In the year of the brocade night supper, the Qing Dynasty passed away a slave?
——Li Wei: Yongzheng's last virtuous minister, the "mediocre slave" in Qianlong's eyes
The comedy of power is always elicited by the tragedy of the hero. When Yongzheng, the wise monarch, died suddenly, the power map of the Qing Dynasty also changed. His most trusted favorite Li Wei, who used to be the ruler of the court, is now regarded as a "mediocre slave" and ends up in a disgraced end.
is the so-called "son of a thousand kings, the teacher of ten thousand kings", once a son of heaven and a courtier. Li Wei from Qianlong's perspective is destined to be only in the past tense. When the new king, new policy, new people, and new atmosphere obscured the afterglow of the old era, what should Li Wei, a favorite minister of Yongzheng, do? In the end, he was not only belittled by Qianlong, but even the temple erected for him by the people could not escape the fate of being demolished.
Now, when we look back at the story of the change of power in the Qing Dynasty, we can't help but ask: Is Li Wei a virtuous minister who conforms to the times, or is he a mediocre slave who only knows the emperor's favor and does evil? Understanding his experience may restore a long-sealed historical fact of the Qing Dynasty.
Buying officials enlightened out of the mud without staining
Li Weineng was born in a family of squires, and he was born with a golden spoon. And the reason why he can make a difference in his career is more due to his generous family funding.
According to historical records, Li Weihuai was not met when he was young, and he was extremely bored with the writing of the eight strands of literature on the imperial examination field. Fortunately, the family was rich and powerful, so his father took out a lot of money to "buy" the fictitious title of an idle five-grade foreigner. In ancient times, the policy of "trading power for money" was opened up to satisfy the vanity of some rich people's children.
As the only son of a powerful and wealthy family, Li Weida can return with this idle job and live a worry-free life. But he didn't stop there, but took this idle position as a stepping stone to his career. With his extraordinary wisdom and keen eye, he has performed well in various positions, and has been promoted from a fictitious position to a real position in just a few years.
Later, Li Wei was reused by Kangxi as the military department by virtue of his military merits, and gradually walked to the peak of his life. After Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, he favored this capable minister even more, and was successively promoted to important positions such as Yunnan Yanyidao, the secretary of the criminal department, and the governor of Zhili, and the power leaned towards the government and the opposition.
From buying an official to becoming a wealthy man and later becoming famous, is it not that he will eventually be able to remain unstained in the mud? The reason why Li Wei was able to complete such a career in a short period of time was due to his family background and his outstanding personal ability. It is difficult to achieve a position that impresses the government and the opposition just by having money to buy officials, and it still needs a certain amount of wisdom and cultivation.
From this point of view, Li Wei is not a mediocre slave who is obsessed with favor, he has excellent political skills and outstanding military talents, so he will be valued by Yongzheng. What's even more commendable is that although he was born in a merchant family, he also knows that he is honest and honest, and does not restrain his thoughts for his family background.
Loyalty and wisdom are worthy of their ability to be promoted exceptionally
Li Wei was able to win Yongzheng's love, in addition to his outstanding talent, but also because he was loyal and insightful. For example, during his tenure as the Yunnan Salt Post Road, he drastically rectified corruption, even the most powerful Ortai family at that time.
This kind of detachment from the powerful and leading by example deeply moved Emperor Yongzheng. After all, in that era of strict hierarchy, it was rare to be able to enforce the law impartially against the relatives of the superiors. Li Wei not only did it, but also banned a large number of corrupt elements, and his contribution was indispensable.
Yongzheng naturally valued Li Wei's courage and loyalty, courage and fearlessness, so he was promoted several times in succession. For example, when he served as the secretary of the Criminal Department, he concurrently served as the governor of Zhili, one of the nine governors of the Qing Dynasty.
It stands to reason that how could a man who had just started as a junior official as a foreigner monopolize the military power and the power of punishment? But Li Wei did it, and when he was the governor of Zhili, he performed brilliantly and displayed extraordinary political achievements. Therefore, Yongzheng made an exception to promote Li Wei, which not only did not cause dazzle in the government and the opposition, but won a round of applause.
It can be seen that Li Wei's favor is not only based on Yongzheng's selfishness, but also on his own ability and political achievements. The image of a virtuous minister who is deeply favored by the monarch, but sincerely serves the country and the people, has gradually condensed over the years.
In the late festival of cutting the feudal domain, the fall of the favored ministers is not only a slave
However, once a son of heaven and a courtier, Li Wei was still destined to fall when Qianlong was in power. The reason for this is none other than Qianlong's suspicion of the heir, as well as his hatred of Li Wei's humble background, arrogance and obscenity.
According to historical records, as soon as Qianlong succeeded to the throne, he dealt a fierce blow to Li Wei. Just because Li Wei chatted with the eunuchs for a few words, Qianlong was charged with "colluding with the eunuchs". It seems that Li Wei's experience of being favored has aroused the vigilance of the young newcomer. In order to demonstrate his authority, Qianlong naturally took precautions against this Yongzheng relic.
As for Li Wei, who was born in a merchant family, Qianlong also has deep-rooted prejudices. He believed that Li Wei could only be so arrogant "by virtue of the royal favor," and how could such a mediocre slave be entrusted with his orders? Although these words seem to be a little biased, they are not unreasonable.
After all, Li Wei at that time was becoming more and more extravagant and corrupt, and he had long since lost the incorruptible style of the Yongzheng Dynasty. Although Qianlong inherited the throne, his ruling philosophy was significantly different from that of Yongzheng Judgment, and he attached more importance to the dignity of the scholars and opposed the nobles. However, once a son of heaven and a courtier, Li Wei was still destined to fall when Qianlong was in power. The reason for this is none other than Qianlong's suspicion of the heir, as well as his hatred of Li Wei's humble background, arrogance and obscenity.
According to historical records, as soon as Qianlong succeeded to the throne, he dealt a fierce blow to Li Wei. Just because Li Wei chatted with the eunuchs for a few words, Qianlong was charged with "colluding with the eunuchs". It seems that Li Wei's experience of being favored has aroused the vigilance of the young newcomer. In order to demonstrate his authority, Qianlong naturally took precautions against this Yongzheng relic.
As for Li Wei, who was born in a merchant family, Qianlong also has deep-rooted prejudices. He believed that Li Wei could only be so arrogant "by virtue of the royal favor," and how could such a mediocre slave be entrusted with his orders? Although these words seem to be a little biased, they are not unreasonable.
After all, Li Wei at that time was becoming more and more extravagant and corrupt, and he had long since lost the incorruptible style of the Yongzheng Dynasty. Although Qianlong inherited the throne, his ruling philosophy was significantly different from that of Yongzheng, and he attached more importance to the morale of the scholars, and opposed the nobles who were contaminated with royal grace and became immortal. From this point of view, Li Wei is indeed to blame.
However, based on this alone, it seems difficult to completely negate Li Wei's political achievements and contributions in his early years. Qianlong was so harsh on him, largely because of the political imperatives of the new king's new policy, which required him to assert his authority and weaken the power of the old Yongzheng tribe in order to consolidate his dominance.
As Yongzheng's last widow and favorite minister, Li Wei naturally became the target of the attack. Despite this, Qianlong did not completely kill him at the beginning, but gave him the nickname "Minda", which can be regarded as giving Li Wei some respect from the perspective of benevolence.
It was only later, when Qianlong found out that the people had built a temple for Li Wei, he seemed to be unable to bear it anymore. As a new generation of monarchs, he could not tolerate such glory as the widow of Yongzheng. As a result, Qianlong ordered the temple to be demolished, accusing Li Wei of being "a mediocre slave who dared to build a temple under the pretext of his name".
As soon as these words came out, Li Wei's image was completely distorted into an opportunistic and glorious slave image. However, from a historical point of view, such invective is really unfair. Because in any case, after all, Li Wei is also a founding hero who has made great contributions, and his political achievements and contributions are real.
Of course, we cannot completely deny Qianlong's approach. Because as a new generation of monarchs, he has his own ruling philosophy and employment standards, which are naturally different from the Yongzheng Dynasty. The reason why Qianlong was so harsh was more out of the need to maintain his own ruling authority.
After all, if even the last widow of Yongzheng was not suppressed, it would be difficult for Qianlong to gain the support of the government and the opposition, which would affect his later national political reform. From this point of view, Qianlong's approach is also a helpless move.
Throughout the full text, it is not difficult for us to find that Li Wei's life can be called vicissitudes. From the initial purchase of officials to the later tilt of power towards the government and the opposition, and then to the final suppression by Qianlong, the twists and turns are embarrassing.
However, it is undeniable that Li Wei has made great contributions to the country and the people whether it was in the Yongzheng Dynasty or in the early years of Qianlong, and what is even more commendable is that he once maintained a clean and honest style. Even if he was corrupted later, his achievements and contributions are real.
Therefore, it is too biased to simply disparage it as a "mediocre slave". The reason why Qianlong is like this has his own political considerations, but this also reflects his persistent psychology as a new generation of monarchs who must demonstrate their authority.
However, in any case, Li Wei is not a slave who only knows how to do evil with the royal grace, he is more deeply involved in the power game and cannot extricate himself. This favored minister, who once enjoyed glory and wealth, finally went to a declining and depraved end, which is embarrassing. His life may be a microcosm of the Game of Thrones.