The expulsion of prisoners to remote frontier areas is a common practice in all countries. In this regard, the British took the greatest advantage, and the United States and Australia were the first places where british exiles were places, and as a result, they developed into two powerful countries, which was really profitable.
The Qing Dynasty was far inferior to the British, and the northeast was the birthplace of the Jurchens, not only did not leave heavy troops to defend, but regarded this place as a bitter cold place for exiled prisoners, and as a result, the Russians took advantage of the void and occupied the outer northeast.
Now everyone knows that although the outer northeast is cold, it is not a dead place that is difficult to survive, and it is still possible to live and cultivate land. After the Xiaoice period at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the temperature in the entire northeast region warmed up, and if the Manchu Qing could make good use of the exiled prisoners, perhaps the outer northeast would not be lost.
The Manchu Qing exile in the northeast is called Ningguta, which is located in the modern city of Hailin in Heilongjiang Province, two or three hundred kilometers away from Vladivostok. The Manchu Qing dynasty once set up a general position here, managing the entire Heilongjiang and Jilin regions.
Most of the wars of the Ming and Qing dynasties in the northeast were concentrated in the Liaoning region, and Ningguta was considered to be the rear of the Jurchens. Therefore, the Jurchens sent prisoners and prisoners of war here to reclaim wasteland and produce grain. These prisoners were all slaves of the Ninguta Bannermen, that is, the cloaks of the armored people.
After the Jurchens entered the customs, the rules of exile in Ningguta were retained, whether it was a flag person or a Han person, it was possible to be assigned here, and the official position was not high enough to enjoy this treatment, Zheng Chenggong's father, Lü Liuliang, Jin Shengsi and other celebrities had all walked to Ninggu pagoda.
Since there are no written records, we do not know what their situation is. Later, someone came back alive from Ninguta and wrote it into writing, which unveiled the mystery of Ninguta. It turns out that this is not a horrible hell, but a large farm at best.
The poet Wu Zhaoqian of the late Qing Dynasty lived in Ninggu pagoda for 23 years, truly recording the real situation of Ningguta at that time. The prisoners were given houses and land, and most of the grain produced was given to the flag bearers, leaving only their own rations, which was not much different from the outside farmers.
Perhaps wu Zhaoqian's era is far away from the war for hundreds of years, the Jurchen chief has long since lost his tyrannical spirit, and he is not harsh on prisoners, as long as he hands over the field gifts on time, ninggu pagoda after Sinicization is no longer the residence of the King of Yan in people's eyes, even if it is a desolate place that they do not want to go to even if they die. Here, the literati were better able to receive certain preferential treatment, tutoring the children of officials, and living a life easier.
According to the "Miscellaneous Records of The Observations of the Kendo", the early Ninguta was indeed full of abuse and oppression of prisoners, and it was a very tragic thing to enslave the lower flag people. Regardless of men, women and children, their lives are all in the hands of their masters, and there is no difference between them and black slaves.
With the Sinicization of the Manchus themselves and the relaxation of the Qing court's management of Ninguta after entering the customs, the atmosphere here gradually changed. It became the consensus of local officials to order more food and make more money, so the treatment of prisoners began to improve, as long as they planted well, they were safe.
Literati like Wu Zhaoqian, in addition to being tutors, also opened local museums and taught apprentices, and made friends with many local officials. In his spare time, he often travels to the mountains and rivers, and it is uncomfortable to write poetry lyrically. Later, through his connections, he obtained a pardon and left Ninguta, leaving us with a precious historical material, the "Autumn Flute Collection" and so on.
Due to the ban policy implemented by the Manchu Qing, until the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was not much population in the northeast. The Ninguta area could only trade with North Korea, and the Manchu generals deliberately built roads and post stations to facilitate The coming of Korean merchants. Suddenly, Ninguta became an important hub for Sino-Korean commerce and began to flourish.
Manchu rule over the ethnic minorities in the northeast was also maintained through ninguta. Vladivostok, Sakhalin Island and other areas originally belonged to the jurisdiction of Ninguta, and the fishing and hunting peoples here could be recognized by the Manchu Qing dynasty as long as they handed in a small amount of fur on a regular basis, and the government generally did not interfere in their lives.
Therefore, for a long time after the Russian occupation of this area, the local residents were very nostalgic for China. Tsarist Russia not only forced them to pay heavy taxes, but also treated them as second-class citizens and discriminated against them at every turn. The resulting resistance struggle also lasted for a long time.
The Manchu Qing's lack of attention to Ninguta led to a weak border defense in the northeast, and it was completely unable to prevent the invasion of the Russian army. The Kangxi Emperor had to mobilize tens of thousands of troops before he could knock the Russians out of the Outer Xing'an Mountains. However, such a war was too costly, and the Manchu Qing was unable to maintain sufficient military strength in the northeast, so it had to be allowed to be encroached upon by Tsarist Russia.
If the Ninguta area has a large population and can take on the logistical support of the army, Vladivostok and other areas will not be easily occupied by Tsarist Russia, and China's modern history may be rewritten. But the reality is that General Ninguta can only watch the Tsarist Russia advance step by step, repeatedly asking the imperial court for help, but never getting a response.
Also exiled prisoners, the British found an heir to the title of the world's first power, but the Manchu Qing did not even defend the ancestral land. It seems that vision and pattern can really determine the fate of a country and a nation.