Spring comes to Quyet mountain

(Baonghean) - Quyet Mountain is located in a special location that the ancients called "flat land creating mountains". To the north, Vinh citadel is like five fingers spread out, to the southwest, fields and villages spread out endlessly, to the east is the blue Lam River pouring into Hoi Thong estuary. The mountain has the shapes of dragon, unicorn, turtle, and phoenix, which were formerly called the four sacred animals. It is the poetic yet majestic, solid yet soft appearance of the mountain that has caught the "green eyes" of many poets of all ages and many military strategists of the past and present.

King Quang Trung Temple on Quyet Mountain. Photo: PV

Reading the Chinese poem “Dung Quyet Son Xuan Vong” by Bui Huy Bich, my heart resonates with the sounds and images of enchanting beauty: The mountain appears through the drizzle, the sail glides lightly into the shade of the trees on the edge of the mountain, the royal palace is among the flat marble steps, the sound of birds chirping in the cave echoes through the grassy area, it is truly: “Nhất vọng thanh thanh hoài bất như” (A glimpse of the green scenery is hard to paint). The author not only stands far away to admire but also climbs to the top to admire, letting his soul wander into the vast sea and sky. The elevated view also elevates the beauty of the mountain to blend into the rolling, immense vastness of the earth and sky, creating a unique poetic map:

Quiet and relaxing with sea animals

Long Xuyen full of Pisces

(Quietly watching the scenery of the sky and sea forever

The Lam River flows out to join the Pisces River.

In the book “Ngoc Pha Cac Hung Kings”, an old book in Nom script still preserved at the National Library, there is a passage that says: “Loc Tuc is the son of De Nghi, grandson of De Minh. When he ascended the throne, he was called Kinh Duong Vuong, named the country Xich Quy, and established the capital in Thu Linh”. Thu Linh, in Nom, is called Ngan Hong, on the southern bank of the Lam River. Kinh Duong Vuong built a fortress and fortifications on the mountain on the northern bank of the river, observing a large area from Cau Cam to Cua Lo, Cua Hoi and could detect land and water troops from afar. That mountain is Quyet mountain...

To protect the capital Van An, in 722 Mai Thuc Loan (Mai Hac De) built a battle line along the Hong Linh range and on Quyet mountain to fight the Tang invaders. Many fierce battles took place here... In 1003, King Le Dai Hanh personally led troops to Nghe An to command the digging of the Da Cai canal connecting the Ke Gai river with the Lam river. To facilitate the command of the canal digging and the construction of Chinh Duc port (Cau Duoc area, Vinh city today), the king set up his headquarters at the foot of Quyet mountain, after which this area was developed and prospered...

In 1039, King Ly appointed Crown Prince Ly Nhat Quang to be the governor of Nghe An. He stopped at Quyet Mountain and built Vong Hai Dai at the highest peak of the mountain to observe the East Sea, detect enemy ships entering Hoi Thong estuary and established a Water Fort next to Con Rua at the foot of the mountain to control the waterway on Lam River. On Canh Phuong Mountain, a strong standing army was arranged, named Dung Quyet, from which the mountain was named Dung Quyet Son.

Then during the Tran and Le dynasties, the Grand Tutor General Tran Quang Khai established a defense line to block the Yuan-Mongol invaders. General Nguyen Xi (who was awarded the title of Khai Quoc Cong Than by King Le Loi and changed his surname to Le Xi) established his headquarters in the Quyet mountain area. Nguyen Xi also relied on the mountain's position to build a fort, dug tunnels in the mountain to serve as weapons depots, and stored military provisions to prevent the Ming invaders from returning... In particular, in 1788, King Quang Trung chose this place to establish his capital, called Phuong Hoang Trung Do. The King clearly saw that this land (Yen Truong commune, Chan Loc district - the old name of Thanh Vinh) "has a spacious terrain, bright weather... is truly a beautiful place to establish a capital". Establishing the capital here "has a balanced terrain, and can control both the South and the North" (Edict to La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep). The royal palace has two citadels called the outer citadel and the inner citadel. The outer citadel is quadrilateral with a perimeter of 2,820 m, the inner citadel is built of laterite with a perimeter of 1,680 m, in the middle is a 3-storey dragon tower.

Along with building the capital at Quyet Mountain, Quang Trung also built the Truong Thi Huong and Sung Chinh Thu Vien. The work was almost completed, the capital was moved in the near future when in 1792 the King suddenly passed away. The Tay Son Dynasty was destroyed by Gia Long along with the citadel and what was built. But Phuong Hoang Trung Do will forever go down in history as a cultural vision and a talented strategic eye of the hero in plain clothes.

Landscape of King Quang Trung Temple (Dung Quyet Mountain, Vinh City). Photo archive

During the two sacred resistance wars against the French and the Americans, Quyết Mountain was both a protective citadel and a launching pad for the Red City's army and people to achieve glorious victories. This is where the Phuc Viet Association - the first revolutionary organization in Nghe Tinh - was established. The association contacted the youth organization in Guangzhou, changed its name to the Vietnam Revolutionary Comrades Association, then changed its name to the Tan Viet Revolutionary Party, or Tan Viet Party for short. Active members of this organization spread out to factories and worker villages to work, forming the core of the movement to establish the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930, and the Soviet - Nghe Tinh movement.

The US imperialists launched a war of destruction in the North, Vinh - Ben Thuy was an extremely important strategic location to support the battlefield in the South. This was the main target of the enemy's attacks. To protect the important works of Vinh city, a large air defense force including anti-aircraft artillery, missiles, navy, and militia was deployed at high density on both sides of the river and some neighboring locations. Quyet Mountain became a steel wall, a formidable position for the city's defense line.

Workers of Vinh Power Plant removed the turbine and put it into a natural cave with a wide and 3m high door, installed and operated for many years; the factory was destroyed but the electricity was still bright to serve production and combat. This cave was also the place where hundreds of workers and militiamen of Ben Thuy ferry lived and worked, staying there day and night to bring troops, vehicles, guns, ammunition, food, and goods to support the battlefield in the South. The Command of Military Region 4 directed engineers to dig some more tunnels on the eastern and southeastern slopes of the mountain to place ground-based artillery that could shoot down enemy ships in the East Sea. A 37mm anti-aircraft company of Regiment 280 pulled the artillery to the top of the mountain to set up a position and in the first battle on August 5, 1964, coordinated the operation to shoot down an F4D and damaged two others. This was the first jet aircraft shot down in the North. At the end of the war, in the Ben Thuy - Nui Quyet area alone, 6 groups and 5 individuals were awarded the title of Hero of the Armed Forces...

Is it possible that the sacred spirit of the mountains and rivers, the spirit of our ancestors, has gathered here so that Quyết Mountain, which has been destroyed by thousands of tons of bombs, is now only bare rock, now growing green with pine trees? This species of tree, “Roots that never move” (Nguyen Trai), is spreading its shade more and more, making Dũng Quyết, which is already poetic, even more poetic, already majestic, even more majestic; allowing us to see again the echoing sound of birds, the difficult-to-describe green landscape in the poems of the Imperial Scholar Bui Duong Lich. The parking lot next to the mountainside of the logistics company of the 280th Regiment, which was leveled to be used as a volleyball court, still has traces of the frog’s jaws carved into the mountain for vehicles to hide, and large cracks and holes caused by American bombs. The chimney of the Power Plant still stands tall, the iron pillars of the old ferry terminal. It is not only a relic, but also a witness to a heroic historical period of the land of “standing up first”.

Tug of war at King Quang Trung Temple Festival. Photo: PV

Only by looking at it can we see the great efforts of the people of Vinh city from deep wounds, from nothing to rise up. Promoting the tradition of our ancestors, arousing pride in the land of talented people, steadfast in the struggle to build and defend the country, receiving the attention and support of the province and the Central Government. The city has focused its efforts and intelligence on planning the development strategy for Vinh now and in the future. Large-scale projects are constantly springing up. At the foot of the mountain in the Southeast, Ben Thuy Bridge 1 and 2 tower over the Lam River. And Quyet Mountain was built into a park, an ideal destination. In 1995, construction of 450 stone steps up the mountain began. In 1998, the 210th anniversary of Phuong Hoang Trung Do - Vinh, investment was made to level and make an asphalt road up to the top of the flagpole. On the top, a spacious octagonal watchtower was built right on the foundation of Ly Nhat Quang's old Vong Hai Dai.

A new spring has come to Quyet mountain. My heart was filled with emotion as I joined the crowd of people admiring the Quang Trung King Temple built on the mountain facing the Lam River. The majestic and massive temple was made of good wood, the building stones and the foundation were taken from Nhoi stone mountain in Thanh Hoa, the bricks were taken from Ha Tay (Hanoi), and the tiles and mosaic tiles were taken from An Lao, Hai Phong. The Nghi Mon area has two floors and eight roofs. The roofs are all curved according to Nguyen Dynasty architecture, elaborately built with very sophisticated carvings. The project was built thanks to the efforts of the local people combined with the skillful and talented hands of a large team of Vietnamese workers, both magnificent and solemn and ancient.

The project has brought me back to the beautiful image of Quyết Mountain in the poems of ancient poets. It is worth mentioning: It not only honors the beauty and sacredness of the mountain but also has the meaning of traditional education, making Quyết Mountain - Thanh Vinh an attractive cultural tourism destination, attracting more and more domestic and foreign tourists to visit and admire. Every spring, Vinh city organizes festivals, flag parades, and offerings to pay tribute to the hero Quang Trung, and to the heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives right on this peak. Along with the large-scale projects that have been and are being built, Vinh is moving towards the economic and cultural center of the North Central region; towards a rich, civilized and modern city in the future.

Dinh Thanh Quang