King Le once donated an entire salt warehouse to Nguyen Cong Co as a place for incense and smoke. Who was it that received special favor?

Doctor, Duke Nguyen Cong Co from Xuan Tao village is famous for being an honest and talented mandarin... King Le once gave him the royal salt warehouse as a place for incense, smoke, and worship.

Nguyen Cong Co, also known as Nghia Trai, is one of the typical cultural celebrities of ancient Hanoi. He was born in 1676 in Xuan Tao village (now Xuan Dinh ward, Bac Tu Liem district, Hanoi city). At the age of 22, Nguyen Cong Co passed the Third Grade Bronze Doctoral exam from the Dinh Suu department in the 18th year of Chinh Hoa (1697) during the reign of King Le Hy Tong. Currently, his name and hometown are also engraved on the Doctor's stele located at the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam relic in Hanoi.

After passing the doctoral exam, Nguyen Cong Co was appointed by the royal court to hold the position of Principal in the Academy. In March, the year of Giap Than, the 25th year of Chinh Hoa (1704), Trinh Luan, Trinh Phat, and Dao Quang Nhai plotted to rebel, and were all killed. At this time, Master Nguyen Cong Co discovered the situation and reported it. God assigned the officials to punish them, they were all brought under the law. Dr. Nguyen Cong Co was promoted to the position of Huu Thi Lang of the Ministry of Public Works.

In January, spring of the year At Mui, the 11th year of Vinh Thinh (1715), Ta Thi Lang Bo Ho Nguyen Cong Co was appointed Chief Envoy, head of the diplomatic corps of Dai Viet country to pay tribute to the Qing Dynasty. With clever diplomacy, Nguyen Cong Co forced the Qing court to cancel many troublesome regulations, such as paying tribute to rhino horn and reducing the quantity of gold. The tribute "golden man to replace Lieu Thang" dates back to the Early Le dynasty, but some historical records recorded that even during this embassy trip of Nguyen Cong Co, it was also canceled. This success contributed to significantly improving the foreign relations between our country and the Qing Dynasty.

Not only that, on this mission, he set up boundary markers, clearly defining the immutable sovereignty between the two sides to this day. Duke Nguyen Cong Co also fought to reclaim the Tu Long copper mine and the border lands that had been encroached upon by Chinese kings and mandarins for many years and won. Because of the success of this mission, he was promoted to Minister of Infantry by the royal court. In the year of Canh Ty, the first year of Bao Thai (1720), in April and summer, the court organized a review of the 10-year merits of all mandarins. At that time, Nguyen Cong Co was a ranked mandarin. In the final examination, he ranked first and was given the title of Duke Cao. Also in this year, when he was 46 years old, he was appointed as a Coroner in the Lord's Palace.

Duke Nguyen Cong Co is also the person who contributed to introducing economic reform policies, eliminating rich farms, delineating land boundaries, and moving towards a fair and reasonable land division for everyone to have. cultivated fields for living; reform education, change the way exam questions are given. The investigation, review and fight against negativity in the school also resulted in significant changes thanks to him. Building a strong, methodical, educated army, maintaining peace with neighbors to create a peaceful environment inside and out is also partly thanks to his efforts.

As an upright official, when he discovered mistakes in organizing the Perfume Exam at the Ngu Long Tower, Dr. Nguyen Cong Co reported it to Lord Trinh. Lord Trinh then ordered the exam to be repeated. Considering his merits, Lord Trinh promoted Nguyen Cong Co to the position of Lieutenant Commander. In May 1727, Young Master Nguyen Cong Co transferred to the martial arts class and held the position of Palace Secretary. In November 1733, Major Bao Nguyen Cong Co passed away, and the court gave him a gift to the Viceroy.

Besides his political career, Doctor and Duke Nguyen Cong Co also left behind a number of works such as Vu Hoc Tung Ky , Hoang Hoa Thuat Thuc Ky; Envoy Nhat Luc (copied in Xuan Tao Minister Nguyen's Genealogy) and Tuong Son Marching Thao Luc . There are also a number of poems copied in the book Toan Viet thi luc.

The Church of Doctor and Duke Nguyen Cong Co (also known as the Church of Mr. Thuong Cao) is located in Xuan Tao village (Bac Tu Liem district). The church's land was formerly the salt warehouse of the royal court. After Dr. Nguyen Cong Co passed away, King Le's court gave this land to his family as a place to worship and honor the honest mandarin. Nguyen Cong Co. King Le also gave to Duke Nguyen Cong Co a poem with the first two verses: One course, two children passed Mr. Nghe/The fox's voice rang out across the sea. Descendants later carved the poem on wood to keep at the Nguyen Cong Co family church.

The church dates back about 300 years ago. By 2008, the church was majorly restored by the government and family. Currently, Duke Nguyen Cong Co Church includes architectural works: gate, church. The gate is simply built, consisting of 2 floors and eight roofs, covered with funny-nosed tiles. From the gate, through the courtyard paved with Bat Trang tiles, step up the steps to reach the church.

The church is a three-compartment house, built in the style of a closed gable, with throne arms, Dinh-shaped architecture, and ri-tiled roof. Inside the church is divided into 3 worship spaces, of which the most important is the middle room where the family places incense burners to worship Duke Nguyen Cong Co and the King's song.

A number of banners such as the Patriarch of the Nation and the National Avatar are hung in the church to praise the merits and contributions of Duke Nguyen Cong Co to the people and the court. The remaining two rooms in the church are where the certificate of recognition as a Historical-Cultural Relic in 1993 and the plaque recording the background and career of Duke Nguyen Cong Co are hung.

It can be said that the life and official career of Duke Nguyen Cong Co have been recorded through a number of official historical documents such as Dai Viet su ky tuc bien, Kham Dinh Viet su Thong Giam Cuong Muc, Dang Khoa Luc ... All in all, he was a mandarin who was considered by Lord Trinh to be straightforward, wise, and courageous in speaking.

Subsidence caused by well drilling in Hanoi caused many houses to tilt Thanh Anh10:16:50 25/11/2023According to statistics from Dong Quang commune, the incident affected 6 households in the same area, with many houses tilting and sinking. In addition, houses with drilled wells about a hundred meters away also recorded the phenomenon of water pushing up from below.