History Secrets: Nguyen Trai and his three familial exterminations
The “Le Chi Vien” case is considered one of the most controversial cases in Vietnamese history. Behind the sudden death of King Le Thai Tong at the age of 20 is the tragic “extermination of the three clans” case of the mandarin Nguyen Trai, who was greatly admired by posterity. 22 years after the expulsion sentence, King Le Thanh Tong ascended the throne and exonerated Nguyen Trai. During the past hundreds of years, many historians have researched the “Le Chi Vien” case and debated Nguyen Trai’s injustice.
- The “Le Chi Vien” case.
At the end of 1437, Nguyen Trai followed his grandfather Tran Nguyen Dan’s advice and resigned and returned to his hometown in Con Son.
However, King Le Thai Tong at that time showed great respect for Nguyen Trai and tried to invite him to become a mandarin for the court. In 1439, Nguyen Trai was invited to become a mandarin.
On the 27th day of the 7th lunar month, 1442, King Thai Tong went on a patrol to the East, reviewing his troops at Chi Linh citadel. Nguyen Trai invited the king to stay at Con Son pagoda. On the 4th day of the 8th lunar month, the king went out to “Le Chi Vien” and suddenly passed away.
Nguyen Trai and his wife, Nguyen Thi Lo, were arrested on suspicion of plotting to kill the king and were accused by the court of murdering the king and were “exorcised into the three exterminations”.
- The theory of the truth.
However, later many historians questioned this and tried to understand the “Le Chi Vien” case.
According to research, many theories have been put forward, including mention of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Anh, a concubine in the palace.
Before his death, King Le Thai Tong dethroned Nghi Dan’s crown prince and appointed Bang Co. Bang Co is the son of wife Nguyen Thi Anh. At this time, another concubine, Ngo Thi Ngoc Dao (King Le Thanh Tong’s mother), was pregnant. Nguyen Thi Anh tried to harm her, causing Ms. Ngoc Dao to be imprisoned in the palace. However, Nguyen Trai and his wife wholeheartedly protected her and asked the king to forgive Mrs. Ngo Thi Ngoc Dao.
The work of Nguyen Trai and his wife made them a nail in the eyes of Queen Nguyen Thi Anh. Furthermore, at that time, there were many rumors that Bang Co was not the child of King Le Thai Tong, because Nguyen Thi Anh was pregnant before entering the palace.
When the king patrolled the East, reviewing troops in Chi Linh citadel, Nguyen Trai welcomed the king to live in Con Son. At this time, in her position, Nguyen Thi Anh was really afraid that the crown prince’s origin would be revealed, causing him to lose the throne, causing her and her family to be criminally charged. Faced with that pressure, Nguyen Thi Anh tried to kill King Le Thai Tong in Nguyen Trai’s territory to easily frame him. With one arrow, she hit many goals: eliminating the afterlife, winning the throne for her child, seizing the power of regent because the crown prince was less than 2 years old.
If we follow this theory, the “Le Chi Vien” case was staged by Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh. Later, King Le Thanh Tong, who exonerated Nguyen Trai, may have known, but for the sake of the court’s and the royal family’s reputation, he did not want to make a big deal of it, so he had to keep it a secret.
Nguyen Trai was exonerated.
In August 1464, after 22 years, King Le Thanh Tong issued a proclamation for Nguyen Trai, posthumously awarded him the title Tan Tru Ba, annulled the court’s order to assassinate Nguyen Trai’s family and ordered his appointment. His descendants became mandarins.
Many scientific studies and discussions have been organized to exonerate Ms. Nguyen Thi Lo based on this argument, and later generations have understood the injustice of Nguyen Trai’s family, continue to admire and Remember his contributions to the country.
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