Why was the young man who hacked the famous general Seng Gelinqin to death with one knife killed by a thousand knifes?

In the late Qing Dynasty, the most famous Eight Banners general was none other than Seng Gelinqin, who was regarded as the last star of the Eight Banners army. This man fought very bravely but was foolhardy. Judging from the record, it is really embarrassing. During the Second Opium War, the British and French forces approached Beijing, and Seng Gelinqin led the Eight Banners Army ten times the enemy to fight. In the end, they returned with a great defeat and the entire army was wiped out. The British and French forces fought as far as Beijing. Emperor Xianfeng ran to Chengde, where he died of illness.

However, although this man was not good at external wars, he was very cruel at home, especially in suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This famous general was also called General Lingchi the Butcher. Treat the Taiping Army extremely harshly. Those who were captured by the Taiping Army were basically executed by the Taiping Army. In most cases, the Taiping Army prisoners were collectively tortured and massacred. After conquering Tianjing, Anqing, and Wuchang, he led his troops to loot and massacre cities. It can be said that he has the face of an executioner. In this way, the Qing court regarded him as a pillar of the country, a famous general in the world, and named him a prince.

However, this so-called most powerful warrior and famous general in the late Qing Dynasty died in the hands of a 16-year-old boy. In 1865, after the Qing Dynasty destroyed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it continued to encircle and suppress the remaining forces, the Nien Army Zhang Zongyu's tribe. Zhang Zongyu, on the other hand, was brave and resourceful. He lured the enemy deeper and attracted Seng Gelinqin to chase him for 15 days without being able to dismount. Finally, an ambush was set up in Caozhou, Shandong, and Seng Gelinqin fell into the trap. After being defeated, he led the remaining soldiers to flee to the Wujiadian area, where he fell off his horse and fell into a wheat field because of his injuries.

At this time, a young hero appeared. This 16-year-old boy was named Zhang Pili, a native of Guoyang, Anhui, and had followed the Taiping Army since he was a child. At that time, he was ordered to search for Seng Gelinqin. The young man suddenly saw a man in a yellow jacket lying on the ground in the wheat field. Without saying a word, Zhang Pizhu stabbed Seng Gelinqin to death, then took off his clothes and went back to claim credit.

The news of Seng Gelinqin's death in battle reached Beijing, and the Qing court was shocked. Everyone was saddened by the loss of the country's pillar. Moreover, Emperor Tongzhi and Empress Dowager Cixi mourned in person, allowing him to enjoy the imperial ancestral temple. At the same time, the murderer must be caught and punished severely. It turned out that Zhang Pizhu had abandoned the army and returned to his hometown. He used the reward money to buy fields and land, opened a grain store, changed his name and surname, and lived a good life. But as the saying goes, if you don’t seek death, you won’t die!

In 1873, Zhang Pitu drank too much and boasted to the people around him about his feat of killing Seng Gelinqin with a knife at the age of 16.

Unexpectedly, he was reported, and Zhang Pizhu was caught and executed in Jinan, Shandong Province, with more than 1,000 cuts. He was only 24 years old at the time. It was very tragic!