Quang Trung

Emperor Quang Trung (Vietnamese: [kwāːŋ ʈūŋm]; chữ Hán: 光中, 1753 – 16 September 1792) or Nguyễn Huệ (chữ Hán: 阮惠), also known as Nguyễn Quang Bình (chữ Hán: 阮光平), or Hồ Thơm (chữ Hán: 胡𦹳) was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1788 until 1792. He was also one of the most successful military commanders in Vietnam's history. Nguyễn Huệ and his brothers, Nguyễn Nhạc and Nguyễn Lữ, together known as the Tây Sơn brothers, were the leaders of the Tây Sơn rebellion. As rebels, they conquered Vietnam, overthrowing the imperial Later Lê dynasty and the two rival feudal houses of the Nguyễn in the south and the Trịnh in the north.

After several years of constant military campaigning and rule, Nguyễn Huệ died at the age of 40. Prior to his death, he had made plans to continue his march southwards in order to destroy the army of Nguyễn Ánh, a surviving heir of the Nguyễn lords.

Nguyễn Huệ's death marked the beginning of the downfall of the Tây Sơn dynasty. His successors were unable to implement the plans he had made for ruling Vietnam, leaving the empire weak and vulnerable. The Tây Sơn dynasty was overthrown by its enemy, Nguyễn Ánh, who established the imperial Nguyễn dynasty in 1802.

Early life

According to multiple sources, Nguyễn Huệ's ancestors were peasants who lived in Nghệ An. They left Nghệ An and moved to southern Vietnam after an attack by the Nguyễn lords against the Trịnh lords in Nghệ An. His ancestors' surname was Hồ (胡), but Huệ's great-grandfather Hồ Phi Long, who was a servant of the Dinh family of Bằng Chân hamlet, Tuy Viễn district (or An Nhơn), Quy Nhơn province, married a woman from the Dinh family and had a son named Hồ Phi Tiễn, Huệ's grandfather. Hồ Phi Tiễn did not continue farming as his father, but instead traded in betel. Through his work he met and married Nguyễn Thị Đồng (阮氏仝), the only daughter of a rich betel tradesman residing in Tây Sơn village. One of their children was Huệ's father Hồ Phi Phúc (胡丕福, also known as Nguyễn Phi Phúc). Some sources say that in taking on the surname Nguyễn, the family followed the surname of Huệ's mother; other sources say that it followed the surname of Nguyễn lords of southern Vietnam.

Nguyễn Huệ was born in 1753 in Tây Sơn village, Quy Nhơn Province (now Bình Định Province). His father had eight children; later, three of them took part in the Tây Sơn Rebellion. According to Đại Nam chính biên liệt truyện, the Tây Sơn brothers, listed from eldest to youngest, were Nguyễn Nhạc, Nguyễn Lữ, Nguyễn Huệ. However, other source reported that Nguyễn Lữ was the youngest one. His birth name was Hồ Thơm, he also had a nickname Đức ông Tám (Sir Eighth the virtue).

Đại Nam chính biên liệt truyện described Nguyễn Huệ as "a cunning man, good at fighting; he has bright penetrating eyes, and always speak in a stentorian voice, everyone fears him." His father, Nguyễn Phi Phúc, made the three brothers dedicate themselves to their studies early in life. Their martial arts master was Trương Văn Hiến, a retainer (môn khách) and friend of Trương Văn Hạnh (張文幸), who in turn was the teacher of Nguyễn Phúc Luân, the father of Nguyễn Ánh. After Trương Văn Hạnh was killed by the powerful chancellor Trương Phúc Loan, Trương Văn Hiến fled to Bình Định. He was first man to discover the talents of the Tây Sơn brothers and to advise them to do great deeds.

Later, Trương Văn Hiến encouraged Nguyễn Nhạc to revolt against Nguyễn lords: "The prophecy says: 'Revolt in the West, success in the North'. You are born in Tây Sơn District, you must do your best." Nguyễn Nhạc then gathered people to help him in his rebellion, saying to "overthrow the Trịnh lords, revive the Lê dynasty".

Seeking to overthrow the corrupted Trương Phúc Loan and to help the prince Nguyễn Phúc Dương, the eldest of the Tây Sơn Brothers, Nguyễn Nhạc, gathered an army and revolted in 1771. He was aided by his brothers Nguyễn Huệ and Nguyễn Lữ. In the early days of the rebellion, Huệ was the most helpful of Nhạc's generals both in finance and in training the army; with the encouragement of Trương Văn Hiến and his own talent, Huệ rapidly increased his own popularity and that of the Tây Sơn Rebellion.

Due to its popularity, the Tây Sơn army grew strong and attracted many talented generals, including Nguyễn Thung, Bùi Thị Xuân, Võ Văn Dũng, Võ Đình Tú, Trần Quang Diệu, Trương Mỹ Ngọc, and Võ Xuân Hoài. The rebels became famous for their policy: "fair, no corruption, only looting the rich, and help the poor" (công bằng, không tham nhũng, và chỉ cướp của của người giàu, giúp người nghèo).

Tây Sơn rebellion

After 200 years of holding power in southern Vietnam, the government of the Nguyễn Lords had become progressively weaker, due to its poor leadership and internal conflicts. Following the death of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát, the powerful official Trương Phúc Loan began to arrogate to himself control over the Nguyễn government. For the purpose of resisting against the excessive power of Trương Phúc Loan and coming to the assistance of Prince Nguyễn Phúc Dương, the Tây Sơn Brothers gathered an army and revolted against the government of the Nguyễn Lords. The rebel army of the Tây Sơn quickly occupied the central part of Nguyễn's territory covering from Quy Nhơn to Bình Thuận, thereby weakening the authority of the Nguyễn government.

In 1774, the government of the Nguyễn lords sent a large army led by general Tống Phước Hiệp against the Tây Sơn rebels. From Gia Định, the troops marched to northern central Vietnam, and after several battles they recaptured Bình Thuận, Diên Khánh, and Bình Khang (modern Ninh Hòa). The rebel army of the Tây Sơn now only held the land from Phú Yên to Quảng Ngãi.

Also in 1774, the ruler of northern Vietnam, Trịnh Sâm, sent a massive army of 30,000 soldiers led by general Hoàng Ngũ Phúc southwards with the same purpose as that of the Tây Sơn rebel army, namely to help the Nguyễn Lords fight Trương Phúc Loan. The northern troops were unobstructed in their march to Phú Xuân, the governmental capital of the Nguyễn Lords. The government of the Nguyễn Lords feared the beginning of an unmanageable war on two fronts. Officials of the government arrested Trương Phúc Loan and gave him up to the troops of the Trịnh Lords. The Trịnh lords, however, continued attacking Phú Xuân under the pretext of helping the Nguyễn Lords suppress the Tây Sơn rebellion. The Nguyễn Lord Nguyễn Phúc Thuần and his officials initially attempted to resist the attack, but ended up fleeing to Quảng Nam.

Seizing the opportunity, Nguyễn Nhạc led an army (with naval support from Chinese pirates) against Nguyễn lords. Once again, the Nguyễn Lord Nguyễn Phúc Thuần fled, this time by sea to Gia Dinh, accompanied by Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, and leaving behind his nephew Nguyễn Phúc Dương. Early in 1775, the army of the Trịnh Lords marched on Quảng Nam at the same time as the Tây Sơn troops reached Quảng Nam. Tây Sơn troops searched for and then captured Nguyễn Phúc Dương. The army of the Trịnh Lords crossed the Hải Vân Pass, engaged the Tây Sơn troops, and defeated them.

At the same time, the general of the Nguyễn lords Tống Phước Hiệp (宋福洽) led his troops against Phú Yên, forcing the Tây Sơn army to withdraw.

Fearing a war on two fronts, Nguyễn Nhạc sent Hoàng Ngũ Phúc a proposal that if the Trịnh lords recognized the Tây Sơn Rebel Army, the Tây Sơn would help the Trịnh lords fight against the Nguyễn Lords. The proposal was accepted, and Nguyễn Nhạc was made an official of the Trịnh lords. Nhac also made peace with the Nguyễn lords, causing Tống Phước Hiệp to take off the pressure, and deluded Prince Nguyễn Phúc Dương. His diplomacy provisionally made Tây Sơn's enemies inactive and bought him valuable time to shore up his army.

Recognizing that the temporary ceasefire was unlikely to endure, Nguyễn Nhạc retrained the rebel army, recruited new soldiers, fortified Đồ Bàn fortress, and built new bases, preparing for an attack.

Tống Phước Hiệp, who had been deceived by Nguyễn Nhạc peaceful overtures, did not pay much attention to Nhạc's activities. He did not prepare for either defending or attacking. Nhạc made use of Hiệp's inactivity, and sent troops led by his brother Nguyễn Huệ against him. The Tây Sơn troops swiftly defeated the unprepared troops of the Nguyễn Lords and inflicted heavy losses upon them. Tống Phước Hiệp and his troops fled to Van Phong. It was the first great victory achieved by Huệ. Nhạc sent news of the victory to Hoàng Ngũ Phúc. On Phúc's request, the Trinh rewarded Nhạc with a new office.

Overthrow of Nguyễn Lord

Because the troops of the Trịnh Lords lacked familiarity with the southern country, Hoàng Ngũ Phúc withdrew the troops to the north. En route, he died of natural causes. Phúc's death marked the end of the Trịnh Lords' interventions in the south. While the army of the Trịnh Lords withdrew to Thuận Hóa, Tây Sơn moved quickly in sending its troops to take over the abandoned territory and to suppress elements loyal to the Nguyễn Lords.

Having gained a lot of new rich land without facing much opposition, the Tây Sơn army grew stronger. Nhạc had a desire to expand Tây Sơn's authority. He sent a large army led by his youngest brother Nguyễn Lữ to launch a sudden attack against Gia Định (now called Ho Chi Minh City) by sea. Lữ's raid was successful: he occupied Saigon and forced the Nguyễn Lord and his followers to flee to Biên Hòa. His success was short-lived, however, when an army loyal to the Nguyễn Lords and led by a man named Đỗ Thanh Nhơn rose against him in Đông Sơn. The loyalist army attacked and forced Tây Sơn's troops to withdraw from Saigon. Before withdrawing, Lữ seized the local foodstores and took them back to Quy Nhơn.

In 1776, Nguyễn Nhạc proclaimed himself King of Tây Sơn (Vietnamese: Tây Sơn Vương), choosing Đồ Bàn as his capital, renamed it Thành Hoàng Đế (Imperial City). He gave Huệ the title Phụ Chính (Vice National Administrator).

Southern campaigns

In 1777, Nguyễn Huệ and Nguyễn Lữ led an army marched further south. They captured Saigon, destroyed Nguyễn lords' army successfully. Most members of Nguyễn royal family killed or executed in this campaign, except Nguyễn Ánh. Ánh fled to Rạch Giá then to Hà Tiên. Finally, Ánh fled to Pulo Panjang together with a French priest Pigneau de Behaine. After the battle, Huệ and Lữ returned to Quy Nhơn, only a small army was left in Gia Định. Nguyễn Ánh returned and occupied Gia Định in the next year. With the help of de Behaine, Ánh made Western weapons, recruited Western adventurers, proclaiming the restoration of Nguyễn lords' regime. In 1782, a Tây Sơn army under Nguyễn Nhạc and Nguyễn Huệ reoccupied Gia Định. Nguyễn Ánh had to flee to Phú Quốc.

In Phú Quốc, Nguyễn supporters suffered from Tây Sơn's frequent attacks and lacked food and drinking water. Châu Văn Tiếp was sent to Bangkok to request for aid. In 1783, Nguyễn Ánh and his supporters retreated to Siam with Siamese army. In Bangkok, Ánh was warmly welcomed by king Rama I. Rama I promised that Siamese would help Nguyễn Ánh to retake his lost kingdom.

The Siamese army moved towards southern Vietnam in 1784. A fleet with twenty thousand men under Chao Fa Krom Luang Thepharirak was dispatched to attack and recapture Saigon for Nguyễn Ánh. Ánh and his supporters were also allowed to accompany with the Siamese army. Phraya Wichinarong led Siamese infantry marched to Cambodia, and manoeuvred the Cambodian army. The Cambodian regent, Chaophraya Aphaiphubet (Baen), recruited five thousand soldiers to accompany with Siamese troops.

Siamese troops defeated Tây Sơn army and captured several places including Rạch Giá, Trấn Giang (Cần Thơ), Ba Thắc (Srok Pra-sak, Sóc Trăng), Trà Ôn, Sa Đéc, Mân Thít (or Mang thít, Man Thiết), and controlled Hà Tiên, An Giang and Vĩnh Long. However, they met a stubborn resistance from Tây Sơn army, and could not capture any important places. Unable to repulse the enemy, general Trương Văn Đa sent Đặng Văn Trấn to Quy Nhơn for help.

The Tây Sơn reinforcements led by Nguyễn Huệ reached Gia Định in 1785. Huệ sent an envoy to Siamese army under a banner of truce. Huệ showed fear deliberately, requested Siamese not to support Nguyễn Ánh. It proved that it was an excellent stratagem; Thepharirak was taken in. On the morning of 20 January 1785, Siamese fleet was surrounded in Rạch Gầm River and Xoài Mút River (near Mỹ Tho River, in present-day Tiền Giang Province). The battle ended with a near annihilation of the Siamese fleet, all the ships of the Siamese navy were destroyed. Thepharirak and Nguyễn Ánh fled back to Bangkok.

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