With his great contributions to the nation and the country, Nguyen Xi was not only honored by the contemporary dynasty but throughout history, his name and morality still shine. Nguyen Xi Temple was restored on the largest scale in the 20s of the 20th century. In December 2020, Nguyen Xi Tomb and Temple Complex was ranked by the State as a Special National Monument. When visitors and descendants come to worship Nguyen Xi Temple, they will see 2 parallel sentences:Forever shining the founding of the country/Thousand years of heroic will to pacify the Ngo.
