We learned from the TV series that in ancient times, the most arduous punishment for people who violated the laws of the imperial court was undoubtedly the exile of the family to Ninggu pagoda, which is seven or eight thousand miles away from the capital, and on the way forward, no matter how much money was given to the soldiers who accompanied them, they could not avoid suffering.
Moreover, many officials' families and ordinary people had already contracted illness and died on the way to Ninguta, which shows how bumpy the road is.
Among them, there are many sinners who would rather kill themselves on the spot than go to Ninguta to suffer, and the three words of Ninguta have become their nightmares for life.
The process of exile in Ninguta
The Ninggu Pagoda of the Qing Dynasty is located in the northernmost part of Liaodong, seven or eight thousand miles away from the most prosperous capital, the environment is harsh along the way, the climate is bitter and cold, not to mention walking all the way to Ninggu Pagoda, even if there is a horse-drawn carriage carrying people, I am afraid that the people who are moving forward will be seriously ill.
Ninggu Pagoda got its name from the residence of Nurhaci's great-grandfather Fuman 6 children, Ninggu means 6 in the Manchu language prevalent in the Qing Dynasty, and the pagoda is the name of the number, and over time everyone used to call this place Ninguta.
The emperors of the Qing Dynasty generally punished those who committed the most heinous crimes and exiled them to Ninguta.
First of all, on the way to Ninguta, for these sinners is a purgatory-like test, the road is bitter and difficult, there is not enough warm clothing, and when you are sick, you are not allowed to have a doctor to help diagnose and treat, you can only drag the remnants of the sick body and bite your teeth forward.
The status of the people who can be convicted and sent to Ninguta is definitely not low, most of them are the children and relatives of the officials and nobles, they have become accustomed to eating and drinking on weekdays, and there are servants waiting around, but in the process of going to Ninguta, not only are they not cared for by the servants around them on weekdays.
During this time, the soldiers escorting them will also find ways to catch oil and water from them, and they will have to walk dozens of miles on foot under the premise of only eight or two grains a day.
If the progress is slowed down or because of illness and want to rest, they will be beaten and scolded by the officers and soldiers escorting them, and under this vicious circle, there are very few people who can successfully come to Ninguta to undergo labor reform, and most of the criminals are directly on the road and die of illness.
The officers and men responsible for escorting these criminals will not have any compassion for them, and as long as they are responsible for taking into account their own food, clothing, shelter and transportation, the lives and deaths of these prisoners are never within the scope of their duties.
In addition to being able to eat very little food every day and rest for the shortest time to move forward, the road to Ninguta is not as prosperous as the capital, and in the process of walking, there will often be mountain and forest beasts coming out to attack them. The officers and men had knives in their hands and were barely able to protect themselves.
But these prisoners not only had to wear heavy shackles, but they would also be bound to prevent them from escaping, and if they encountered the beast, they would most likely die under the mouth of the beast.
The terrible thing about Ninguta
In order to survive, everyone can only raise their vigilance day after day, pay attention to every move around them, and even the few rest time does not dare to really sleep well.
After a long time of lack of energy, it is even more prone to illness, surviving this difficult road, after coming to Ninguta, the prisoners can not immediately live a stable life, and these prisoners are greeted by another round of torture.
In the Qing Dynasty Study Hall probationary recording book, there was a very detailed description of the life of Ninggu Pagoda, Ninggu Pagoda is located in the middle of nowhere, unmined, and the peasants who live next to Ninggu Pagoda on weekdays are very few, and what about shops and restaurants?
Therefore, the group of people who were sent to Ninguta became the cheapest group of local laborers, and the probability of pardon for criminals who came to Ninguta was also very small.
They generally became the slaves of the local garrison, responsible for cultivating the land, repairing the imperial tombs, carrying a lot of heavy materials, and if they accidentally slowed down the process, or destroyed the work at hand to a certain extent, they would be beaten and scolded by the armored people.
If they encountered the imperial court suddenly wanted to fight, in addition to the recruitment of soldiers from every household, these sinners would also be sent to the battlefield to fight, even if they did not have any training experience, then they would never be allowed to stay, Zheng Chenggong's father was once assigned to work in Ninguta.
Men, young and old, do a lot of heavy work every day, and women do not receive any preferential treatment because of their status.
No matter how noble their original status was, they would be used as official prostitutes before they were assigned to Ninguta, and after coming to Ninguta, any soldier was entitled to take them to meet their physiological needs.
No matter how rough and brutal the treatment is, they can only grit their teeth and endure, otherwise they will be trampled to death by them, and many of them have rich ladies whose index fingers do not touch the spring water of the sun, because they cannot bear this humiliation, they finally choose to grit their teeth and commit suicide.
The literati's nightmare
The surviving prisoners had to endure a life inferior to that of pigs and dogs every day, unless they waited until the emperor granted amnesty to the world, or if something happened that was worth celebrating with the whole world, they would stay in the bitter cold place of Ninguta for the rest of their lives, not to see the day to work and bear the endless humiliation of the soldiers.
However, a small number of prisoners gained a little life in the process of living in Ningguta, and during the Daxing Literary Prison of the Qing Dynasty, many literati were imprisoned by the emperor in anger and exiled to Ningguta.
After they came to Ninguta, because they were some untethered students, it was naturally unrealistic to be assigned to do heavy work, and one of the prisoners was called Yang Yue, who because of his talent, became the right-hand man of the officials stationed in Ninguta.
Other literati did not have such a good life as him, whether their physical fitness was good or bad, they would be sent to do the hardest and most tiring work, even if there were more proud bones on their bodies. Therefore, there are many literati who are afraid that when they come to Ninguta, they will be tortured to death, and in their eyes Ninguta is a nightmare.
However, although Yang Yue still lived in Ninguta as a sinner, his life and treatment in his daily life were more than a star and a half better than those of ordinary prisoners and official ladies.
It is precisely because he set this precedent that many literati have used their knowledge to open schools around Ninguta, which has improved the bitter cold and desolate situation of Ninguta to the greatest extent.
Such behavior can also be regarded as seeking a glimmer of life for oneself in the face of adversity, but such an existence is only a very small minority.
After a large number of literati came to Ninguta, they would still die of whipping and humiliation because they did not have enough means to survive in heavy labor.