The most powerful governor in the history of the Nguyen Dynasty

Thanks to his brave spirit, daring to think and act, Le Van Duyet, from a eunuch in charge of internal affairs, gradually moved to the military, became a general, was awarded the title of duke, and finally became the manager of one of the two great cities of Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty.

After unifying the North and South, King Gia Long imitated the Northern Citadel system of the Tay Son dynasty, establishing two great citadels in the two regions. These were the Northern Citadel with the center being Thang Long and the Gia Dinh Citadel with the center being Gia Dinh citadel.

TWICE GOVERNOR OF GIA DINH CITY

Gia Dinh Citadel was established in 1808, headed by a Governor, a Deputy Governor and later a Deputy Governor. Gia Dinh Citadel controlled the "military, people, wealth, and service" of the five towns of Phan Yen, Bien Hoa, Dinh Tuong, Vinh Thanh and Ha Tien, and also had the right to mobilize the army of Binh Thuan town. Assisting the Governor was a complete apparatus with two offices: Ta Thua and Huu Thua (including 6 departments: Personnel, Rites, Military, Finance, Justice, and Public Works) and the Luong Y office.

In 1813, when the Protectorate of Cambodia was established, the Governor of Gia Dinh Citadel also took charge of direct relations with Cambodia. In 1814, the positions of Cai phu tao, Ky luc tao, and Tai pho tao were also established to manage foreign trade with foreign ships. The citadel was entrusted with all the duties of a small court, to the point that the Governor was sometimes called vice-roi (vice king) by European writers.

Seal of the Governor of Gia Dinh Citadel - PHOTO: AUTHOR'S DOCUMENTS

From the time Gia Dinh Citadel was established until its dissolution, there were 3 people appointed as Governor: Nguyen Van Nhan twice (1808 - 1812; 1819 - 1820), Nguyen Huynh Duc (1816 - 1819) and Le Van Duyet twice (1812 - 1816; 1820 - 1832). However, only Le Van Duyet left a deep impression in the minds of the people of Cochinchina.

Among the three Governors, Le Van Duyet was the one who held this position the longest. Especially under the Minh Mang dynasty, he was the Governor in power for more than 10 years. King Minh Mang stopped appointing the Deputy Governor in 1820. By 1824, the position of Deputy Governor of Gia Dinh Citadel was also abandoned. The mechanism of power division was abolished. Political power, both civil and military, was concentrated in the hands of the Governor of Gia Dinh Citadel. King Minh Mang also allowed him to "demotion and promotion of all officials, to promote benefits and eliminate harms, to do all city and border affairs as he pleased". Those broad powers made Le Van Duyet the most powerful Governor in the history of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Suppressing Thieves

The Southern Delta region, with its crisscrossing rivers and wild nature, is inherently a complex area. Since the time of Lord Nguyen, there have been gangs of bandits who specialize in kidnapping people, called Tieu Bao bandits. There are also those who throw paper, calling themselves Thanh Son Vo Dich Tuong Quan, Luc Lam Dai Trai Tuong Quan, scaring people to take their belongings.

The book Thoai thuc ky van by Truong Quoc Dung once told a story about a Governor who was from Vinh An district. One day, the Governor returned to his hometown and there were few soldiers. The evil gang stopped the robbers. The Governor had to beg them to let him go. Although Truong Quoc Dung did not mention the name of the Governor, the only person who was from Vinh An district was Nguyen Van Nhan.

Le Van Duyet Street right next to Ong Lang in Ho Chi Minh City - PHOTO: QUYNH TRAN

The first time he became the Governor of Gia Dinh Citadel, after solving the problem of bringing the Cambodian king back to the country, Le Van Duyet focused on dealing with that robbery problem.

Dai Nam liet truyen chinh bien so tap volume 22 recorded: "Gia Dinh people had many vagrants, or some stayed at the door of the nobles, registered in the soldier's register, often sneaked back to the countryside to gather together to rob". Governor Le Van Duyet "clearly established prohibitions". Local people secretly reported news of robbers, local officials had to immediately arrest and punish them. Contemporary witness Gibson in 1823 saw with his own eyes in Gia Dinh Citadel "three or four thieves were executed every week". Le Van Duyet also allowed robbers to surrender, effectively redeeming their crimes. Thanks to that, "bandits gradually stopped, and the people were secure".

Enticing bandits to surrender and start a new life was one of Le Van Duyet's important policies. In 1819, while suppressing uprisings in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An , Le Van Duyet also called on more than 900 people to surrender, forming them into Thanh Thuan and An Thuan branches.

In 1820, when he was appointed as the Governor of Gia Dinh Citadel for the second time, Le Van Duyet also asked to bring this force along. In Gia Dinh, there were many prisoners recruited into the army to rebuild their lives. In addition to the Thanh Thuan and An Thuan units, there were also the Hoi Luong and Bac Thuan teams. They still had a wild and daring temperament, so the people also called the Bac Thuan army "Bac Nghich army". Many of them returned to normal civilian life.

After the Le Van Duyet case broke out, they responded to Le Van Khoi's call to rise up and kill Bach Xuan Nguyen to avenge Le Van Duyet. That event eventually caused a terrible tragedy for the people of the South. (to be continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tong-tran-quyen-luc-nhat-trong-lich-su-nha-nguyen-185251027233047685.htm