Author|Night Rain Dream Creek
In 1735, Yongzheng died violently, and his favorite minister Li Wei was very worried about his situation and worried all day long. When Yongzheng came out of the funeral, Li Wei was even more afraid and cried and fainted in front of Yongzheng's coffin. However, after Qianlong ascended the throne, he not only made Li Wei an official knight, but also rewarded him with a lot of gold, silver and jewelry.
Li Wei has been an official in the court since the time of Emperor Kangxi, but after only five years, Kangxi Ye died.
In order to consolidate the throne, the newly enthroned Yongzheng urgently needs to cultivate his own power, and Li Wei is one of the candidates he likes.
Li Wei was born in 1687 in a wealthy family in Xuzhou, Jiangsu. Li Wei has been smart since he was a child, but he can't read books. When Li Wei was 30 years old, he spent money to buy a "foreigner" from Wupin.
Li Wei, who became an official, suddenly found his life stage, was comfortable in the officialdom, and soon became prosperous. In just two years, Li Wei was promoted to the fifth grade of Tobe Langzhong.
Before Yongzheng ascended the throne, he was in charge of the household department for a long time. Because of this, Li Wei was able to get acquainted with Yongzheng and became a member of the "Four Masters Party".
After Yongzheng ascended the throne, he was immediately promoted to Li Wei's official and asked him to serve as the Sipin Yunnan Salt Post Road to manage the local salt affairs.
Since ancient times, salt officials have been poor fat, so it is natural to breed malpractice and corruption. After Li Wei took office, he ruthlessly rectified the salt administration and cleaned up the corruption and perversion of the law in the officialdom, and soon made achievements.
Yongzheng, who has always advocated honesty and honesty, was very satisfied with Li Wei's performance and called him "the great weapon of the country" to his face. Since then, Yongzheng has continued to promote Li Wei.
In 1725, in the third year of his reign as emperor, Yongzheng promoted Li Wei to governor of Zhejiang, and soon appointed him governor of Zhejiang. Li Wei, who was only forty years old, became a feudal official, which is rare.
During his stay in Zhejiang, Li Wei did a lot of practical things, such as building a sea pond in Zhejiang and cleaning up thieves who were rampant among the people. These achievements not only benefited the local people, but also made Li Wei's weight in Yongzheng's heart more and more heavy.
In 1729, Yongzheng transferred Li Wei back to the capital, named him the secretary of the military department, and then appointed him as the secretary of the criminal department and the governor of Zhili.
When Li Wei served as the secretary of the Criminal Department, he dealt with Ortai's brother Infantry Commander Orqi. Ortai was the head of the Manchu officials in the Yongzheng period and Yongzheng's right-hand man. Li Wei even dared to move Ortai's brother, which shows how much Yongzheng supports him.
In 1735, Yongzheng died violently in the Old Summer Palace. Li Wei knows that he has offended many people, and now that he has no backer of Yongzheng, people who want to kill themselves will definitely rush up, and his good days will come to an end.
Li Wei was so terrified all day that he fainted from crying at Yongzheng's funeral.
However, to Li Wei's surprise, after Qianlong ascended the throne, he ignored the impeachment of Li Wei, but still entrusted him with important tasks, allowing him to continue to serve as the governor of Zhili and concurrently serve as the observer of Yingtian.
In addition, Qianlong also actively adopted Li Wei's advice. For example, Li Wei wrote a letter to impeach Prince Cheng's palace guard Cook for a dispute with the people of Anzhou over the silt pond, and Qianlong Cook praised Li Wei's impartial law enforcement while punishing the crime, and expressed his approval. In order to reward Li Wei, Qianlong specially gave the four regiments of dragon supplements (the official uniforms embroidered with the pattern of the four regiments of dragons, and only five Hanchen in the entire Qing Dynasty were rewarded by the emperor to wear them).
In 1738, at the age of 50, Li Wei became seriously ill. Qianlong personally inquired and sent the imperial doctor to Li Wei's mansion to prescribe a prescription for his treatment, but unfortunately Li Wei's life had arrived, and he died after all.
After Li Wei's death, Qianlong not only wrote a memorial letter, but also ordered Li Wei to be buried according to the etiquette of the governor. In addition, Qianlong also personally chose the nickname "Minda" for Li Wei.
Li Wei went through the three dynasties of Kang, Yongqian, and received supreme glory before and after his death. However, Li Wei didn't know until he died, and his seemingly perfect ending was only because he died at the right time.
At that time, Qianlong had just ascended the throne, so he naturally did not dare to slack off on them, and at the same time, he was also afraid of Li Wei's prestige in the local area. Therefore, it can be said that Qianlong's preferential treatment of Li Wei was a last resort.
In the forty-second year of Qianlong, when Qianlong passed through the West Lake in Hangzhou, he saw the statue of Li Weili of the local people. The furious Qianlong not only ordered the toppling of Li Wei's idol, but also said on the spot that Li Wei was "willful and arrogant, and he was not a just and pure minister at first".
Li Wei's life can be said to be very legendary. He does not have a high level of education, but he is a natural official. In more than ten years, he has gone from a small official to a first-class member, and has won the favor of Yongzheng. What is even more commendable is that Li Wei is not greedy or occupied, dares to fight corruption, and has the courage to do practical things for the people, which is why Yongzheng vigorously uses him.
Although many years after Li Wei's death, he was suppressed by Qianlong, and it is embarrassing to destroy the statue. But Li Wei's position in the hearts of the people will never change, and his exploits are enough to last forever.