A brief introduction of King Le Uy Muc
King Le Uy Muc, whose birth name is Le Tuan, was born on May 5, 1488. Le Uy Muc was the 8th king of the Later Le Dynasty and the second son of King Le Hien Tong and Queen Chieu Nhan Hoang Thai Nguyen Thi Can.
The mother of King Le Uy Muc is from Phu Chan village, Dong Ngan district, Bac Giang province. Le Uy Muc ascended to the throne on January 22, 1505, after his younger brother, King Le Tuc Tong, who ascended in 1504, passed away at the age of 17.
About King Le Uy Muc’s ascension, the book “Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu” states: “In December, 1505, on the 6th day of the lunar calendar, King Le Tuc Tong handed his throne over to the court officials including Binh Son Marquis Le Quang Do, Cong Xuyen Ba Le Nang Nhuong, and other civil and military officials, he said: “I’m still ill, I’m worried that I won’t be able to handle heavy responsibilities. My second son, Tuan, is intelligent and filial, capable of inheriting the throne and taking care of the people.”
The great court officials and officials are requested to help with the significant task. No prince should dare to challenge the heavens, otherwise the people within the country will join forces to kill the prince.”
On the 7th day, the king’s condition worsened. On the 8th day, the king passed away at the Hoang Cuc Palace, and there was a royal announcement for the officials to observe proper mourning. On the 18th day, the commander-in-chief led the commanders and officials of Binh Son Marquis Le Quang Do, who represented Tuc Nhan Le Nang Nhuong and other dignitaries, marquises, clerks, military officers, officials from the five groups, six ministries, Ngu Su Dai, Dong Cac, Han Lam, Luc Tu, Luc Khoa, and the officials from the thirteen provinces, to the Hương Minh Palace to welcome the second son of King Hien Tong, Tuan, as the new Emperor. The reign was renamed to the first year of Doan Khanh.”
Tyranny upon ascending the throne
Le Uy Muc is the son of King Le Hien Tong and Nguyen Thi Can (from Phu Chan village, Dong Ngan district – Bac Ninh province today).
When she was young, Can became an orphan and was impoverished, having to sell herself as a servant in Phung Thien palace (present-day Hanoi). Later, due to her family’s crimes, she was forced to become a concubine in the palace, and as a result, she became a maid to the Queen Mother (King Hien Tong’s mother).
When Hien Tong was still a prince, he visited the Queen Mother’s palace and found Can attractive, so he asked to take her as a concubine. When Uy Muc ascended the throne, his grandmother, the Queen Mother, was unhappy because she believed that Uy Muc’s mother, being a lowly woman, would not be able to raise a virtuous child. This caused resentment in Uy Muc’s heart, hence the king held a grudge.
On March 22, 1505, immediately after ascending the throne, the king secretly ordered the Queen Mother to be killed, then he announced a 7-day mourning period and presented tribute to show respect. “Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu” and other historical books also recorded this event.
Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu wrote, on June 5, 1505, the king “removed the upper-class officials Dam Van Le, the imperial historian Nguyen Quang Bat in Quang Nam, then had them killed”.
The reason behind this was that before, when King Le Hien Tong was bedridden, the foster mother Kinh Phi wanted Uy Muc to be made king but was afraid that the court officials would refuse, so she bribed them with gold but Thanh Thu Van Le refused to accept it.
When King Hien Tong became seriously ill, Van Le and Nguyen Quang Bat accepted the royal decree to assist the crown prince Tuc Tong in ascending the throne. This action caused Uy Muc to bear a grudge in his heart.
After ascending the throne, Le Uy Muc immediately devised a plan to send Thua Thuyen Su Quang Nam to attack Le Oanh. However, when they received the money, they all refused to fight and returned home. This made the king fearful, so he quickly sent messengers to call for troops from Lang Son, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, and An Bang provinces. Each province was asked to send 5,000 soldiers to defend the palace, but before they could arrive, Le Oanh’s troops had already approached the capital, causing many court officials to flee in fear.
“At that time, Le Quang Do (the defensive commander in the city) along with Oanh, the people inside the city, and those outside the city, signaled each other with fireworks,” as recorded in Khâm định Việt sử thông giám cương mục.
Realizing the unfavorable situation, King Le Uy Muc fled to Nhat Chieu ward but was captured by his bodyguards and handed over to Le Oanh. Thus, Le Oanh was the one who overthrew King Demon Le Uy Muc and ascended the throne as King Le Tuong Dinh.
After being captured and handed over to the new king, Le Tuong Dinh, Uy Muc was imprisoned in the Lệ Cảnh Gate. Seeing that he reached a dead end, on December 1, 1509, Le Uy Muc took poison to commit suicide.
However, Le Tuong Dinh, who held a deep hatred for Uy Muc for ruthlessly killing his family, had someone load Uy Muc’s body into a cannon and fired it, completely obliterated his remains, taking only a small amount of ashes to bury at An Lang in his mother’s homeland, Phu Chan village (now Phu Chan commune, Tu Son town, Bac Ninh city).
Therefore, Le Uy Muc reigned for 4 years and died at the age of 21.
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