General Vu Van Dung was intelligent, chivalrous, and sociable, but his life was also full of ups and downs.
Difficulties in starting a career and making achievements
He was intelligent by nature, chivalrous, liked to socialize, often sought out powerful places to pursue his career, although his career path was full of thorns, he still maintained his composure, did not beg for mercy, lived in several places and found them unsatisfactory, so he left.
Then one day he arrived at Hoan Chau, at that time in Hoan Chau there was a minister of Tien Dien, his real name was unknown, only that he was trusted by the court. The Duke came to bow and asked to be adopted. The King saw his unusual appearance and immediately accepted him. The Duke tried his best to train and teach him, but less than two years later, there was suddenly an order from the Lord to march his army to the South. The vanguard had Duc Quan Cong, the rearguard had Chat Quan Cong, the Ministry of Justice had Tan Ly Quan Cong following him. After a week, unfortunately the Duke fell ill and could not go. Along with the Duke were a few close friends who asked to stay and take care of him to maintain their friendship.
Ten days later, the illness increased and decreased as usual, and everyone was worried. Suddenly, one night, a man about thirty years old came to ask about his illness and then left. Gong observed his behavior and knew that he was unusual, so he was suspicious and used the excuse that he was sick and could not be rude. The next night, the man brought medicine. After ten doses of the medicine, his illness gradually improved. Gong talked with the man and felt comfortable, and all his symptoms were gone.
Is this the god who brought medicine to cure the hero? After recovering from his illness, Cong and his friend went to Tay Son's hometown, where the peach garden was promised to fulfill their long-cherished wish.
Staying in Tay Son for about a week, Cong and his friends headed north to Phu Xuan citadel. On the way, the sky suddenly darkened and clouds covered the area, making it impossible to see the road or his friends. However, Cong still tried his best to cut through the thorns and walked, and when he turned back, there was only himself, a horse, and a servant. Cong's servant was named Chinh, and the horse was named Xich Lan.
One day, when he went to bathe his horse, Chinh let the horse kick Cong, so Cong used his stick to hit him. He was angry and reported it to the governor, who ordered Cong to be imprisoned in Phu Xuan. Why did a hero have to suffer so much? The prison was crowded and there was an epidemic, so the warden assigned the prisoners to search for seriously ill people and bury them.
Cong plotted to have his fellow prisoners fake their deaths so they could be taken out and buried, then escaped. Later, someone escaped and was caught, but told the governor that it was Cong's plan. The governor called Cong to question him. Cong confessed that they were in the same prison and felt sorry for each other, so he made up a story to escape punishment. The governor assigned Cong to work with the jailer to look for medicine to cure the sick prisoners.
Soon the Northern army marched to the South, fully prepared, but the wind was not favorable and the army and officials prayed for three days but still did not respond. The Governor called the Duke to ask. The Duke replied:
“Now everything has been prepared, only the wind is missing. So let's set up an altar and pray for a favorable wind so that the army and navy can advance. This prisoner only knows this much.” After saying that, he kept his mouth shut and guessed that he would not ask any more questions.
Gong was in prison for three years without knowing the spring breeze, lacking silk in his clothes, lacking wine and meat in his food, then luck finally came. One day, Dao Hoa Vien learned that Gong was in prison and immediately sent troops to capture Phu Xuan citadel. On the day the citadel was captured, the prisoners fled in all directions. Only Gong did not flee but stayed behind to guard the warehouse. The Tay Son army arrived to take away the money and jewels. The Duke cleverly dissuaded him. An official came and told the Duke to take the treasure. The Duke said: “Currently, it is not clear how much is in the warehouse. I am afraid that if each person comes and takes a little, how can it be called a righteous army? May I ask which family name is the founder of the country? What position does this official hold?...''. The official said: “This is the Nguyen family of Ta Long Giang, the ruler, and I am one of the five generals of the ruler.” The Duke said that Ta Long Giang's reputation was famous throughout the world, even children and women accepted him as king. He was a general who conquered the city, but was greedy for the wealth for personal gain. How could he be worthy of being a general? Why didn't he report it to his superiors? The official said::"If I don't take it for private use, how can I make it all better?"
The Duke said: “No matter how much or how little, report to the king to collect money for military affairs, among your subordinates there are me, you promote me to the king, the king receives wealth to use for national affairs, then your patriotism is not a great service”. The official led the Duke to meet the king, the king came down from his high position, hugged the Duke and sobbed, saying: “The great task of the court, the Duke was talented but let the hero suffer humiliation, it was my fault, now we meet again, it must be fate”. The king held a grand banquet and invited the Duke and the officials to sit together, from then on the generals knew that the Duke was an old friend of the King.
The next day, he was given the seal of General Cong, and given thirty thousand elite soldiers. He was the leading general. Cong led his army to Hoan Chau to recruit soldiers and march to attack Thang Long. His career path was straight, his martial arts were completed, and he was promoted four or five times to Admiral and General, holding the position of Chief Envoy of the North.
The story of the ambassador
He went on a diplomatic mission in the year of Emperor Qianlong.
It was reported: "I follow the order of the King of the Southern country to go to the border, the rites and literature are still lacking and there are only two things to do to expand the culture, the ministers in the country have discussed many things but could not decide, so I was sent to ask the Emperor for help with strategies."
The first thing is: “Husband and wife are the essence of human relations. My king was as prosperous as the Spring and Autumn period, but unfortunately my marriage was unsuccessful. I proposed to many places but was not satisfied with any of them. I humbly ask the emperor to be generous and considerate.”
The second matter was to decide on the capital. "The land of the country is rugged, with high mountains and deep passes, making it difficult for carriages and horses to travel back and forth. We do not know where to set up the capital conveniently. We humbly ask the Emperor to give us his guidance." While reporting to the hundreds of officials present, some expressed anger, some smiled. Only one official appeared indifferent.
The Emperor ordered the memorial to be presented and red pens were used to approve and mark the words in red. Only one official serving the Emperor, four words were only advised one, from the part about the high mountains down there were sixteen words, four more words were added, then handed over to the court for discussion, then the Emperor returned to the capital, ordered the Southern Envoy to come in. The Duke entered and bowed, the Emperor ordered him to sit. At that time there was a chair beside the Emperor, the Duke respectfully did not sit, and there was another order to sit, the Duke came before the chair and said that the chair was not wide enough to sit cross-legged, asked what should be done if it was not wide enough to sit cross-legged? The Duke replied: "According to the customs of this country, the subjects before the King must kneel, if they are allowed to sit, they must sit cross-legged, they cannot sit facing the King."
The Emperor offered wine and the Duke knelt down to receive it.
Saw on the table a decree that spoke of events that happened five years ago. The Duke said: "My country has never done this so I don't know." Unable to convince the Duke, the ceremonial officials laughed and said: "According to that theory, your country often uses magic, so you made it up to make fun of it." The Duke and the envoys laughed and talked happily.
At the same time, the Vice President gave Cong a golden armor and said: “This armor cannot be made anywhere, this armor is afraid of soil, soil cannot make it dirty, it does not sink in water, does not burn in fire, is not worn by whetstone, and cannot be torn by swords or knives, it fits fat, thin, tall, short people, not too long, not too short, it is called “Sam Chau Golden Armor”. Cong refused to accept it. The great official said: “This armor is my treasure, passed down through nine generations. I only choose outstanding civil servants to give it to. It will be used in military affairs. Why would you refuse?” The Duke said: “Armor is not very valuable in many places, but in my country it is looked down upon because according to my country's custom, every time there is a battle, the generals and soldiers wear armor. In the summer they use thin clothes, in the winter they use cotton clothes, enough to cope with the weather. If it is not necessary, they do not use it. If the general uses armor alone, not thinking about the meaning of life and causing fear to the soldiers and soldiers, it is a path to defeat.” The high official heard this and thought it was a very good thing, so he immediately took the gift back.
During a happy banquet, an official saw that Cong's left eye was defective and asked him how long he had been disabled. Cong replied: "About ten months." The official said: "It can be cured." The official asked if it could be cured. The official said: "The key is medicine, curing illness is saving people, more precious than a piece of gold and armor". After the party, the mandarin returned to the embassy and gave the medicine to Cong along with a small piece of longan. Cong applied it for three nights, and his eyesight was seven-tenths brighter. Cong came to thank him and said: "My country does not have this medicine, surely this medicine can cure many diseases". The mandarin gave Cong a book of medicine, Cong took it back to the embassy and copied the whole book in one night, then returned it the next day. Cong was very intelligent but did not understand all of Chinese, so the notes were only brief.
One morning at the embassy, he suddenly felt anxious and his eyes were blinking restlessly, thinking that something was going on. At that time, a mandarin came to the embassy. The mandarin came out to receive him. The mandarin said: "Looking at the stars in the sky, I see that the King of An Nam is in trouble. Does the envoy know about this?" He also said: "You see something unusual, it must be a report from the country." Cong knew what he meant, and after receiving the invitation, Cong did not come for three days. Suddenly, the Chief Executive Officer reported that there was an urgent invitation for him to come to the Court. Cong said::“For the past three days, my heart has not been at peace. Is something wrong with my King?”
The Duke returned to the embassy to sleep for one night. The next morning, he received an invitation to the Emperor to drink wine. The Duke drank it immediately and felt drunk, so he returned to the embassy. Later, an official invited him to go sightseeing in the city, but the Duke refused because he felt unhappy.
One day, while sitting in the room, he suddenly heard a summons. The Duke hurriedly entered to see the official holding a memorial and came closer to see it was the funeral notice of the King of An Nam. The Duke lay down on the dragon steps and cried loudly. The guards came to help the envoy to the coffin to rest. Someone came and said: “According to the etiquette of the Great Nation, regardless of the diplomatic envoy, now showing love for the master is a matter of loyalty. At the time, the Duke bowed and thanked the Emperor for his presence, set up an altar, burned incense, and cried toward the South.” Immediately after that, the Duke asked to return to his country. The Emperor agreed and bestowed upon him a wooden tablet with the four words "Nam Bang Tuong Su" on both sides and the word "Nam Bang Tuong Su" on the other side."Bac Thi", in the section on people wrote: "No one is allowed to do anything to hinder", also said: "This is a court official who can give poems or treasures". On the road to Cong, he was warmly welcomed at every station, and soon returned home.
Recalling that our country has sent envoys to the North, there have been hundreds of times in the past, the fact that the North respectfully invited the Duke was considered very generous, staying three times a month to offer wine, six times to hold banquets, the foreign envoys where I was a relative like at home.
Being an envoy like that is also an honor. Unfortunately, it is a pity that the master suddenly died when he was bored.
The Duke often recited the poem:
Transcription:
"Father and I have been analyzing the past five years.
Ancient plum blossoms, poetry and self-expression are different
Favoritism towards Ngo Hoang increased for the first time
Not like the Eastern Han Dynasty heroes".
Translation:
"Father tried hard for five years
According to the old, doing that is not possible.
God let our king be close to us
Not the same Tang, Han said hero".
The envoy's return to the court was not as good as before, the power had changed. The times were different now, there was no longer loyalty and sincerity, all the plots were in the hands of the evil party, one tree could not spread its branches to cover everything, the phoenix could not live with the cuckoos, the good plan withdrew. The Duke lived to be 70 years old, had 10 sons and 6 daughters.
NGUYEN QUOC VAN