Preface
In the complicated struggle of the history of the Qing Dynasty, a story of fake identity and the killing of ministers behind it is like a suspenseful plot, which affects the nerves of the government and the opposition. This is not a simple conspiracy, but an existential political vortex.
The protagonist Li Wei, playing the role of a messenger, killed the minister of Sanpin in front of Emperor Kangxi. Why did Emperor Kangxi choose to take the blame for this exciting and confusing incident? What kind of conspiracy and interest game are involved behind it?
A chance encounter opened the door to Li Wei's life
Li Wei, the son of an ordinary wealthy businessman, did not like to study and did not have any official position. However, a chance encounter changed the course of his life.
That year, Kangxi was forty-six years old, Li Wei was in his early twenties, handsome and chic, and his personality was warm and generous. Once, he traveled to the capital and rescued a woman named Yue Siying. This woman turned out to be the daughter of the imperial history of the dynasty, she went to Beijing to complain, to expose the prince's corruption crimes, but was targeted by the prince's cronies, and her fate was unexpected.
Li Wei bravely rescued him, which made Yue Siying grateful. The two quickly became familiar with each other and fell in love with each other. Yue Siying thought that Li Wei had no fame, so she decided to repay him for saving his life, so she told her father that she wanted to seek an official position for Li Wei.
When he really got the post of county magistrate, Li Wei was ecstatic. It turns out that an ordinary person can also become an official, the people, this is something he never dreamed of!
The first big case: pretending to be a chincha to kill eight ministers
Because of Yue Siying's relationship, the newly appointed Li Wei County Commander received Kangxi's permission to meet the emperor directly. However, when he met the holy driver for the first time, Li Wei sat on the ground and laughed with Kangxi because he didn't know the etiquette of the court. Fortunately, Kangxi has a generous personality and does not care.
It turned out that Kangxi summoned Li Weixian Ling this time to ask him why he pretended to be a Qincha and killed eight third-grade ministers. This incident caused quite a stir in the court, and many people wondered why the emperor did not investigate the responsibility of this county order.
Li Wei explained the original situation. It turned out that when there was a big flood in the south of the Yangtze River, he disguised himself and mixed into the disaster relief team, and saw with his own eyes those corrupt officials and corrupt officials who were sitting on the fat and ointment of the people in the disaster area, and the people were supporting the troubled waters. Li Wei was indignant, and with the help of Kangxi's fingers, in the name of the minister, he beheaded eight lawless corrupt officials. Although Kangxi was blamed after hearing this, he also understood Li Wei's intentions, decided not to pursue it, and praised his conduct.
The opportunity to go to Shanxi for disaster relief
After that, Li Wei appreciated a virtuous minister named Tian Wenjing who was diligent in serving the people and turning the tide. Tian Wenjing wrote to the imperial court and recommended Li Wei as a rare Qing official today. This attracted the attention of Zhu Shi, the imperial historian of the central government, and he decided to take Li Wei to Shanxi for disaster relief.
That year, Shanxi experienced a major drought that had not been seen in a century. Li Wei was moved to see the tragic situation of the people in the disaster area. He traveled day and night, taking the initiative to raise food for the victims of the disaster, saving the lives of 100,000 people. Zhu Shi saw it in his eyes and felt that Li Wei was really rare.
After returning to the dynasty, Zhu Shi made a statement to Kangxi and spoke highly of Li Wei's character and ability. At this time, Prince Yong was also in the prime of life, and he was approved by Kangxi as an assistant. He also appreciates upright people like Li Wei. Under some mediation, Li Wei was finally able to fill a real power official position, which is not easy as an ordinary person with no meritorious background.
Continue to pretend to be Chin Cha and cut corruption
After taking office, Li Wei did not rise because of his official position. He was still determined to punish corruption, and on several occasions he pretended to be an envoy of the imperial court and colluded with local officials to arrest corrupt officials and corrupt officials. Once, he set his sights on a huge greedy man named Cheng Yishan, who was very cunning and actually took out a weapon and threatened to burn all the evidence when Li Wei brought someone to arrest him.
Li Wei was not afraid of power, and decisively asked his subordinates to correct the law on the spot. After dealing with other corrupt officials who tried to collude confessions, Li Wei cleaned them up one by one, and killed them all without exception.
This act undoubtedly made the government and the opposition look sideways. How could Li Wei, a nobody, have the ability to mobilize officers and men without authorization to arrest and suppress rebellions? If it were not for the support of someone, this would simply be an unprecedented case!
The second face to clarify right and wrong
The news soon reached Kangxi's ears. The emperor summoned Li Wei again to ask for clarification. Li Wei replied confidently
Only then did Kangxi realize that those who do evil in society are not only royal fights, but also countless dark corners like Li Wei encountered. Perhaps, to make the world peaceful, it is far from enough to rely on the imperial court. Li Wei withdrew from the palace ban, and this time, he finally did not invite a catastrophe.
The governor of Zhejiang, who died and went down in history
Li Wei, who left the palace, continued his great cause of cutting corruption. After successfully repelling the corrupt forces many times, he was finally promoted to the governor of Zhejiang through the recommendation of Zhu Shi and Prince Yong.
The position of governor has a lot of power and responsibility, and most of them are among the princes. It is rare for Li Wei, who has fought his way out of the encirclement of ordinary people, to get this official position.
During his tenure as governor of Zhejiang, Li Wei gave full play to the experience he had accumulated over the years in punishing corruption. He eliminated the core chain of corrupt officials' interests in Zhejiang in accordance with the law, and made the people's lives significantly better, and the support rate was extremely high.
In this way, from an ordinary person, to a county magistrate, to a governor, Li Wei used his upright personality to light a beacon of punishment for corruption in the last years of the Qing Dynasty. Although he eventually died of illness, his spirit of defying power and daring to cut corruption has been deeply engraved in the people. Whenever Li Wei's name is mentioned, people will sincerely praise: He died and went down in history!
epilogue
The reason why Li Wei was able to obtain Kangxi's favor was that he had the people in his heart, dared to punish evil and promote good, and was a rare clean official at that time. If it weren't for people like him standing up and punishing corruption with their own strength, the Qing society would probably fall deeper and deeper into corruption.
So the significance of Li Wei is not just his personal anecdote. But in a society where feudal autocracy attaches great importance to hierarchy, he represents the bottom line of justice in human nature. This spirit has left a valuable spiritual wealth for future generations, and also reminds us that in any era, uprightness and adherence to the truth are the foundation of steady and far-reaching action.
During the Kangxi period, the management of officials was relatively relaxed. Emperor Kangxi attached great importance to the political achievements of civil officials, and he was relatively tolerant of some private mistakes or minor corruption. To a certain extent, this attitude affected the atmosphere of Qing officialdom, making some officials feel that even if they made mistakes, they would not suffer much punishment.
The lessons of history also teach us that reform requires a systematic, comprehensive approach rather than relying on one or two single policies.