In ancient China, exile was a severe punishment, and those who were exiled often faced danger to their lives. During the Tang Dynasty, Lingnan was regarded as an important destination for exiles, and during the Qing Dynasty, the punishment of exile was even harsher, and Ningguta became a habitat for exiles.
On the way, the prisoner died due to serious illness and a bumpy journey, and even when he arrived at the place of exile, he was sneered and ridiculed by the locals. However, the officer in charge of escorting the prisoners rejoiced that he could be paid handsomely for this errand.
If the prisoner has money, the servant may alleviate his ordeal or even give him extra care. As a result, escorting exiles became a good task for officials to compete for. Because of their particularity, female prisoners have become the most popular escort objects.
Since ancient times, it has been common for ** to be degraded. "Shangshu Justice: Shundian" records such an incident: exile Gonggong to Youzhou, expelled Ludou from Chongshan, exiled Sanmiao to Sanwei, and killed Kun in Yushan, these four people committed crimes, but the people of the world were still convinced.
Gonggong, Donkey, Sanmiao and Kun were all guilty or wrong at that time"exile, release, channeling, and death"It's the way to belittle them. Exile is a kind of punishment in ancient China, which is listed as the five punishments of the feudal system along with flogging, rod, imprisonment and death.
Shangshu Justice" said"Streams"It refers to putting the offender far away in order to forgive their sins.
Although exiled prisoners are often seen as a symbol of forgiveness, in reality, it is also a strong punishment of the death penalty. In the Records of the Five Emperors, the Four Fierce Clans were exiled to the Four Descendants for serious crimes, far away from the Central Plains, to ward off the demons and demons.
Thus, exile is both a means of forgiveness and a severe punishment of the death penalty. Exile has a long history, and many similar punishments have since been derived, such as migration, conscription and deportation, which can be used independently, but are not the main punishment, so they are called intercalary punishments.
In the Tang Dynasty, with the maturity and improvement of the official system, the exile system of ** was also improved. Tang Law divided exile into different types, such as ordinary streams, special streams, five streams, and long streams.
In ancient China, exile was a common form of punishment, in which "Changliu" refers to the exile of criminals to places far away from the capital, such as 2,000 li, 2,500 li, 3,000 li, etc.
On the other hand, "special exile" refers to a person who should not have been sentenced to exile in the first place, but has been deliberately exiled for some special reason. On the other hand, the "long stream" was a form of exile that gradually became fixed after Gojong, and the convicts sentenced to a long stream would be exiled to distant places indefinitely, and could not return even if they were pardoned.
During the 220 years of the Tang Dynasty, except for Emperor Yan and Shunzong, every emperor was exiled or demoted to Lingnan during his reign. In the Gaozu Dynasty, no more than 20 people were exiled, except for Cheng Zhijie, the most serious one who was exiled was exiled to Jiannan.
In the seventh year of Wude, because of the implication and rebellion, Wang Jue, Wei Ting and Du Yan and other imperial ministers were punished by Gaozu and exiled to Jiannan Prefecture. In order to show the severity of the punishment, the Tang Dynasty used Chaozhou, Xunzhou, Guizhou and other areas in the east and north of Lingnan to accommodate those who committed crimes or committed less serious mistakes**, making these areas more degraded officials than liuguan.
The political treatment of Lingnan officials is usually very bad, and they lose their status as ** and become civilians who are guilty of crimes. Although he was exempted from labor, he was completely deprived of his personal freedom in the penal colony and was treated as a criminal.
Moreover, many rogues were also subjected to humiliation and abuse by local ** or barbarian leaders, and their basic life safety could not be guaranteed. For example, in the first year of Empress Wu's Guangzhai, Zhongzong's father was exiled to Qinzhou because Zhongzong was deposed as the king of Luling, and died there.
After Wei Xuanzhen's death, Ning Chengji, the barbarian leader of Qinzhou, persecuted Wei Xuanzhen's daughter, and was rejected by Wei Xuanzhen's wife, Cui. Ning Chengji then went on a rampage with the Wei family, and only two daughters fled back to Chang'an.
After Dezong Zhenyuan, the Liuguan in Lingnan faced increasingly severe economic difficulties, even to the point that they could not return to their hometowns even if they were pardoned. According to the "Old Tang Book: The Biography of Lu Jun", since Zhenyuan, the ** and his descendants who were exiled to Lingnan for crimes could not return even if they were pardoned due to the hardship of life.
Lu Jun was the envoy of Lingnan during the Wenzong period, and his experience fully illustrates that after being exiled to Lingnan, ** and their descendants will face a life of extreme poverty, and even if they are fortunate enough to be pardoned, they will not have enough funds and travel expenses to return to their hometowns.
Therefore, the suffering of exile as a punishment is unimaginable. From the Sui and Tang dynasties to the Ming Dynasty, the period of the development of exile in China was the period of the Sui Dynasty, which established the feudal five-punishment system, and exile as one of the five punishments, was used by successive dynasties to the Ming Dynasty.
The exile of the Qing Dynasty was reformed on the basis of inheriting the exile of the Ming Dynasty, and new punishments were added and widely used. In the process of execution, other punishments and substitute punishments were also attached, forming the exile system of the Qing Dynasty.
In the Qing Dynasty, the exile was the most bitter and the worst of the five punishments. The "Great Qing Huidian" stipulates that "the exile will not return for life", and it is impossible to determine the end time of the sentence. As a heavy punishment, exile brings mental and physical pain to prisoners, and achieves a punitive and deterrent effect.
In the early years of Shunzhi, the Qing army entered the customs, the labor force in the northeast decreased, and the economy was difficult to develop.
Due to the harsh natural environment of the Northeast and the fact that it is regarded as a wild place, there are very few people who are willing to go. As a result, the ruler put a large number of criminals and ** who threatened to rule to the northeast.
The places of exile included Ningguta, Shengjing, Xibei and other places, and most of them were official criminals, literati and regime rebels. Not only did these prisoners have no property, but they also had to be exiled to the Northeast with their parents, brothers, and wives.
The exile was brutal and the trial procedures were rigorous. During the Qing Dynasty, exile cases in various provinces were to be carried out in accordance with the system of trial and transfer by level, reported at various levels, and finally the competent authorities made a judgment.
After the review is completed, the prisoner will be remanded back to the prefecture and county for the first trial to await the final trial result. After receiving the reply from the governor or the criminal department, the prefecture or county shall send away the prisoner sentenced to repatriation, military or exile within the prescribed time, and at the same time prepare an official document to inform and inquire about the governor of the province where it should be issued, and the governor shall decide on the specific place of exile.
The criminals were forced to move from place to place, and long journeys became the norm for them. In the third year of Yongzheng, in order to ensure the impartiality of the offender, strict regulations were formulated for escort personnel.
Every five offenders are to be sent together and sent in turn. ** It is stipulated that each prisoner shall be escorted by two officers, and two soldiers shall be sent from each state and county along the way to assist in the escort. Although the criminals suffered from exile, the escort officials looked forward to it the most.
This is mainly because escort positions allow them to satisfy their lust for power and corruption.
If a prisoner falls ill during the escort, he should inform the officer first, and only after obtaining permission can he report it to the government. The officer's authority should not be underestimated, and the officer has the right to ignore the prisoner's request if he is disrespectful to the officer on the way or if the bribe is insufficient.
On the other hand, if the bribes are properly handled, the officer will personally report to the government on the way, and after verification, he will produce a stamped certificate so that the magistrate can keep the prisoner for medical treatment.
Similarly, if an accompanying relative falls ill, he or she will be treated in the same way, and will continue to be escorted after the illness has recovered, and the date of illness will be reported to the Criminal Department. It is up to the officers to decide when the escort will leave and whether the prisoner will be healed.
All in all, as long as you bribe enough and the crime is not serious, the escort may become a "vacation", and the right to play in the mountains and rivers.
In order to better enforce the punishment of exile, the Qing Dynasty implemented a suspension system. This system stipulates that if a prisoner encounters extreme weather, such as the middle of winter and extreme heat, during the escort, the escort will be suspended to reduce the impact of the weather on the prisoner.
In addition, if the prisoner voluntarily continues to proceed, he or she can also apply for non-repatriation, but he must explain the reason to the state or county through which he passes and report it to the Penal Department. Although the specific content of this system has changed, its core has always been to protect the safety and dignity of prisoners.
Most of the officers escorting the prisoners were young and vigorous, and they were not afraid of the heavy rain and wind. In contrast, those prisoners who were escorted were tortured and some were even dying, especially the female prisoners, whose vitality had gradually faded, and it was not impossible for them to die in the face of the weather.
The provisions of the "Great Qing Statutes" gave the officers an impulse to have a desire for power: if a prisoner insulted the official service, defrauded the property, or committed illegal acts on the way, both the Manchu and Han soldiers and civilians would be detained locally and dealt with severely.
If a prisoner dies after receiving the certificate, the official can be exempted from punishment, so that the power in the hands of the officers can directly determine the life and death of the prisoner, how can their desire for power not be inflated?
For many officials, their lives may be idle, but as long as they are escorted officers, whether they are princes and ministers or royal relatives and nobles, they must obey in front of them, which is undoubtedly "the best scenery" for them.
And those who were exiled were often high-ranking officials and dignitaries, and they needed to be excused from capital crimes, and when it came to escorting, their families would also pay bribes to the servants in order to get their care.
The emperor's leniency for the ** person led to a large-scale ** behavior, especially in the Jiangnan Kechang fraud case of the Shunzhi Dynasty, most of the ** were exiled to the frontier, but the oil and water they made were extremely rich, so that the literati had to pay bribes to protect themselves, and the escort ** also made a lot of money.
After Kangxi ascended the throne, Ao Bai and others formed a party for personal gain, and the phenomenon of large-scale corruption was very common, and most of the greedy people at the state and county levels colluded with each other by increasing fire and consuming silver, forcibly apportioning and other methods.
However, after Kangxi took power, he actively cracked down on corruption, and successively punished the corruption cases of Suo Etu, Mingzhu, Xu Qianxue, Gao Shiqi and other groups, including 33 people of the first and second grades, and nearly 1,000 exiles.
Mingzhu and the others hoped that the situation in the court would improve, and selected experienced escort servants for the exiled prisoners, and gave them generous rewards, hoping that after they were able to turn over, these exiles would be able to return to the capital.
Although Mingzhu and others did not get their wish, the escort officers gained a lot from it, and some even bought real estate in Beijing. As a result, serving as escort officers has become a sought-after job, especially for female prisoners, whose families often pay bribes desperately for their "chastity".
In ancient Chinese feudal society, "chastity" was a strict norm of women's behavior and was considered a very important virtue requirement. Therefore, escorting women prisoners not only means more economic gains, but also means being able to maintain the image of women's "chastity".
This is in line with the ancient Chinese traditional concept of "starvation is a small matter, and a loss of festival is a big thing". The author of the Analects of Women put forward the idea of "the first chastity and the second chastity" in the "Observance of the Festival", believing that women must first have a chaste and pure heart and a concept of discipline that swears to death.
In ancient times, the concept of chastity was very important, and it deeply influenced the lives of women in ancient China. Chastity is seen as the most important thing in a woman's life, and they tend to stick to it, even when their lives are at risk.
However, this does not change the problems that may arise during the escort of female prisoners. Since the female prisoners often come from the official palaces and are all men, the families of the female prisoners need to pay a lot of bribes to prevent problems from happening.
The weakness of the female prisoners also required the officers to put too much effort into preventing them from escaping, making escorting the female prisoners an easy and lucrative errand.
In addition, because most of the places of exile are remote and inhospitable areas, the environment is harsh, and survival is difficult, so many female prisoners will try to escape on the way.
Since the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the problem of escape of prisoners in the northeast has become increasingly serious, according to statistics, the "Qing Shilu" from the 23rd year of Qianlong to the 19th year of Jiaqing recorded 33 related cases, which posed a great problem to the officers in charge of escort.
The Qing Dynasty Statutes clearly stipulate that once a criminal escapes, the relevant officials and escorts need to arrest him within a specified period of time. If they are successfully apprehended within the time limit, the officers are exempt from punishment.
However, if the offender is captured while on the run, or if the offender surrenders or dies, the officials and escorts will be punished in accordance with the law and will not be exempted from liability.
However, in fact, most of the officers will take ** bribes, so they are often considered to be letting people go because of ** bribes. In this case, even if you get away with death, the other consequences are still frightening.
As a result, the relatively delicate female prisoners became a treasure in the eyes of the officers, who not only looked good, but also did not need to spend much energy to manage.
The exile of the female prisoners was arduous, mental torture was common, and the ancient servants eloped into the wilderness because of love at first sight. This story confirms the special status of female prisoners in the hearts of the servants, and escorting female prisoners has become a "sweet and sweet" in their eyes.
The system of exile is essentially life imprisonment, which carries a lifetime sentence, but many prisoners die along the way. A large number of prisoners were sent to the frontiers, resulting in a reduction in labor and food production, and natural disasters made worse.
All of this makes life difficult to sustain and the refugee problem is serious.
The Qing Dynasty's system of exile was widely controversial, and even some of the servants who could use it to make money were worried about the escape of their prisoners.
In contrast, escorting female prisoners has become the easiest task for the officers, not only can they get enough oil and water from it, but they also do not have to worry about the prisoner escaping, and may even find their own marriage.
However, we cannot ignore the fact that the psychology of the officers who like to escort female prisoners is based on the "martyrdom" of women.
Women value chastity above all else, and practice and defend "martyrdom" through various excesses, such as suicide by killing a husband, mutilating oneself to observe oneself by wounding one's limbs, protecting oneself by fear of humiliation or humiliation, and even fighting against ...... when a husband is forced to marry after his deathSpeaking of this, I can't help but feel inexplicably sad.