preface:
From ancient times to the present, we have always pursued the idea of "ruling the country by law". A country that does not follow the law makes it weaker. In "Han Feizi Youdu", it was written: The country is impermanent and strong, and impermanent and weak. Those who follow the law are strong and the country is strong, and those who follow the law are weak and the country is weak. From this sentence, we can see the importance of the law. Only when people are conscientious and abide by the law can the country grow and develop. In some film and television works, we can often see scenes of ancient people torturing prisoners, among which there are many common criminal laws, such as playing boards and whipping.
But in fact, in the beginning, there were many heavy punishments in ancient China, such as "five horses divided into corpses", "a thousand knives and a thousand knives", etc., but with the changes in society, people began to feel that these punishments were too cruel, so they gradually had more humane punishments. Among the many punishments, there are some methods that do not seem to cause death, but they are actually very painful, such as what we often call exile. Exile is what we often call "exile", in ancient times there was no means of transportation, the ancients escorted prisoners on a difficult road, but why do the people at the gate see female prisoners scramble to do it?
Ancient punishment
Since the beginning of primitive society, we have had various rules and regulations, and after the shang martingale transformation law, there have been many strict legal means in our country, which have made the people "shudder" and dare not violate the law. Because once they make a mistake, they are not only in prison, but also in a lot of torture that makes people "feel frightened". Although Shang Martin's punishment was a good way to consolidate the status of the country, it also caused everyone's dissatisfaction, and eventually Shang Martin also died of his own invention of "car crack", that is, "five horses divided into corpses".
At the same time, in the long history, many ministers have been tortured, such as Sima Qian and Yuan Chonghuan, who have been tortured. But in fact, in ancient times, it was also very humane, and only some people who were heinous or who violated the great interests of the rulers could suffer these punishments. At the same time, since the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, there have been a total of 5 kinds of punishments, five kinds of punishments are basically the physical destruction of a person, or forcing a person to do physical work, only "exile" seems not to be bitter, but it is very torturous.
Presumably, everyone has seen the Water Margin, and Song Jiang was sentenced to "exile". Exile means being sent somewhere to work as a coolie. Exile not only allows prisoners to travel long distances and endure physical torture, but it also destroys a person's soul. Sometimes, prisoners are exhausted or starved to death on the way, so the epidemic seems to have a glimmer of life, but it is very torturous. At the end of the exile, most of them are some desolate places, and the local climate is harsh, which is a very big punishment for a person.
In ancient times, when female prisoners were escorted, why did the servants have to rob them?
At the same time, during the exile process, prisoners need to be escorted by servants to take them far away. During the long journey, the servants also had to endure bad weather and very harsh environment. But even so, there were still many servants who rushed to escort the prisoners. In fact, escorting prisoners may gain additional benefits. At the end of the day, servants are also an errand and they need to earn money to support their families.
But the servants seem to be very powerful, but in fact, they are just a small soldier under the officials, who must listen to the dispatches of the officials at any time, and the salary is very low, sometimes it is not enough to support the family. But if the female prisoners are escorted, they will be able to obtain a lot of "oil and water". Because the place of exile is a long way away, the life and death of prisoners are basically in the hands of the servants, so many prisoners' families, in order to save their lives, will give the servants a lot of extra money, hoping that they can take more care of the prisoners, so that they can eat well and wear warm clothes on the way.
The families of these prisoners would basically give most of their family savings to the servants. In this way, the servants only suffer a little physically, but they will get more money. Anyway, in the yamen is also to do things, escort prisoners is also to do things, why not choose more money for the errands? At the same time, female prisoners are physically inferior to male prisoners and sometimes need more special care, so the families of female prisoners will definitely come up with more money. Therefore, servants are more inclined to escort female prisoners.
epilogue:
Sima Qian wrote in the "Chen Shi Shi Shi Jia": "Mr. Chu said: The terrain is dangerous and obstructive, so it is solid; the military revolution is criminal law, so it is to rule also." ”
Chu Shaosun believed that weapons, equipment, and state rules and regulations were means for rulers to manage the country. Indeed, if a country is to be on the right track, it must use the law as a benchmark and strictly use the law to bind everyone.
If the country lacks laws and everyone acts recklessly, how can it control the people? Among the many laws, exile is a punishment that can leave a living mouth for prisoners, but it is also the most torturous criminal law, which can torture the body and mind of prisoners. If the relatives of the prisoners do not give the servants some extra "oil and water", it is difficult to ensure the safety of these prisoners.
Resources:
"Han Feizi Youdu"
Sima Qian's "Chen Shijia"