Which one is more powerful, Li Weiguan or He Shen?

Li Wei and He Shen, one was an important minister in the Yongzheng Dynasty, and the other was a favorite minister in the Qianlong Dynasty. The origins are also different. Li Wei comes from a wealthy Han family, while He Shen comes from a poor family in Zhenghongqi. So who of the two has the higher official position?

Don’t worry, let’s take a brief look at their official careers.

In 1717, the Li family used money to help Li Wei buy the official position of Yuanwailang. This is a fifth-grade idle position with little real power. Now, he would be equivalent to deputy director. Not long after he bought it, he was appointed as a member of the Ministry of War.

Two years later, he was promoted to the rank of doctor in the household department. This is a full-time position, equivalent to the current director.

Kangxi died, Yongzheng came to power, and began to promote and reuse Han officials. Li Wei was a smart man, so he naturally fell into the eyes of Yongzheng, and was immediately sent to Zhili Post to preach. Unexpectedly, before Li Wei had finished cleaning up his affairs and took office, he was notified that he would be promoted to the fourth grade of Yunnan Salt Post. (Department level)

In this position, Li Weiqian had outstanding political achievements, and Yongzheng promoted him to the second rank of Yunnan Chief Envoy on the spot. (Equivalent to provincial governor)

Just after a year of being governor, Yongzheng mentioned him again and transferred him to the top position or governor of Zhejiang. (Equivalent to the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee)

Another year later, in 1726, Li Wei was discovered to be a capable person by his superiors, so he concurrently served as the salt envoy to the two Zhejiang provinces, and was instructed to crack down on private salt dealers and tax evasion. Tax evasion and other political messes.

Just one year later, Li Wei's political achievements were gratifying, and he was appreciated by his superiors and promoted to the second-rank governor of Zhejiang (deputy state level). To become a feudal official in a region is like smoke rising from the ancestral graves.

Another two years later (1729), Yongzheng found him particularly pleasing to the eye and placed him in the high position of Minister of the Ministry of War. (Reduced from the rank of Zhengguo)

In 1732, he served as governor of Zhili and acted as minister of the Ministry of punishment. The latter governor, who is also in charge of river water conservancy in Zhili, will only increase the workload and power. There are no more promotions in official positions and grades. Use the picture below to review his career as a rocket riser over the past ten years:

He Shen's life experience was somewhat tragic. His mother passed away when he was 3 years old, and his father also died when he was 9 years old. Fortunately, he was a smart boy and was admitted to the Xian'an Palace Academy based on his status as a bannerman.

Because he was born as a bannerman, he inherited the title of Manchu nobleman with the degree of scholar, and became the third-rank Qingche Captain. In 1772, he was awarded the actual position of a third-class bodyguard and allowed to work in the Qing Dynasty's secret service, Blood Drops.