One day in the fifth year of Ming Zhengde, in 1510, the city of Beijing was crowded and noisy, and thousands of ordinary people gathered at the execution ground to watch the "execution process" of a prisoner by the imperial court. The criminal was tied to a pillar, and the executioner held a sharp knife and gently slashed at his body, and the terrible screams contrasted with the clapping and applause of the common people.
This person was Liu Jin, a famous eunuch in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and his punishment was the famous Execution of Ling Chi. Liu Jin entered the palace as a eunuch at the age of 6, and after Emperor Wuzong of Ming ascended the throne, he and 7 other eunuchs were favored and formed the "Eight Tigers" who were once powerful. Liu Jin had an idol named Wang Zhen, who was Zhu Qizhen's confidant eunuch, and he hoped that he could also be as powerful as Wang Zhen and become a person who influenced the emperor's will.
Emperor Mingwu Zhu Houzhao was a very brave man, he was very interested in birds and beasts, and liked to play with some bows and arrows, swords and other things full of hostility. Liu Jin threw himself into his favor and was often able to find zhu Houzhao's favorite "toys", and soon became the emperor's most trusted person. Like many Ming dynasty eunuchs, Liu Jin was in charge of the ceremonial superintendent during the reign of Emperor Wuzong, and at the same time supervised the jingshi regimental camp, which can be said to have both political power and military power.
Because Emperor Mingwu hid in the "leopard room" all day long and did not ask about political affairs, the imperial court was actually in the hands of Liu Jin, and the ministers at that time called him "the emperor of li", which means that there was no emperor sitting on the dragon chair. Liu Jin used his power to kill innocents indiscriminately, as long as there were ministers who dared to oppose him, there was a violent beating, and as for the wanton expropriation and plundering of people's wealth, it was a daily operation. Interestingly, Liu Jin did too many bad things to cause dissatisfaction among the members of the "Eight Tigers", and one of the eunuchs named Zhang Yong joined forces with the chancellor Yang Yiqing to plot to overthrow Liu Jin.
It happened that King Anhua rebelled against the imperial court, and the Mingwu Sect sent Yang Yiqing and Zhang Yong to lead troops to quell the rebellion, and after the two returned to the dynasty after victory, Zhang Yong took advantage of the opportunity of the war report to expose Liu Jin's 17 crimes to the emperor. Ming Wuzong did not believe it at first, but under the constant encouragement of the people around him, he personally took people to raid Liu Jin's home. At Liu Jin's home, Emperor Mingwuzong saw valuable treasures such as gold and silver, pearls and jade, calligraphy and paintings, but he never spoke, he still wanted to save Liu Jin.
Just when Emperor Mingwuzong was silent, someone searched for the fan that Liu Jin often carried with him, and found that there were two daggers hidden in them, and the young emperor was furious, and he began to believe the claims of Zhang Yong and others, believing that Liu Jin had rebellious thoughts. Therefore, Emperor Wuzong of Ming ordered Liu Jinling to be executed and abolished all the policies he had formulated, which led to the scene at the beginning of this article.
The process by which Liu Jin accepted Ling Chi's execution is recorded in great detail in the history books, and Emperor Wuzong of Ming ordered him to be executed for 3 days. Therefore, on the first day of execution, the executioner began to move the knife from Liu Jin's chest and abdomen, cutting a total of 357 knives and removing the nails of the thumb. That night, Liu Jin was taken to prison, where he felt hungry and ate two bowls of porridge. The next day, Liu Jin continued to accept Ling Chi's punishment, but the sun had just risen, and the executioner only cut dozens of knives, and he was already dead. After the execution, the beheading officer reported to the imperial court, and Emperor Wuzong of Ming ordered that Liu Jin's body be filed, and many people who had been bullied by Liu Jin rushed to take a piece of meat and go back to pay tribute to their relatives.
According to the regulations at that time, Ling Chi's execution required cutting 3357 knives, but almost no one could reach this number, and someone like Liu Jin who could endure hundreds of knives was already rare. After Liu Jin's death, the executioner did not stop in order to complete the task, and finally this powerful eunuch was cut 3357 knives, which was why the common people competed for meat. Throughout the Ming Dynasty, there were many people who accepted Ling Chi's execution, among the more famous ones were Fang Xiaoru, Yuan Chonghuan, and the grand eunuch Liu Jin.