VIETNAM ( SERIES -44 )
THE PIG EMPEROR LE TUONG DUC OF DAI VIET
A CHINESE diplomat , who visited DAI VIET in 1513 AD , called Emperor LE TUONG DUC AD the PIG EMPEROR due to his terrible leadership . LE TUONG DUC was the nineth Emperor of the LATER LE DYNASTY of DAI VIET who ruled the country from 1509 AD to 1516 AD . To the DAI VIET SU KY TOAN THU ( The royal chronicles of DAI VIET ) , LE TUONG DUC initially was a good Emperor who recognized the court and ruled the country wisely . But later during his reign , he became extremely greedy , corrupt and extravagant . He was the second son of Prince LE TAN , the younger brother of Emperor LE HIEN TONG and the grandson of Emperor LE THANH TONG . His mother was the daughter of General TRINH TRONG PHONG whose name was TRINH THI TUYEN . As we know that how he escaped the program of purging Imperial princes and reached THANH HOA where with the help of his Lieutenants like NGUYEN VAN LANG and NGUYEN HOANG DU , LE OANH gathered an army against Emperor LE UY MAC and marched towards the Imperial capital . He decisively defeated the Imperial army . Further knowing that how Emperor LE UY MAC had executed his (LE OANH’S) elder brother LE SUNG , in retaliation LE OANH routed Emperor’s main army and captured Emperor LE UY MAC . He compelled Emperor to commit suicide . LE OANH, then, proclaimed himself the Emperor of DAI VIET under title LE TUONG DUC and designated his era name as HONG THUAN .
EMPEROR LE TUONG DUC’S REIGN
In the early period of his reign , Emperor LE TUONG DUC tried to organize the government and fostered NEO-CONFUCIANIST education . He also ordered to compile a new historical chronicles known as Dai Viet thong giam thong Khao and Tri binh bao pham ( Rule for Maintaining Social Stability ) in accordance with NEO-CONFUCIANISM . But in the later period of his reign , his views changed completely . He started spending extravagantly in building many colossal palaces in the royal capital THANG LONG . CUU TRUNG DAI designed by a famous architect VU NHU TO was one of them . He went so down that he tried to spend much more times enjoying sexual activities with his concubines . According to the royal court’s chronicles , he ordered special ships to be built for him to travel on the WEST LAKE . WEST LAKE is the biggest fresh water lake located in the northwest of the city of HANOI , the present capital of VIETNAM . Emperor LE TUONG DUC used to forced his concubines to strip naked and perform elegant dances on these ships . As a result of his luxurious lifestyle and blatant ignorance of the affairs of state , people suffered considerable hardship and his government became increasingly unpopular. Many rebellions broke out in DAI VIET . One from the House of TRAN also known as TRAN CAO revolt . As rightly termed as a PIG EMPEROR , Emperor LE TUONG DUC was murdered in 1516 AD by a group of Imperial guards led by General TRINH DUY SAN in the royal capital .
EMPEROR LE CHIEU TONG OF DAI VIET
After the assassination of Emperor LE TUONG DUC in 1516 AD , his nephew and son of his brother LE SUNG , LE CHIEU TONG was declared as the 10th Emperor of the LATER LE DYNASTY of DAI VIET . He ruled the country from 1516 AD to 1522 AD . His short period of reign saw continuing factionalism and jockeying for power among MAC , NGUYEN and his own family . In 1524 AD , a rebellion broke out in DAI VIET . Emperor LE CHIEU TONG fled away from the capital . Though General MAC DANG DUNG quashed the rebellion , yet he tried to take the opportunity to seize the power for himself . As a result, Emperor LE CHIEU TONG was killed by the supporters of General MAC DANG DUNG . Shortly afterwards , his brother LE CUNG HOANG was declared Emperor of DAI VIET . He was the last Emperor of the LATER LE DYNASTY of DAI VIET . He reigned the country from 1522 AD to 1527 AD . Eventually , General MAC DANG DUNG deposed Emperor LE CUNG HOANG in 1527 AD and established the rule of MAC DYNASTY in DAI VIET .
NOTE : THE SOURCES OF THE BLOG ARE TEXT BOOKS AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS ON THE SUBJECT .
TO BE CONTINUED ……………….
Email— arbindwp999@gmail.com
ARBIND KUMAR BLOG 
I think Emperor LE TUONG DUC rightly deserved the title of Emperor Pig.
I found the photos of your article really magnificent, especially the last two⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
LikeLiked by 1 person