General and private servant Ho Phi Tu

(Baonghean)Ho Phi Tu, son of Ho Phi Phu, grandson of Quynh Quan Cong Ho Phi Tich, was from Quynh Doi village, Quynh Luu district. Ho Phi Phu married a woman from the Dau family, the daughter of the Deputy Commissioner of Hai Duong, Dau Dang Tieu, from Nhan Son village (now Quynh Hong commune, Quynh Luu district). They had three sons: Ho Phi Phuc, Ho Phi Tu, and Ho Phi Dien. Ho Phi Phu died young, and the mother and sons moved to their maternal grandparents' village in Nhan Son. When all three brothers had grown up and had wives and children, the eldest brother, Ho Phi Phuc, fathered Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue, and Nguyen Lu, and moved to Thai Lao, Hung Nguyen, then to Binh Dinh. Later, Ho Phi Dien moved to Khan Xuan ward (Hanoi) with his daughter, the poet Ho Xuan Huong, while Ho Phi Tu and his wife and children remained in Nhan Son to care for their elderly mother..

Upon hearing news that the Qing invaders were bringing a large army to invade our country, Ho Phi Tu, despite his advanced age, "voluntarily" went to Tien Ly fort (a location bordering Tien Doi village (now part of Quynh Hoa commune, Quynh Luu district) and Nhan Ly village (now part of Quynh Hong district), the largest military outpost of the Tay Son rebels, to enlist in the army and quickly became a vanguard general.

After defeating 290,000 Qing troops, he was granted the title of Marquis Tư Nhân and he did not participate in court affairs, returning to Nhân Sơn village to farm.

... “He was a man who wholeheartedly loved the people. He discussed and helped with every matter, big or small, in the village, especially during the years of famine and crop failure in Ky Dau (1789) and Canh Tuat (1970). His contributions to our village were immense.” (“Nhan Son Phong Tho Ky” handwritten copy continued by Ho Trong Kham 1806 – translated by Ho Doi).

Mr. and Mrs. Ho Phi Tu had two daughters, Ho Thi Ai and Ho Thi On. Mrs. Ho Thi Ai married someone from the Dang family in the village, while Mrs. Ho Thi On married into Ngo (now Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu district). Later, his great-grandfather, Colonel and writer Nguyen Minh Chau, when the official fell seriously ill, discussed with his wife and two daughters the idea of ​​donating all the land they had cleared and acquired to the village. He passed away on August 24th (lunar calendar). The village buried him and erected a temple in his honor at Chai Quan Hau. In front of the temple are the three characters "Bao Nghia Dan" (Protecting Righteous People), with couplets on either side.

"The aura of the Quỳnh land, the general in his lifetime."
"His name is Ren Shan, his spirit remains after death."

Since then, the village has held a grand annual commemoration for him, and there is a saying that goes:

"The twenty-first anniversary of the death of Mr. Le Lai"
Twenty-second anniversary of the death of Le Loi
Twenty-three wash dishes
Twenty-four anniversaries of the death of Mandarin Tư Nhân

It should also be added that Nhan Son was a small village, yet during the Tay Son dynasty, it had 5 out of the 8 marquises from the village that were awarded the title of marquis from the beginning of the Le dynasty (Later Le) to the end of the Nguyen dynasty.

That is:Private Marquis Ho Phi Tu
Marquis Thinh Duc Ho Trong Thinh
Marquis Mien Duc Ho Van Mien
Lord Don Duc Ho Huu Thiem
andTrung Cau Hau, Nguyen family

In particular, Lord Ho Phi Tu was honored by the village with a temple built in his honor, protected and cared for, and meticulously worshipped even after the fall of the Tay Son dynasty and Nguyen Anh's cowardly revenge; the temple of Lord Ho Phi Tu continued to be maintained with incense offerings.

Sadly, the temple has now been completely destroyed.

Ho Duc Thinh (Quynh Hong - Quynh Luu)