 Because of the role of Westerners in the war between the Nguyễn and the Tây Sơn, and Pigneau's role in recruiting European assistance, Duyệt protected Vietnamese Catholic converts and Westerners from Minh Mạng's isolationalist and Confucian policies by disobeying the emperor's orders. In defense of the Christians, Duyệt wrote to Ming Mạng, "We still have between our teeth the rice which the missionaries gave us when we were starving." This came in response to an imperial edict that ordered missionaries to leave their areas of operation and move to the imperial city, ostensibly because the palace needed translators, but in reality to stop the Catholics from proselytizing. Whereas the government officials in central and northern Vietnam complied, Duyệt disobeyed the order and Minh Mạng was forced to bide his time. In the meantime, southern Christians were still publicly identifying themselves as such and praticising their beliefs without facing any obstacles from local officials. Choi said that "From the point of view of Minh Mạng and his men, the land of Gia Định was thoroughly sheltered by Lê Văn Duyệt's prestige."
