The French army was threatening to occupy Hanoi, the rebels in the country were looting and looting like bees, Nguyen Tri Phuong – a high-ranking mandarin under the Nguyen Dynasty – was sent by the court to the North to command the army to destroy the internal enemies and break the invasion intentions of the external enemies. However, Nguyen Tri Phuong’s army, equipped with only rudimentary weapons, was quickly defeated by the French army, which was equipped with many modern weapons. Refusing to kneel and bow before the enemy, Nguyen Tri Phuong went on a hunger strike until he died.

Determined to defend the citadel

In 1873, French Admiral Dupré sent Captain Francis Garnier with a group of 171 elite soldiers and two gunboats to the North to carry out the plan to capture Hanoi citadel. In order to avoid wasting bullets, wasting people and avoiding a bad reputation, Garnier initially made many demands with the aim of discouraging the citadel governor Nguyen Tri Phuong and his soldiers from fighting and abandoning the citadel.

But those tricks did not escape the eyes of the great mandarin Nguyen Tri Phuong and could not shake his iron determination. Nguyen Tri Phuong was determined to fight with his soldiers until his last breath to defend Hanoi citadel – the citadel with a strategic position that would decide the success or failure in the war to defend the land in the northern region of Vietnam.

Knowing that his plan of using demands had failed, in the early morning of November 20, 1873, Garnier suddenly attacked Hanoi citadel.

Grasping the terrain of Hanoi citadel, Garnier let the gunboats slip under the two southern gates, and quickly ordered the elite soldiers to cross the bridge to approach the citadel gate. When Nguyen Tri Phuong’s troops on the citadel discovered and fired, it was too late – the French troops had passed the defensive range.

While the French soldiers were preparing to approach the citadel gate, the French gunboats fired continuously, breaking the southern gate. The artillery fire caused the Hanoi citadel to shake loudly. The soldiers on the citadel, not used to facing artillery shells, were terrified and fled to the western gate. Nguyen Tri Phuong’s defensive formation was completely broken by Garnier.

After only one hour, the French flag was flying proudly over Hanoi citadel. A small group of French soldiers with the assistance of modern gunboats with great destructive power had captured Hanoi citadel in just a moment, taking more than 2,000 soldiers of the Vietnamese court as prisoners of war.

The system of rivers and moats surrounding Hanoi Citadel, which had been a defensive force for thousands of years, suddenly became counterproductive – it allowed French artillery to easily penetrate deep into the citadel and attack the citadel at any location according to Garnier’s strategy.

Suicide with the citadel

In this lightning battle, Nguyen Tri Phuong’s son, Pho Ma Nguyen Lam, was shot and died right at the scene of the battle because he was determined to fight to the death and refused to flee. Nguyen Tri Phuong himself was also seriously wounded and fell into the enemy’s hands.

After capturing Nguyen Tri Phuong, the French army tried to find a way to treat him in order to bribe him. They knew that if Nguyen Tri Phuong surrendered, they would more easily achieve their goal of conquering the South.

In response to the “warmth” of the French army, Nguyen Tri Phuong flatly refused their request to apply medicine to treat his wounds, and went on a hunger strike to commit suicide to affirm the indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese people against foreign invaders. His resolute response to the enemy further fueled the spirit of “fighting for justice” everywhere: “If we can only live a miserable life now, why not die for justice?”

Unable to subdue Nguyen Tri Phuong, the French army looted his official uniform to boast about their achievements and to intimidate the people. Currently, the official uniform of the Governor of Hanoi is still on display at the French Military Museum in Les Invalides.

Governor Nguyen Tri Phuong passed away after a hunger strike for several days, leaving behind endless grief for the officials, people, and scholars of the whole country in general and Hanoi in particular. That grief was forged into an indomitable will, determined to wipe out the foreign invaders throughout the entire country.

The people of Hanoi were even more seething with hatred, and rose up in unison to revolt against the French. After occupying Hanoi for a year, the French army had to constantly face uprisings from the local people and scholars.

During the uprising in Cau Giay led by Ton That Thuyet and Hoang Ta Viem, the French army fell into an ambush and was completely destroyed. Garnier was also killed in the battle. The remaining French troops retreated to defend the citadel.

After the battle of Cau Giay, France was forced to sign the Treaty on January 5, 1874, returning Hanoi and the provinces of Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh and only establishing a Consulate in Hai Phong.

Mourning the loyal Governor of Hanoi, the people of Hanoi set up an altar for Nguyen Tri Phuong at Trung Liet Temple on Dong Da Hill.

Today, on the altar of Nguyen Tri Phuong at Trung Liet Temple, there are still two parallel sentences written by contemporaries:

“This citadel, this country, a hundred battles of hardship still have a piece of land
It is the starry sky, the mountains and rivers, ten years of confiding in the blue sky”

Meaning:

“There is the citadel, there is the country, a hundred battles of hardship still have a piece of land
It is the starry sky, the mountains and rivers, ten years of confiding in the blue sky”

The Governor of Hanoi Citadel Nguyen Tri Phuong also had a temple built for him along with the Governor of Hanoi Citadel who succeeded Hoang Dieu at the watchtower right above the northern gate (Bac Mon).

To commemorate the merits of Nguyen Tri Phuong, the government and people of the capital Hanoi decided to name the road running through the ancient citadel of Hanoi after him – the road that people used to call the Road in the citadel, and the royal court called it the Eastern Palace.

Death by the citadel

In this lightning battle, Nguyen Tri Phuong’s son, the Prince Consort

Suicide by the citadel

In this lightning battle, Nguyen Tri Phuong’s son, the son-in-law Nguyen Lam, was shot and died right at the scene of the battle because he was determined to fight to the death and refused to flee. Nguyen Tri Phuong himself was also seriously injured and fell into the hands of the enemy.

Having captured Nguyen Tri Phuong, the French army tried to find a way to treat him in order to bribe him. They knew that if Nguyen Tri Phuong surrendered, it would be easier for them to achieve their goal of conquering the country.

In response to the French army’s “warmth”, Nguyen Tri Phuong flatly refused their request to apply medicine to treat his wounds and went on a hunger strike to commit suicide to affirm the indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese people against foreign invaders. His resolute response to the enemy further fueled the spirit of “for the cause of justice” everywhere: “Now if we can only live a miserable life, why not leisurely die for the cause of justice?”

Unable to subdue Nguyen Tri Phuong, the French army looted his official uniform to boast about their achievements and to intimidate the people. Currently, the uniform of the Governor of Hanoi is still on display at the French Military Museum in Les Invalides.

Governor Nguyen Tri Phuong passed away after a hunger strike for several days, leaving behind endless grief for the mandarins, people, and scholars of the whole country in general and Hanoi in particular. That grief was forged into an indomitable will, determined to wipe out the foreign invaders throughout the whole country.

The people of Hanoi were even more seething with hatred, and rose up in revolt against the French. After occupying Hanoi for a year, the French army had to continuously face uprisings by the local people and scholars.

During the uprising in Cau Giay led by Ton That Thuyet and Hoang Ta Viem, the French army fell into a trap and were completely destroyed. Garnier was also killed in the battle. The remnants of the French army retreated to defend the citadel.

After the Battle of Cau Giay, France was forced to sign the Treaty of January 5, 1874, returning Hanoi and the provinces of Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, and establishing only a Consulate in Hai Phong.

Mourning the loyal Governor of Hanoi, the people of Hanoi set up an altar for Nguyen Tri Phuong at Trung Liet Temple on Dong Da Hill.

Today, next to the altar of Nguyen Tri Phuong at Trung Liet Temple, there are still two parallel sentences written by contemporaries:

“This citadel, this country, after a hundred battles, there is still a piece of land
It is the starry sky, the mountains and rivers, after ten years, there is still a piece of land to talk to the blue sky

The Governor of Hanoi Nguyen Tri Phuong also had a temple built for him and his successor, the Governor of Hanoi Hoang Dieu, at the watchtower right above the northern gate (Bac Mon).

To commemorate Nguyen Tri Phuong’s contributions, the government and people of Hanoi decided to name the road running through Hanoi’s ancient citadel after him – the road was formerly known as the Road in the Citadel by the people, and the royal court called it the Eastern Palace.