Cover photo of the book "Special mission" by comrade Le Van Hien. Photo: Anh Quan

In early December 1945, exactly 3 months after reading the Declaration of Independence giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, President Ho called Mr. Le Van Hien, Minister of Labor in the Provisional Government, to assign a special task: To act as a special envoy of the Government to the provinces and battlefields of the South and South Central regions to read letters from President Ho Chi Minh and Minister of the Interior, Deputy Minister of National Defense Vo Nguyen Giap to encourage soldiers and people to be determined to fight the enemy and protect the country; to inspect and rectify local administrative agencies to achieve unity, to inspect the military situation... Because this was the time when we built a young government in the localities in the situation of "internal and external enemies", to deal with the Chinese army, to fight against the French colonialists who returned to invade on September 23, 1945 in the South and were gradually occupying the South Central region.

Minister Le Van Hien's special business trip lasted 2 months and 18 days, from December 5, 1945 to February 23, 1946, and is a memory of an arduous and dangerous journey in the midst of the "boiling water and fire" and "life-threatening" times of the Vietnamese revolutionary government right after independence.

In addition, President Ho also assigned a special task to special envoy Le Van Hien, demonstrating his humane and emotional behavior: Find Mrs. Nam Phuong to send Uncle Ho's regards, invite her and her children to Hanoi to live with Mr. Vinh Thuy, who was then an advisor to the Provisional Government; find Mrs. Thanh Thai and Mrs. Duy Tan to send his regards and wishes for their health, and inform them that the Government would from now on subsidize each of them with a sum of money to help them in difficult times. "The specific amount, you discuss with the comrades in the Central Committee and then decide. If each of them gets 500 dong, that would be good", President Ho carefully instructed (according to Mr. Le Van Hien's memoir).

Unscheduled meeting with Madame Tu Cung

On December 10, 1945, after working with the Central Committee and performing assigned tasks in Hue , at 9:00 a.m., Mr. Le Van Hien, along with Hai Trieu (Nguyen Khoa Van) and another person, went to An Dinh Palace to meet Mrs. Nam Phuong. At this time, after the August Revolution, Mrs. Nam Phuong and her children left Kien Trung Palace to return to An Dinh Palace, living with the Queen Mother Tu Cung.

Mrs. Nam Phuong went out to the yard to welcome the delegation and invited them into the living room - a polite room decorated in European style. While pouring water for the guests, Mrs. Nam Phuong asked about Mr. Le Van Hien's health. He replied and continued: "Before coming here, I went to see the Advisor and saw that he was still healthy."

“When I spoke, she listened attentively, then suddenly she brought a chair and sat next to me, as if she wanted to hear what I had just said again. I was surprised and didn’t understand what was going on, but fortunately, comrade Hai Trieu quickly whispered to me that she was hard of hearing and had to speak loudly to be able to hear clearly,” the Minister recalled.

After listening to Mr. Le Van Hien present President Ho's mandate about the intention to invite her and her grandchildren to Hanoi to live with the Advisor so that the family could reunite and be happier, and the Government would take care of everything for them, Mrs. Nam Phuong seemed to be deep in thought, her attitude was as if she was bewildered, no longer natural.

After a while, she began to speak: I would like to ask the Minister to report to President Ho, I am very touched and happy to receive the President's regards on my health, I am very grateful. As for President Ho's intention to bring my mother and I to Hanoi to reunite with the Advisor, I would like to give my opinion to the President: Currently, the Advisor is alone in the capital Hanoi, with his style and lifestyle, the State must spend a lot of money to provide for him. The government has just been established, with a thousand and one tasks, how much money must it cost! We need to avoid other burdens. My four children and I are living here just fine. With a normal life, we are still able to take care of ourselves. If my mother and I go to live with the Advisor, the State will have to spend many times more money, I think that is not right. Please, President Ho, let my mother and I temporarily take refuge here. When the situation in our country is stable and gradually improves, then it will not be too late to discuss our family reunion. Please, Minister, tell President Ho on your behalf. We are very grateful.”

Recording the above words, Mr. Le Van Hien thought: "Ms. Nam Phuong skillfully and politely declined. Although her inner thoughts are not yet known for sure, her argument seems reasonable and humane."

When Mr. Le Van Hien and his delegation were about to stand up to say goodbye, Mrs. Nam Phuong stopped them and said: "Please stay a moment, Minister. I will go in and tell Mrs. Tu Cung, who will be happy to receive you, Minister."

“While we were thinking about how to approach Madame Tu Cung, Madame Nam Phuong came out of the house and warmly invited us in. It was a lavishly decorated room, decorated in an oriental style, with no sofa, but a long table, carved and gilded with gold, with two rows of chairs on either side, also carved and shiny,” Mr. Le Van Hien recalled.

Empress Dowager Tu Cung stepped out of the tent and sat on a chair placed in the middle, like a throne covered in gold and lacquer. The whole group stood up.

After sitting down, Mr. Le Van Hien was “confused, who would start the conversation? Should Madame Tu Cung greet me, or should I greet her first? Should I greet her and say that I am on behalf of President Ho to visit Madame Khai Dinh’s health? That cannot be done.”

At that moment, Mrs. Nam Phuong stood up and asked for permission from Mrs. Tu Cung to introduce the Minister of Labor in the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam who was on a business trip to the South, visited the Advisor's family and came to greet Mrs. Tu Cung.

The conversation then proceeded in a brief diplomatic manner and Madame Tu Cung stood up to say goodbye, ordering Madame Nam Phuong to continue receiving the delegation. The conversation was enough, Mr. Le Van Hien said goodbye. Madame Nam Phuong saw him off to the gate, expressing her joy and satisfaction.

After this visit, Mr. Le Van Hien thought: “A very delicate issue that I had not thought of. When I went to meet Mrs. Nam Phuong, I did not intend to meet Mrs. Khai Dinh for an understandable reason: there was nothing to discuss. Another reason is that, as a delegate of President Ho and a representative of the Government, I had to be careful in all relationships and could not make uncontrolled contact. But thinking back, if I had met Mrs. Nam Phuong and then left without asking about the mother of Advisor Vinh Thuy, even though they lived in the same house, it would have been clearly not quite right, causing doubts for Mrs. Tu Cung. Mrs. Nam Phuong had grasped this psychology, and with her polite and sensitive nature, she took the initiative to keep me behind in a clever way, personally organizing the meeting between Mrs. Tu Cung and me. Although it was purely a social affair, it was very meaningful to Mrs. Tu Cung.”

Comrade Le Van Hien. Photo: Da Nang Museum

Warm hearted main wife of two patriotic kings

That afternoon, it was Minister Le Van Hien's turn to receive Ms. Thanh Thai and Ms. Duy Tan. He stepped out to greet the two ladies from the door and invited them into the living room.

The Minister recalled: “The two ladies were two types of people, with similarities and clear differences. They were similar in their dignified, polite, feudal manners, and the character of the former first wife. The difference was that: Mrs. Thanh Thai was around 60 years old, dressed elegantly, spoke politely, and had a feudal character but added a detached, monastic appearance. She wore a Bodhi seed necklace. The daughter-in-law - Mrs. Duy Tan - was around 40 years old, dressed simply, still retaining the beauty of her youth, but looked healthy, imbued with the hard-working look of a regular worker.”

Not only that, the two women had two different styles, and the way they treated each other was also different from the difference in seniority between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law... From the beginning to the end of the conversation, Mrs. Thanh Thai continued everything, Mrs. Duy Tan did not say a word, occasionally she smiled to show her agreement and approval.

Both ladies expressed their gratitude to President Ho after Mr. Le Van Hien conveyed his warm regards to the two ladies and wished them good health. Then, the Minister continued: “He also added that since the day Mr. Thanh Thai and Mr. Duy Tan, because of their patriotism and desire for freedom and independence for the country, were captured and exiled to a foreign land by the French colonialists, the two ladies have been alone and isolated for decades. Surely the two ladies have encountered many difficulties. President Ho wants to inform the two ladies that from now on the Vietnamese Government will provide each of you with 500 dong per month to help you spend during this difficult time. If you do not find any obstacles and are willing to accept, I will report to President Ho so that he will be satisfied.” After hearing this, the two ladies appeared extremely moved.

“After a moment of silence, Mrs. Thanh Thai, with a look of emotional guilt, began to speak: Just as President Ho Chi Minh had thought, since the day my husband and children, because of their desire for the country to be independent and autonomous, were exiled by the French to a foreign land, we have had to live alone, lonely, and no one cared. Even in the royal family, many people were afraid of being implicated. I myself had to rely on the Buddha to get through the day. Unexpected! Truly unexpected! President Ho Chi Minh's government had just been established a few months ago, with major national events pressing on, but the President immediately thought of us, sent his warm regards, and even sent me and my daughter-in-law, Mrs. Duy Tan, a very generous monthly allowance. We were truly in for a great surprise! Very grateful!”, the Special Envoy recorded.

The meeting ended. Mrs. Thanh Thai left first. Mrs. Duy Tan stayed for a few minutes.

“Holding my hand, she sobbed, unable to speak. Finally, she said goodbye with a short and sincere sentence: “President Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts are so true. We live alone and lonely. We have had to endure for decades in extremely difficult circumstances. Only President Ho thinks of us. Thank you, President Ho. Thank you, Minister!” The meeting between Ms. Thanh Thai and Ms. Duy Tan was very meaningful, full of emotion. The ladies trusted President Ho, trusted the Government, and no longer lived in an atmosphere of anxiety as before,” Mr. Le Van Hien wrote in his memoir.

After completing this special mission in Hue, Minister Le Van Hien acknowledged: “The beautiful gesture of President Ho towards Bao Dai’s family, towards Thanh Thai and Duy Tan, dispelled the long-standing atmosphere of fear. The news that the two ladies received subsidies from the Ho Chi Minh Government spread very quickly, making everyone happy and reassured. Obviously, President Ho’s policies and gestures were very reasonable, pure, and went deep into people’s hearts, causing a great political effect that has not been fully appreciated until later.”

MR. QUAN

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/dac-phai-vien-le-van-hien-voi-cac-ba-hoang-trieu-nguyen-sau-ngay-doc-lap-157259.html