To Ba Ngoc and the Can Vuong movement in Nghe An

(Baonghean) -In 1885, after King Ham Nghi issued the Can Vuong decree, Nghe An became one of the places where the Can Vuong movement against the French developed most vigorously in the country with two famous uprisings that forever remained in the history books of the country. Those were the uprising of Mr. Nghe Nguyen Xuan On in Dien Chau and the uprising of Huong Khe, Ha Tinh led by Mr. Phan Dinh Phung. In those two uprisings, there was a landowner in Dong Yen village (now Minh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district) who was full of chivalry and was willing to sell all his property to help the insurgents, hoping that the country would soon gain independence... That was Mr. To Ba Ngoc.

To Ba Ngoc, real name To Viet Trac, was born in 1838, in Dong Yen village, Van Tu commune (now Minh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, Nghe An); the son of To Viet Hieu and Nguyen Thi My, a famous landlord family in the area.

When To Viet Trac turned 20 years old (1858), it was also the year the French colonialists opened fire on Da Nang (September 1, 1858), beginning their invasion of Vietnam. The Nguyen Dynasty at that time, led by King Tu Duc, gradually made concessions and surrendered to the French army with unequal treaties, especially after the court signed the Harmand (August 25, 1883) and Patenotre (June 6, 1884) treaties, Vietnam was divided into 3 regions, under the protection of the French colonialists.

Faced with the risk of the country becoming enslaved, and unable to do anything to help the people escape misery, in addition to focusing on reclaiming wasteland and expanding agricultural farms, To Ba Ngoc hoped to become a landowner to have the conditions to help provide military provisions for future anti-French movements.

Thanks to his intelligence, gentleness, eagerness to learn, diligence, hard work, and constant efforts, when the Can Vuong movement against the French broke out (1885), To Ba Ngoc became a famous and wealthy landowner, "Having hundreds of acres of land, thousands of buffaloes and cows... to visit the fields or visit the herds of buffaloes and cows grazing on the hills, he had to ride a horse". To Ba Ngoc was also famous in the region for his open-mindedness, generous treatment, kind-heartedness, and always helping the poor. The local officials and the people in the region all respected him. Talking about To Ba Ngoc's chivalry and compassion for the people, Mr. Phan Dinh Phung commented: "Those of his brothers and grandchildren who were in need, he helped them with money and rice, just like the family rules of Truong Cong Nghe and Tran Canh in the past. If there were poor people in the village who needed help, he would give them rice without asking for much or little money. When there was a crop failure, he saved quite a lot of people from starvation".

In 1885, responding to King Ham Nghi's Can Vuong edict, many uprisings broke out in Nghe Tinh as well as other localities across the country. Typical were Nguyen Xuan On's uprising in Nghe An and Phan Dinh Phung's Huong Khe uprising in Ha Tinh.

During the days when Nguyen Xuan On raised troops for the Can Vuong movement, in order to have a solid base for the insurgents to operate for a long time, Nguyen Xuan On decided to move the base to the mountainous area west of Yen Thanh district. Here, Mr. Nghe built bases such as Dong Thong, Dong Ban, etc. During this time, Nguyen Xuan On heard about To Ba Ngoc, a landowner in Dong Yen who had hundreds of hectares of rice fields, thousands of buffaloes, cows, goats, horses, and had a chivalrous heart, full of patriotism, and always helped the poor. Nguyen Xuan On immediately sent a confidant to meet To Ba Ngoc to ask for help with food for the insurgents.

For a long time, having heard that Mr. Ong was a righteous and talented person, successful in his studies, and now knowing that he was a soldier fighting the French, To Ba Ngoc admired him very much and wholeheartedly responded. To Ba Ngoc had his servants treat Mr. Ong's family members well and said: "You are doing a righteous deed, I do not dare to regret anything. If the superiors need anything, I will be happy to do it, even if I have to sell all my property." Admiring To Ba Ngoc's patriotic and chivalrous spirit, at the end of 1886, Mr. Nguyen Xuan On personally visited his house and stayed at the To family's ancestral temple to learn and choose Dong Yen land as a base to hide military provisions to serve the uprising long-term.

At that time, To Ba Ngoc wanted to ask Mr. Nghe to let him join the army to fight the French, but Mr. Nghe On smiled and said: "Mr. To is just a bad soldier, so I don't know how he will be as a general. But he has more than enough strength to raise soldiers and generals." To Ba Ngoc considered that a profound lesson, from then on he focused all his heart and soul on helping the army, hoping that one day he would be able to drive out the French and gain independence for his homeland.

To concentrate on military provisions for the movement to fight the French of Nguyen Xuan On's insurgent army, To Ba Ngoc not only brought a lot of food and money to support but also mobilized many people to participate: "Every year, when paying taxes to the court, To Ba Ngoc made excuses to delay, but when the harvest season was over, he transported rice and money to the insurgent army and every time he heard news of victory, he sent people to lead buffaloes, cows, carry rice, sticky rice, pigs, chickens to treat the army". To Ba Ngoc's wholehearted help in both human and material resources contributed to many important victories of Nguyen Xuan On's insurgent army such as: Don Sy, Don So, Don Tran (Dien Chau district); Dong Soi, Ngoc Thuong, Bao Nham (Yen Thanh district), Bao Lam station (Hoa Thanh commune). A typical example was the battle at Dong Cay Voi (Minh Thanh commune). The people of Minh Thanh, together with the insurgent army led by Tac Bay, defeated the French army and killed the French commander Cooc, causing a great resonance for the Can Vuong movement against the French throughout the three provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Thanh Hoa.

In the Spring of Dinh Hoi year (1887), in order to connect with the uprisings that were breaking out in the North, and at the same time seek support and strengthen the force, in February 1887, Phan Dinh Phung handed over full leadership of the Huong Khe base to Cao Thang to go to the North. The first thing to do at this time was to go to Nghe An, to meet Mr. Nghe Nguyen Xuan On who was setting up a base in the western part of Yen Thanh district. After meeting Nguyen Xuan On, Phan Dinh Phung was secretly introduced by the insurgents to rest at To Ba Ngoc's house, to facilitate discussions and communication with the insurgents who were setting up bases in the mountainous areas of Nghe An such as: Bo Viem, Lanh Ngoi, Doc Nhoan, De Nien, Hiep Tran, Ta Hai, ....

Besides, Phan Dinh Phung also wanted to "ask To Ba Ngoc for a hand" in his plot to restore the country. Because Mr. Dinh knew that To Ba Ngoc was a patriotic landowner, actively helping with money, food and mobilizing many others to support Nguyen Xuan On's army. With the care and help of To Ba Ngoc, Mr. Phan Dinh Phung stayed at the To family temple for a while to study the situation, join more generals, prepare the base, listen to people's opinions, and then expand the resistance base throughout Nghe Tinh. Thanks to To Ba Ngoc's contact and connection, Mr. Dinh met many important figures participating in the Can Vuong movement in Nghe An.

Mr. To Sy Giuu next to the will of his grandfather To Ba Ngoc.

According to Mr. To Sy Giou, grandson of To Ba Ngoc, during his stay at Ngoc's house, to show his respect to his superiors, Ngoc arranged for Dinh Nguyen to stay in the family's ancestral temple for convenience in work as well as to avoid the prying eyes of French spies. Ngoc considered Dinh Nguyen as a distinguished guest, going back and forth every day to discuss state affairs and discuss literature with Phan Dinh Phung as a confidant. Here, because of his gratitude for To Ba Ngoc's kindness, Phan Dinh Phung changed To Viet Trac's name to To Ba Ngoc. At To Ba Ngoc's family, the two of them composed poems together, including Phan Dinh Phung's poem as follows:

Literature has a predestined relationship,
New old, strange familiar place.
I am the master of the Tung Non Imperial Academy,
The poetry of Lap mountain is a fairy.
Why white eyes become companions,
To make the sky distant neighbors.
Met many strange animals this time,
Record beautiful spring fairy flower piece.
Not far away is the Tung Mountain and Lap Mountain,
Strangers at first, but now we know each other's hearts.
Near and far are under the same sky,
The strange fate lies in a few verses!
In fact, Mr. Phan Dinh Phung also had a lot of sympathy for To Ba Ngoc's family, right from the first time they met:
Coming home at first sight saw the sign hanging,
Make the customer's heart so heavy with love.
Green mountains and blue water all around,
A clear line of the To family.

After staying at To Ba Ngoc's house for a while, Mr. Dinh had to go to Thanh Hoa to meet Tong Duy Tan, and then continue to the North. To Ba Ngoc asked to follow him, but when he reached Do Luong district, Mr. Dinh advised the To family to return, to help him contact the generals operating in the area and prepare military provisions for the long-term resistance. Following Mr. Dinh's advice, To Ba Ngoc returned to Dong Yen to plan great things. Before leaving for the North, Mr. Phan Dinh Phung did not forget to leave a will expressing his gratitude and admiration for To Ba Ngoc.

Some time after Mr. Dinh left for the North, on May 28, 1887 of the lunar calendar, under the pretext of "accumulating treacherous officials", the French army sent soldiers to To Ba Ngoc's house to surround and arrest him, confiscating all his property. Afterwards, they took him to be executed at Cho Roi station, Minh Thanh commune to intimidate the people. Before going to the execution ground, To Ba Ngoc told his children and grandchildren: "There is nothing to hate in my life, you should consider money as coarse chalk, morality as a thousand gold pieces. The country has been handed over to others, what is left of Confucianism, what is left of humane morality, please live a clean life, do not do things that would disgrace your ancestors. At this time, national affairs are important, family affairs are small. If Mr. Dinh comes back, please let me say goodbye." To Ba Ngoc also added: "Father lived according to the Can Vuong cause. Now that he has died, he wants to carry with him the warmth of the Can Vuong leader. You should take the flower mat hanging on the floor and wrap his body, because that mat still carries the warmth of Mr. Nghe On and Mr. Dinh Nguyen sitting and discussing important matters."

To family temple, where Phan Dinh Phung and Nguyen Xuan On once stayed.

Moved by the love for the country, for the people and the affection between Phan Dinh Phung, Nguyen Xuan On and To Ba Ngoc, and at the same time fulfilling To Ba Ngoc's last wish before his death, in 1900, on the old land of the family, descendants and brothers in the To clan built a house to worship To Ba Ngoc and jointly worship Phan Dinh Phung and Nguyen Xuan On. To honor and remind future generations to always remember the heroic example of To Ba Ngoc, on June 13, 2013, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 2452/QD.UBND, recognizing To Ba Ngoc church as a Provincial Historical - Cultural Relic!

Manh Ha - Phan Hung (Nghe An Ethnic Minority Management Board) -Manh Ha - Phan Hung (Nghe An Ethnic Minority Management Board)