Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 1.pdf/493

 毅), who had been grain intendant of Yunnan in 1777–78. According to the Emperor, Hai-ning at first hesitated to incriminate Li, but when pressed dilated on Li's alleged malpractices. The emperor sent his favorite,, to conduct the trial in Yunnan—a trial which resulted, as was expected, in Li's conviction. Li was escorted to Peking, was deprived of all ranks, and sentenced to immediate death by a tribunal headed by Ho-shên. But the sentence was commuted by the Emperor to imprisonment awaiting execution. Li's earldom was given to his brother, Li Fêng-yao 李奉堯 (d. 1789, posthumous name 簡恪), then provincial commander-in-chief of Kiangnan. This was the first case in which Ho-shên, then rising in the Emperor's favor, tested his power to intimidate high provincial officials with a view to bringing them into submission. The case smacks of collusion, for Hai-ning, upon whose testimony Li was convicted, at first declined to give evidence against Li but laid stress on Li's ability as an administrator. Yet when subjected by imperial command to "severe questioning" (嚴詢), he finally testified that Li had accepted gifts from his subordinates and had sold them some pearls. It was not difficult for Ho-shên to prove the truth of these allegations since most officials of that day received—even demanded, as in the case of Ho-shên himself—gifts from subordinates. It is significant that Li's successor as governor-general of Yunnan and Kweichow was, nephew of the Emperor and a close friend of Ho-shên.

In 1781, after a year in prison, Li Shih-yao was released. He was given the rank of a third grade official and was sent to Lan-chou, Kansu, to take charge of the suppression of a Mohammedan rebellion (see under ). Soon he was appointed acting governor-general of Shensi and Kansu. The rebellion was put down in a few months and he remained at his post. In the same year he and A-kuei reported on the corrupt practices of some seventy officials in Kansu and their report resulted in the immediate execution of twenty-three of the accused and the confiscation of all their property. In 1782 Li's rank was raised to the first grade and he was given the title of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. But two years later, when remnants of the rebels of 1781 staged another uprising, he was discharged for failure to overpower them. Fu-k'ang-an, again Li's successor, accused him of negligence and failure to strike quickly. For the second time Li was tried and sentenced to death, but the sentence was again commuted to imprisonment awaiting execution. Apparently Fu-k'ang-an made the most of the charge in order to advance his own interests. Having now at his command a large force he moved against the Mohammedans and suppressed them. Consequently he was raised from a baron to a marquis. Ho-shên, for his part, was created a baron. Such honors would not have come to either of them had Li been successful in the first instance.

However, in 1785, after another year in prison, Li Shih-yao was released. Early in 1786 he acted, first as lieutenant-general of the Chinese Plain Yellow Banner, and then as president of the Board of Revenue. Late in the same year he was made governor-general of Hunan and Hupeh. Early in 1787, owing to a rebellion in the Island of Taiwan (see under ), he was transferred to Foochow to supply the troops under Ch'ang-ch'ing 常青 (d. 1793, posthumous name 恭簡) who were then fighting on the Island. In September 1787 Fu-k'ang-an was made commander-in-chief of this campaign also, and Ch'ang-ch'ing was ordered to withdraw his entire force to the mainland. If the order had been strictly carried out the rebels on the island might well have had time to consolidate. Aware that the wording of the decree was too sweeping, Li Shih-yao, in transmitting it, left out the reference to entire withdrawal; and thus gave Fu-k'ang-an an opportunity to win the campaign with ease, and achieve another raise in rank. No blame was imputed to Li Shih-yao for altering the decree. To him fell the task of transporting and supplying food-stuffs to some 100,000 men under the command of Fu-k'ang-an. Yet even these services did not save Li from an imperial reprimand for defending, a general who was falsely accused by Fu-k'ang-an. Early in 1788 Li had reported a number of Ch'ai's "crimes", but solely in order to avoid incriminating himself. After the war was won Li was given back his earldom and was numbered among the twenty men responsible for the victory in Taiwan. He died in November 1788 and was canonized as Kung-i 恭毅. His earldom was inherited by his son, Yü-hsiu 毓秀.

In 1795 it was charged that while Li Shih-yao was governor-general in Yunnan, he profited from the mint by decreasing the amount of copper in each coin. On this charge the earldom was taken from Li's son and given to his nephew, Yü-wên 毓文.

According to, Li Shih-yao was short of stature, energetic, clever, and had a good 481