Ling Chi, commonly known as a thousand knives, is the most cruel punishment in ancient China. According to records, the prisoner was tied to a stake during the execution, and then a professional executioner used a knife to remove the flesh of the prisoner piece by piece, up to a maximum of 3600 knives. In this process, the prisoner does not die immediately, but is tortured until the last stab results in his life. Even a man of iron could not bear such a punishment, but there was one person who was an exception!
When the criminal was executed by Ling Chi, he neither shouted in pain nor struggled, but calmly accepted the punishment of flesh cutting like no one else. The execution lasted about three days, and the executioner cut him with thousands of knives, but he never said a word. It wasn't until the last stab that he roared, as if to declare to the world: Eighteen years later, I am a good man again!
So who is this criminal who is arguably the strongest criminal in the Qing Dynasty? This person's name is Ma Bao, and he is from Longde, Ningxia. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Ma Bao joined Li Zicheng's rebel army, and because of his bravery and good fighting, he was soon promoted to deputy battalion commander of the old battalion. Later, with the death of Li Zicheng in battle, the remnants of the rebel army defected to the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty, and Ma Bao was made an AndingBo by the Yongli Emperor and later the Duke of Huai by Jin. However, the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty was shaken and eventually collapsed.
Ma Bao had to lead the rest to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. Wu Sangui saw that Ma Baoxiao was brave and good at war, and he liked it very much, so he recruited him and included him under his command, and crowned Ma Bao as "the right governor and the chief officer of the central battalion". After that, Ma Bao was loyal to Wu Sangui and made many military achievements for him in the four directions. In November of the twelfth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Wu Sangui rebelled, and he made Ma Bao the Duke of Baoguo and the General of the Iron Horse, and led his army as a precursor to attack Guizhou and Hunan.
Ma Bao did not live up to Wu Sangui's expectations, and the soldiers took down Guizhou without bloodshed, and then quickly swept away the entire territory of Hunan with lightning speed, and the troops reached the Yangtze River. It is no exaggeration to say that Ma Bao is the first fierce general under Wu Sangui, and without Ma Bao, it is difficult for Wu Sangui to achieve such a big advantage in the early stage. The Qing Dynasty also knew the importance of Ma Bao, and the Kangxi Emperor repeatedly surrendered Ma Bao, but all of them were refused, and even the emissaries were killed.
However, Wu Sangui fantasized about ruling the river with the Qing Dynasty, and as a result, he missed the fighter, and the Qing Dynasty mobilized a large army to confront Wu Sangui. After several years of war, the Qing Dynasty gradually grasped the initiative, and although Ma Bao fought bravely, it was difficult to reverse the situation on the entire battlefield. In 1678, Wu Sangui fell ill and died in the army, and the people supported Wu Shipan as emperor. Ma Bao was given the title of Young Fu and Crown Prince Taifu and Hung the Great General Seal.
After Wu Sangui's death, the rebels were defeated, and the Qing army soon recaptured Hunan, Guizhou and other places, and the soldiers pointed to Yunnan. In 1681, when the Qing army besieged Kunming, Ma Bao wanted to lead his army back to reinforcements, but his army was soon scattered. However, the Kangxi Emperor also wanted to surrender him, "repentance and sincerity, pardon the sins of Er's previous resistance, and still discuss the narrative of merit", Ma Bao still did not agree. After that, the Qing army launched an attack and pursued to Mount Ebony, and Ma Bao's entire army was destroyed, and he fled to Yao'an Mountain with only his life spared.
At this time, there were only more than a hundred people left around Ma Bao, and there was no longer any combat effectiveness to speak of, so he went to Yao'an Province to surrender. Hearing that Ma Bao surrendered, the Qing Generals attached great importance to it, and in order to show respect, Admiral Sanger even went out of the city to greet him. Soon after, the Kangxi Emperor issued a decree to take Ma Bao to the capital. Finally, the Kangxi Emperor again issued a decree to put Ma Baoling to death. During the execution, Ma Bao did not utter a word, and everyone present was shocked!
References: 1. Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, 2. Biography of the History of the Qing Dynasty, 3. Records of the Court