"Team Eight" Le Xuan Tuyen

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - Born into a wealthy family in Dong Thanh village (now Hoang Tien commune, Hoang Hoa district), growing up in a time of turmoil, but with a steadfast love for the country and the talent of a naval officer, Le Xuan Tuyen (1831-1909) became a shining example in the Can Vuong movement in the late 19th century.

Provincial historical and cultural relic of the church of Mr. Doi Tam (Le Xuan Tuyen) in Hoang Tien commune. Photo: CHI ANH

The first milestone for the young man Le Xuan Tuyen was to study with Mr. Ho Quang Chieu from Thuc Bang village (now in Hoang Yen commune, Hoang Hoa) - a Confucian scholar with a lot of enthusiasm. Seeing that the young man was intelligent and had a strong will, Mr. Ho Quang Chieu married his daughter. At the age of 21, Le Xuan Tuyen was recruited into the navy of the Hue court.

During the early years of the French colonial invasion of our country, from 1858 to 1889, he often escorted, transported food, tax money and built bronze boats to the capital city of Hue. Every time the transportation was smooth, he was rewarded by the court and promoted to captain (in 1863). In 1864, during a trip to eliminate bandits in Quang Ninh , capturing a bandit general, he was rewarded and promoted to captain, eighth rank. People called him Team Eight from then on.

At the end of 1883, King Tu Duc passed away. With the support of enthusiastic scholars in the provinces, Minister Ton That Thuyet, the leader of the war faction in the Nguyen Dynasty, secretly and actively prepared the foundations to fight the invaders. Team Eight was assigned by Ton That Thuyet to transport rice from the provinces of Bac Ky to Quang Tri and distribute it to the provinces, including Thanh Hoa.

On July 5, 1885, the French ambush in the capital Hue failed. Ton That Thuyet took King Ham Nghi away from the capital to Tan So (Quang Tri) to build a resistance court. On July 13, 1885, King Ham Nghi issued the Can Vuong edict calling on scholars and mandarins to rise up to fight the enemy. At this time, Mr. Le Xuan Tuyen was assigned to guard Son Phong in Huong Khe (Ha Tinh province), with the task of recruiting the mandarins of the three provinces: Thanh - Nghe - Tinh to fight the French. Among them were scholars who were also loyal soldiers, such as: Nguyen Xuan On (Nghe An), Tong Duy Tan, Pham Bang (Thanh Hoa)...

At the end of 1886, he was sent to Thanh Hoa to command the Can Vuong movement in the locality. In his hometown, he contacted the Vice-Chancellor Nguyen Don Tiet and many Can Vuong leaders in the localities, actively gathered the insurgent forces in Ngoc Chue commune (today's Hoang Tien commune), purchased weapons, trained in arms, and stored military provisions. His family was organized into a military provision base in the Hoang Hoa coastal area with the large contribution of his assets and many wealthy families in the surrounding area.

In 1887, Le Xuan Tuyen participated in the Ba Dinh uprising led by Dinh Cong Trang: built forts, organized training for the insurgents, and commanded battles to always win, so he was promoted to Chief Admiral.

The Le Xuan family genealogy records the life of Le Xuan Tuyen: "After 10 times on the battlefield, 3 years of stray bullets and falling arrows", but with the will to pacify the West and restore the country and the talent of a naval officer, he is an example of bravery, heroism and resilience.

Faced with the growing power of the Ba Dinh insurgents, the French army crazily suppressed the movement. His family was devastated by the enemy, all of his property was burned, but he was lucky to escape safely.

At the end of 1890, he returned to his hometown with the support of his neighbors. Not letting down everyone's trust, he rebuilt his family's economy, hired teachers to teach his children to be successful, and took care of village and commune affairs such as: building stone bridges to drain floods, serving production, building roads, building shrines to worship Confucius, carving steles to honor educated people...

“He had the virtues of honesty, respect, self-preservation, generosity towards others, good behavior towards friends, not considering wealth as more important than others, not stingy towards villagers, timely and sincere in performing rituals” (according to the Le Xuan family genealogy).

From his example, both sons studied hard and passed the baccalaureate exam in 1900. Among them, Mr. Le Xuan Lan was the valedictorian of the Hue National School, later Chairman of the Provisional Revolutionary Committee of Ngoc Chue commune, Chairman of the Administrative Resistance Committee of Hoang Hoa district. And his grandson is Doctor, lawyer Le Xuan Thao, who contributed to turning the wild sandy land of Hai Tien (Hoang Hoa) into a modern and attractive tourist area; at the same time, he was the founder and sponsor of the Le Xuan Lan Scholarship Fund to support poor students to overcome difficulties and nurture talents...

Coming to the church of “Team Eight” Le Xuan Tuyen - a provincial historical and cultural relic on the first day of the lunar calendar, in the fragrant scent, Mrs. Pham Thi Tam, the granddaughter-in-law of the family, while setting up the ceremony and lighting incense, told us: For the people and the country, Mr. Le Xuan Tuyen has fulfilled his sacred duty. As for the family, thanks to his example, his descendants all respect letters and righteousness, and have been successful in their studies and work.

CHI ANH

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/doi-tam-le-xuan-tuyen-253438.htm