Ngô Văn Sở (, died 1795) was a general of the

Tây Sơn dynasty The Tây Sơn dynasty (, vi, Nhà Tây Sơn (Chữ Nôm: 茹西山); vi, Tây Sơn triều ( Hán tự: 西山朝) was a ruling dynasty of Vietnam, founded in the wake of a rebellion against both the Nguyễn lords and the Trịnh lords befo ...

. Born in Tuy Viễn District (modern Tây Sơn District),

Bình Định Province B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...

, he joined the Tây Sơn army at an early age. In 1787,

Vũ Văn Nhậm Vũ Văn Nhậm (武文任, ?–1788) was a general of Tây Sơn dynasty. At first Nhậm was a low-ranking officer of Nguyễn lord. Later, he committed a crime and had to join Tây Sơn army. Nguyễn Nhạc appreciated his bravery, and mar ...

led an army north into

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...

. Sở and

Phan Văn Lân Phan Văn Lân (潘文璘, 1730–?) was a general of Tây Sơn dynasty. He joined the Tây Sơn army in early time. In 1787, Vũ Văn Nhậm led an army marched north into Tonkin. Lân and Ngô Văn Sở followed the army to assist him. Nh� ...

followed the army to assist him. Nhậm occupied Thăng Long (modern

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

), executed

Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh Nguyễn Hữu Chỉnh ( vi-hantu, 阮有整, 1741–1788) was an official during the Revival Lê dynasty in Vietnam. Chỉnh was a disciple of Hoàng Ngũ Phúc. He had been sent to Tây Sơn as a diplomat. Nguyễn Nhạc admired him for ...

, and installed

Lê Duy Cận Lê Duy Cận ( vi-hantu, 黎維𬓑, ?–?) or Lê Duy Cẩn, was a Vietnamese prince during Revival Lê dynasty. Cận was the second son of Lê Hiển Tông. In 1769, his elder brother, Lê Duy Vĩ, was stripped of his position as Crown ...

as a puppet "Prince Regent" ( ''giám quốc''). Sở and Lân reported Nhậm's actions to emperor

Quang Trung Emperor Quang Trung ( vi-hantu, 光中, 1753 – 16 September 1792) or Nguyễn Huệ ( vi-hantu, 阮惠), also known as Nguyễn Quang Bình ( vi-hantu, 阮光平), was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1788 until 17 ...

, who subsequently had Nhậm executed. The emperor then left Tonkin, leaving Sở, Lân,

Nguyễn Văn Tuyết Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...

, Nguyễn Văn Dụng, Trần Thuận Ngôn, and

Ngô Thì Nhậm Ngô Thì Nhậm ( vi-hantu, 吳時任, 1746–1803) was an important Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainla ...

in Thăng Long to watch over Cận.''

Việt Nam sử lược ( vi-hantu, 越南史略, french: Précis d'Histoire du Việt-Nam, lit. "Outline History of Vietnam"), was the first history text published in the Vietnamese and the Vietnamese alphabet. It was compiled by Vietnamese historian Trần Trọng Ki ...

'', Quyển 2, Chương 10'' Đại Nam chính biên liệt truyện'', vol. 30 Qing China invaded Vietnam to reinstall the deposed emperor

Lê Chiêu Thống Lê Chiêu Thống (1765–1793), born Lê Duy Khiêm and later Lê Duy Kỳ, was the last emperor of the Vietnamese Later Lê dynasty. He was overthrown by the Tây Sơn dynasty. He appealed to the Qing dynasty of China to help regain the thro ...

of Lê dynasty. Sở ordered Cận to write a letter to the Qing viceroy Sun Shiyi. Describing himself as a popular ruler, Cận tried to persuade Sun to retreat, but his plea was rejected. Realizing the Tây Sơn army could not stop the Chinese army from marching to Thăng Long, Sở accepted the suggestion of Nhậm, abandoned Thăng Long, and retreated to

Tam Điệp Tam Điệp is a city of Ninh Bình Province in the Red River Delta region of Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge ...

, and sent Nguyễn Văn Tuyết to

Phú Xuân Phú Xuân (富春) was the historic capital of the Nguyễn lords, the Tây Sơn dynasty, and later became the Nguyễn dynasty's capital (renamed Huế). History In 1306, the King of Champa Chế Mân offered Vietnam two Chăm prefectures, Ô a ...

(mordern

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

) to ask support.''

'', Quyển 2, Chương 11 Huệ and Sở then defeated the Chinese army in the

Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa The Battle of Ngọc Hồi-Đống Đa ( vi, Trận Ngọc Hồi - Đống Đa; ), also known as Victory of Kỷ Dậu ( vi, Chiến thắng Kỷ Dậu), was fought between the forces of the Vietnamese Tây Sơn dynasty and the Qing dynasty ...

. After the war, Huệ attempted to find a peaceful solution with Qing China. Sở was sent to China as a member of the diplomatic corps. Finally, Nguyễn Huệ was recognized as the new ruler of Vietnam by the Qianlong Emperor. The child emperor

Nguyễn Quang Toản Emperor Cảnh Thịnh ( vi-hantu, ), born Nguyễn Quang Toản ( vi-hantu, ; 1783–1802), was the third and last emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty. He followed his father Quang Trung (Nguyễn Huệ ruled 1788–1792) at the age of 9, and reig ...

ascended the throne in 1792. The following year, Quy Nhơn was attacked by the

Nguyễn lord Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...

Nguyễn Nhạc Nguyễn Nhạc ( vi-hantu, 阮岳, died 1793) was the founder of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1778 to 1788. From 1778 to 1788, Nguyễn Nhạc proclaimed himself Emperor Thái Đức ( vi-hantu, 泰德). In 1788 after his younger bro ...

was defeated, and asked for Toản's help. Sở led troops to reinforce Quy Nhơn together with Phạm Công Hưng,

Nguyễn Văn Huấn Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元）is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this s ...

and

Lê Trung Le is a romanization of several rare East Asian surnames and a common Vietnamese surname. It is a fairly common surname in the United States, ranked 975th during the 1990 census and 368th during the 2000 census. In 2000, it was the eighth-most-co ...

, and the Nguyễn army had to retreat.''

'', Quyển 2, Chương 12 Sở was a political ally of Bùi Đắc Tuyên. In 1795, Sở was sent to Tonkin to replace Vũ Văn Dũng. Dũng was ordered to return to Phú Xuân, but on the way there, Trần Văn Kỷ persuaded him to stage a coup against Tuyên, who was subsequently arrested and thrown into prison. Sở was arrested by Nguyễn Quang Thùy and taken to Phú Xuân. He was thrown into the

Perfume River The Perfume River ( or ; ) is a river that crosses the city of Huế, in the central Vietnamese province of Thừa Thiên-Huế. In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from Huế fall into the water, giving the river a perfume-like aroma, ...

together with Tuyên and Tuyên's son Bùi Đắc Trụ.

References

1795 deaths People from Bình Định province Tây Sơn dynasty generals People executed by drowning {{Vietnam-mil-bio-stub