Quang Trung

Template:Infobox Vietnamese emperor Nguyễn Huệ (also referred to as Quang Trung Hoàng Đế or Emperor Quang Trung, born in Bình Định in 1753 – died in Phú Xuân in 16 September, 1792), was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn Dynasty of Vietnam, reigning from 1788 until 1792. He was also one of the most successful military commanders in Vietnam's history and was undefeated in battle. At the time of his death, Vietnam was unified for the first time in three centuries.

Nguyễn Huệ and his brothers, together known as the Tay Son Brothers, were the leaders of the famous Tay Son Rebellion. As rebels they conquered Vietnam, overthrowing the imperial Later Lê dynasty and the two rival feudal houses of the Nguyen in the south and the Trinh in the north.

After several years of constant military campaigning and rule, he defeated the two chinese armies (Chinese Xiem army and chinese Man Thanh army) and won battles at lighting speed. Within five days Nguyễn Huệ's Tay Son army wiped out the chinese Man Thanh army and freed North Viet Nam (Ha Noi) from the Chinese occupation.

Emperor Qianlong of the Great Qing Empire, sent a massive army south with Chieu Thong in 1788 to restore him to the throne, though under Chinese protection of course. Nguyen Hue gathered his forces around Thanh Long (Ha Noi) which had been taken by the Qing army. In a brilliantly successful battle. Nguyen Hue made a surprise attack against the Chinese during the Tet, 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 5-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 Chinese, allowing them to return home with honor and encouraging a peaceful relationship in keeping with previous arrangements, with the Qing Emperor. As for himself, Nguyen Hue had become the national savior of Viet Nam and the most popular figure in the country. He was subsequently proclaimed Emperor of Vietnam with the name Quang Trung. Once in power, Emperor Quang Trung quickly began instituting massive and unprecedented national reforms in Viet Nam. He set up a new system of administration and replaced the traditional Chinese script with the Vietnamese 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

Nguyễn Huệ died at the age of 40, possibly due a stroke.. Prior to his death, he had made plans to continue his march southwards in order to destroy the army of Nguyen Anh, a surviving heir of the Nguyễn Lords. Nguyễn Huệ's death led to the downfall of the Tây Sơn Dynasty. His successors were unable to follow the plans he had made for ruling Vietnam. However, his conquests marked the beginning of approximately a century in which Vietnam was both unified and independent until the Western conquest of Vietnam in 1885.

Early life

According to multiple sources, Nguyễn Huệ'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 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, the only daughter of a rich betel tradesman residing in Tay Son village. One of their children was Huệ's father 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 Nguyen Lords of southern Vietnam.

Nguyen Huệ was born in 1753 in Tay Son village, Nghia Binh province (now Bình Định). He was second of three brothers in a family with eight children. 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 learned guest (môn khách) and friend of Trương Văn Hạnh, who in turn was the teacher of Nguyễn Phúc Luân, the father of Nguyen Phuc Anh (or Nguyen Anh). Trương Văn Hiến also instructed the brothers in literature, history, and the military arts. He was first man to discover the talents of the Tây Sơn Brothers and to advise them to do great deeds. It is possible that the prophecy ""Tây khởi nghĩa, Bắc thu công" (Revolt in the West, success in the North) is his. Trương Văn Hiến fled to Bình Định after a powerful government official named Trương Phúc Loan killed his friend Trương Văn Hạnh.

Seeking to overthrow the powerful official Trương Phúc Loan and to help the prince Nguyễn Phúc Dương, the eldest of the Tay Son Brothers, Nguyen Nhac, gathered an army and revolted in 1771. He was aided by his brothers Nguyễn Huệ and Nguyễn Lu. In the early days of the rebellion, Huệ was the most helpful of Nhac'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 Tay Son Rebellion.

Due to its popularity, the Tay Son Army grew strong and attracted many talented generals, (such as 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).

War against the Nguyen Lords

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 Nguyễn Phúc Khoát, the powerful official Trương Phúc Loan began to arrogate to himself control over the Nguyen 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 Tay Son Brothers gathered an army and revolted against the government of the Nguyen Lords. The rebel army of the Tay Son quickly occupied a large area of land from Quy Nhơn to Bình Thuận, thereby weakening the authority of the Nguyen government..

In 1774, the government of the Nguyen Lords sent a large army led by general Tống Phúc Hiệp against the Tay Son rebels. From Gia Dinh, the troops marched to Northern Central Viet Nam, and after several battles they recaptured Bình Thuận, Diên Khánh, and Bình Khang. The rebel army of the Tay Son 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 Tay Son rebel army, namely to help the Nguyen Lords fight Trương Phúc Loan. The northern troops were unobstructed in their march to Phú Xuân, 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 Trương Phúc 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 Nguyễn Phúc Thuần and his officials initially attempted to resist the attack, but ended up fleeing to Quảng Nam.

Seizing the opportunity, Nguyen Nhac led an army (with naval support) against Quảng Nam. Once again, the Nguyen 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 Trinh Lords marched on Quảng Nam at the same time as the Tay Son troops reached Quảng Nam. Tay Son troops searched for and then captured Nguyễn Phúc Dương. 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 Tống Phúc Hiệp led his troops against Phú Yên, 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 Tống Phúc Hiệp to take off the pressure, and deluded Prince Nguyễn Phúc Dương. 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 Nhạc retrained the rebel army, recruited new soldiers, fortified Đồ Bàn castle, and built new bases, preparing for an attack.

Tống Phúc Hiệp, who had been deceived by Nguyện 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 Nguyen Hue against him. The Tay Son troops swiftly defeated the unprepared troops of the Nguyen Lords and inflicted heavy losses upon them. Tống Phúc Hiệp and his troops fled to Van Phong. It was the first great victory achieved by Hue. Nhạc sent news of the victory to Hoang Ngu Phuc. On Phuc's request, the Trinh rewarded Nhạc 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. Loan'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.

Southern aggressiveness

Having gained a lot of new rich land without facing much opposition, the Tây Sơn Army grew stronger. Nhạc had a desire to expand Tay Son's authority. He sent a large army led by his youngest brother Nguyễn Lữ to launch a sudden attack against Gia Định by sea. Lữ's raid was successful: he occupied Sài Côn (hay Sài Gòn) 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 Thành Nhân rose against him in Đông Sơn. The loyalist army attacked and forced Tây Sơn's troops to withdraw from Sài Côn. Before withdrawing, Lữ seized the local foodstores and took them back to Quy Nhơn.

Nguyễn Nhạc, due to his power, repaired to Đồ Bàn city and in 1776 proclaimed himself King of Tây Sơn (Vietnamese: Tây Sơn Vương), choosing Đồ Bàn as his capital. He gave Hue the title Phụ Chính (Vice National Administrator).