Định demonstrated his awareness of the illegality of his insurgency and the southerners' obligation to obey their emperor. Định nevertheless refused to abandon his supporters, vowing to disobey royal orders: Vietnamese records show that when Định disobeyed the court's orders, he was stripped of his position and titles: "Trương Định has refused to return to the exercise of his office, and he is accordingly removed from that function with loss of honorific titles." Nguyen Thong, a former mandarin who fought alongside Định and corresponded with many other guerrilla leaders, agreed with the court records. According to Thong, Định's continued resistance resulted from local initiatives contrary to Huế's explicit instructions. Định's supporters implored him to disobey the edicts of 1862 that directed the partisans to end hostilities: "Our people forced the Westerners to retreat many times, and now that the court has made peace with them, they will surely kill us.... Since the court has settled with them, who will support us? Let us unite to strike back at them, to take for ourselves a piece of land on which we can fight for our lives." According to Thong's account, Định agreed with these arguments and began to organise the resources required for his unapproved anti-French movement. Although he was fully aware of his imperial defiance, Định sent an appeal "to all the righteous men, encouraging them in the name of loyalty to the court to rise and destroy the invaders". Thong asserted that the imperial edicts used by Định—which were cited by French officers for subsequent aggression—were fake. Định had falsified them to make propaganda in order to rally popular support. According to Mark McLeod, it is unclear whether hawkish mandarins in the imperial court were assisting Định's southern insurgents in contravention of Tự Đức's wishes. Truong Buu Lam opined that "if some partisans received assistance from the Vietnamese authorities, it was extended to them by local officials who acted independently". Debate on Disrespect of the mandate of heaven In light of Định's disobedience of Tự Đức, his justification for his defiance is discussed against the backdrop of the Confucian expectation for him to defer to the emperor's "Mandate of Heaven". As Định left no explicit or definitive statement for his rationale for disobeying Tự Đức, scholars who have recognised or suspected Định's disobedience have been forced to speculate. Lam assumes Định's disobedience and explains it by asserting that the