Nguyen Hue

Early life

According to multiple sources, Nguyen Hue's ancestors were peasants who lived in Nghe An. They left Nghe An and moved to southern Vietnam after an attack by the Nguyen lords against the Trinh lords in Nghe An. His ancestors' surname was Ho (胡), but Hue's great grandfather Ho Phi Long, who was a servant of the Dinh family of Bang Chan hamlet, Tuy Vien district (or An Nhon), Quy Nhon province, married a woman from the Dinh family and had a son named Ho Phi Tien, Hue's grandfather. Ho Phi Tien did not continue farming as his father, but instead traded in betel. Through his work he met and married Nguyen Thi Dong, the only daughter of a rich betel tradesman residing in Tay Son village. One of their children was Hue's father Ho Phi Phuc (also known as Nguyen Phi Phuc). Some sources say that in taking on the surname Nguyen, the family followed the surname of Hue's mother; other sources say that it followed the surname of Nguyen lords of southern Vietnam.

Nguyen Hue was born in 1753 in Tay Son village, Nghia Binh province (now Binh Dinh). He was the third of three brothers in a family with eight children. His father, Nguyen Phi Phuc, made the three brothers dedicate themselves to their studies early in life. Their martial arts master was Truong Van Hien, a learned guest (mon khach) and friend of Truong Van Hanh, who in turn was the teacher of Nguyen Phuc Luan, the father of Nguyen Phuc Anh (or Nguyen Anh). After Truong Van Hanh killed by Truong Phuc Loan, Nguyen Lord's uncle and a powerful chancellor, Truong Van Hien fled to Binh Dinh. He was first man to discover the talents of the Tay Son brothers and to advise them to do great deeds. He is accounted for the prophecy "Tay khoi nghia, Bac thu cong" (Revolt in the West, success in the North).

Seeking to overthrow the corrupted Truong Phuc Loan and to help the prince Nguyen Phuc Duong, the eldest of the Tay Son Brothers, Nguyen Nhac, gathered an army and revolted in 1771. He was aided by his brothers Nguyen Hue and Nguyen Lu. In the early days of the rebellion, Hue was the most helpful of Nhac's generals both in finance and in training the army; with the encouragement of Truong Van Hien and his own talent, Hue rapidly increased his own popularity and that of the Tay Son Rebellion.

Due to its popularity, the Tay Son army grew strong and attracted many talented generals, (such as Nguyen Thung, Bui Thi Xuan, Vo Van Dung, Vo Dinh Tu, Tran Quang Dieu, Truong My Ngoc, and Vo Xuan Hoai). The rebels became famous for their policy: "fair, no corruption, only looting the rich, and help the poor" (cong bang, khong tham nhung, va chi cuop cua cua nguoi giau, giup nguoi ngheo).

Early time

After 200 years of holding power in southern Vietnam, the government of the Nguyen Lords had become progressively weaker, due to its poor leadership and internal contradictions. Following the death of Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat, the powerful official Truong Phuc Loan began to arrogate to himself control over the Nguyen government. For the purpose of resisting against the excessive power of Truong Phuc Loan and coming to the assistance of Prince Nguyen Phuc Duong, the Tay Son Brothers gathered an army and revolted against the government of the Nguyen Lords. The rebel army of the Tay Son quickly occupied the central part of Nguyen's territory covering from Quy Nhon to Binh Thuan, thereby weakening the authority of the Nguyen government.

In 1774, the government of the Nguyen lords sent a large army led by general Tong Phuc Hiep against the Tay Son rebels. From Gia Dinh, the troops marched to northern central Vietnam, and after several battles they recaptured Binh Thuan, Dien Khanh, and Binh Khang. The rebel army of the Tay Son now only held the land from Phu Yen to Quang Ngai.

Also in 1774, the ruler of northern Vietnam, Trinh Sam, sent a massive army of 30,000 soldiers led by general Hoang Ngu Phuc southwards with the same purpose as that of the Tay Son rebel army, namely to help the Nguyen Lords fight Truong Phuc Loan. The northern troops were unobstructed in their march to Phu Xuan, the governmental capital of the Nguyen Lords. The government of the Nguyen Lords feared the beginning of an unmanageable war on two fronts. Officials of the government arrested Truong Phuc Loan and gave him up to the troops of the Trinh Lords. The Trinh lords, however, continued attacking Phu Xuan under the pretext of helping the Nguyen Lords suppress the Tay Son rebellion. The Nguyen Lord Nguyen Phuc Thuan and his officials initially attempted to resist the attack, but ended up fleeing to Quang Nam.

Seizing the opportunity, Nguyen Nhac led an army (with naval support from Chinese pirates) against Quang Nam. Once again, the Nguyen Lord Nguyen Phuc Thuan fled, this time by sea to Gia Dinh, accompanied by Nguyen Phuc Anh, and leaving behind his nephew Nguyen Phuc Duong. Early in 1775, the army of the Trinh Lords marched on Quang Nam at the same time as the Tay Son troops reached Quang Nam. Tay Son troops searched for and then captured Nguyen Phuc Duong. The army of the Trinh Lords crossed the pass at Hai Van gorge, engaged the Tay Son troops, and defeated them.

At the same time, the general of the Nguyen lords Tong Phuc Hiep led his troops against Phu Yen, forcing the Tay Son army to withdraw.

Fearing a war on two fronts, Nguyen Nhac sent Hoang Ngu Phuc a proposal that if the Trinh lords recognized the Tay Son Rebel Army, the Tay Son would help the Trinh lords fight against the Nguyen Lords. The proposal was accepted, and Nguyen Nhac was made an official of the Trinh lords. Nhac also made peace with the Nguyen lords, causing Tong Phuc Hiep to take off the pressure, and deluded Prince Nguyen Phuc Duong. His diplomacy provisionally made Tay Son's enemies inactive and bought him valuable time to shore up his army.

Tay Son's counter-attack

Realising that the provisional truce would not last long, Nguyen Nhac retrained the rebel army, recruited new soldiers, fortified Do Ban castle, and built new bases, preparing for an attack.

Tong Phuc Hiep, who had been deceived by Nguyen Nhac peaceful overtures, did not pay much attention to Nhac's activities. He did not prepare for either defending or attacking. Nhac made use of Hiep's inactivity, and sent troops led by his brother Nguyen Hue against him. The Tay Son troops swiftly defeated the unprepared troops of the Nguyen Lords and inflicted heavy losses upon them. Tong Phuc Hiep and his troops fled to Van Phong. It was the first great victory achieved by Hue. Nhac sent news of the victory to Hoang Ngu Phuc. On Phuc's request, the Trinh rewarded Nhac with a new office.

Because the troops of the Trinh Lords lacked familiarity with the southern country, Hoang Ngu Phuc withdrew the troops to the north. En route, he died of natural causes. Phuc's death marked the end of the Trinh Lords' interventions in the south. While the army of the Trinh Lords withdrew to Thuan Hoa, Tay Son moved quickly in sending its troops to take over the abandoned territory and to suppress elements loyal to the Nguyen Lords.

The consequent conquests

Having gained a lot of new rich land without facing much opposition, the Tay Son army grew stronger. Nhac had a desire to expand Tay Son's authority. He sent a large army led by his youngest brother Nguyen Lu to launch a sudden attack against Gia Dinh (now called Ho Chi Minh City) by sea. Lu's raid was successful: he occupied Sai Con (hay Sai Gon) and forced the Nguyen Lord and his followers to flee to Bien Hoa. His success was short-lived, however, when an army loyal to the Nguyen Lords and led by a man named Do Thanh Nhan rose against him in Dong Son. The loyalist army attacked and forced Tay Son's troops to withdraw from Sai Con. Before withdrawing, Lu seized the local foodstores and took them back to Quy Nhon.

Nguyen Nhac, due to his power, repaired to Do Ban city and in 1776 proclaimed himself King of Tay Son (Vietnamese: Tay Son Vuong), choosing Do Ban as his capital. He gave Hue the title Phu Chinh (Vice National Administrator)and later on Bac Binh Vuong (King of Northern Conquering). In 1777, Nguyen Hue led an army and successfully reoccupy Sai Con, destroy Nguyen lords' army. Most members of Nguyen royal family died in this campaign, except Nguyen Anh, who find a refuge in Kingdom of Siam.

Defeat of Siam (Thailand)

In 1784, urged by Nguyen Anh, King of Siam send an army including two legions of infantry and navy marched into Southern Viet Nam, reaching somewhere which now is Rach Gia. After the defeat of some Tay Son generals to the Siamese, Nguyen Hue himself led his armies against the invaders. At the battle of Rach Gam - Xoai Mut, the Siamese were defeated and were forced to retreat back to their homeland. One of the secret weapons of Tay Son force was Hoa Ho Than Cong (Flaming Tiger Cannon), which could release a stream of fire at a very long range. Many Siamese wooden fleets were burnt by that siege weapon.

Campaign against Lord Trinh

In 1786, Nguyen Hue led his army to the north of Viet Nam with the cause of assisting the Le dynasty and destroying Lord Trinh. The first battle between the two forces was the battle of Phu Xuan (modern Hue), at which, the Tay Son army dominated and granted the final victory. After the occupation of Phu Xuan, Nguyen Hue easily captured Thang Long (modern Ha Noi) and other cities. Although he had not been proclaimed as an Emperor at all, Nguyen Hue were respected by citizens of Thang Long as the way an Emperor should be.

Main events from 1786 to 1788 After the defeat of Lord Trinh in Thang Long, the great leader of Tay Son, Nguyen Nhac ordered Nguyen Hue to bring his troops back to Phu Xuan. In 1787, Nguyen Hue led his army back to Phu Xuan (by then, Phu Xuan was the capital of Tay Son). During 2 years from 1787 to 1788, many serious events took place. The first event was that Emperor Le Hien Tong of the Le dynasty died. The succeeding emperor Le Chieu Thong had an idea to fight against Tay Son. He reestablished the office of Lord Trinh and prepared his force for a battle against Tay Son. The second serious event was that Le Chieu Thong called for help from the Qing China in order to destroy Tay Son. The treaty between Le dynasty and Qing dynasty led to the appearance of 290 thousands Qing soldiers in Thang Long in 1788. Those events became the most dangerous challenges to Tay Son.

Defeat of the Qing dynasty

The Qianlong Emperor of the Chinese Qing dynasty sent a massive army south with Le Chieu Thong (the last official Le emperor) in 1788 to restore him to the throne, though under Qing protection.

On December 22, 1788, Nguyen Hue erected an altar on a hill south of Phu Xuan and proclaimed himself Emperor Quang Trung, in effect abolishing on his own the Le dynasty. He then raised an army and later gathered his forces in the countryside around Thang Long (today called Ha Noi) which had been taken by the Qing army. He declared in front of his soldiers:

Fight to keep our hair long, Fight to keep our teeth black, Fight so that our enemies won't have a single wheel to come home Fight so that our enemies won't have a single armor to come home Fight so that history knows this heroic Southern country has its owners.

In a brilliantly successful battle, Nguyen Hue made a surprise and fast attack against the Qing forces during Tet, the Vietnamese lunar new year holiday. This was traditionally a time of peace for all sides and the Qing troops were unprepared for battle. In a fierce 4-day battle they were soundly and stunningly defeated and Le Chieu Thong was forced to flee for his life back to China. Yet, Nguyen Hue showed considerable gallantry to the defeated Qing forces, allowing them to return home with honor and encouraging a peaceful relationship in keeping with previous arrangements, with the Qianlong Emperor. As for himself, Nguyen Hue had become the national savior of Vietnam and one of the most popular figure in the country.

Rule

Once in power, Emperor Quang Trung first began instituting massive and unprecedented national reforms in Vietnam. He set up a new system of administration and replaced the traditional Chinese script with the Vietnamese Chu Nom as the official written language of the country. His religious toleration won him the support of the growing Christian community and his campaign of the common people against the traditional elites won him the admiration of the peasant majority. He introduced the identity card system to govern the large population.

Legacy

Most cities in Vietnam, regardless of the political orientation of the government, have named major streets after him.