What is "slaughtering white duck"? There is a poem called "Slaughtering White Ducks", and its author Guo Guangqi wrote: "Slaughter white ducks, ducks why not koo?" Qingtian did not dare to shout in front of him. He had to sell his life to die on behalf of others, hoping that he could hide pearls by caesarean section. ”
This was a bad custom prevailing in the Qing Dynasty, and local officials protected each other, and even though the emperor ordered a thorough investigation, it was not eliminated in the end.
"Slaughtering white ducks" has been repeatedly banned, and the unconscious official turns a blind eye and even participates in it. And even if the Qing officials know the inside situation, they are powerless to change this kind of unjust case, and the victims in the "slaughtering white duck" often wait for justice after death, or are forever burdened with grievances.
Slaughter the white duck, duck He Ku
"Slaughtering white ducks" is commonly said to be the real murderer to buy people to blame, there was a famous "Wang Shuwen case" during the Guangxu period, and its victims were like white ducks waiting to be slaughtered, with no power to resist, they could only be slaughtered.
The cause of the case was a retired official who was robbed by robbers, and he could not swallow this evil breath, so he angrily went to the official office to report the crime. Retired officials were robbed in Henan, where thieves were rampant and robberies occurred from time to time. But victims either swallow their voices for fear of reprisals, or officials turn a blind eye to such cases or accept bribes to close them hastily.
Because of the special identity of the informant, local officials did not dare to slacken, and immediately ordered to search for the thieves, so a series of subsequent stories occurred.
As long as the location of the crime is determined, in fact, it is not difficult for the government to find out the real murderer, but the identity of this thief is not ordinary, and it involves the problem of collusion between officials and bandits, so the case is delayed again and again. It was not until the informant himself heard the name of the bandit leader and asked the government to arrest him by name, and the government had no choice but to arrest him.
It turned out that this robber was called Hu Ti'an, and in addition to the identity of the robber, he was still the fast catcher in Zhenping County, so some of his subordinates relied on his little brother for protection, and it was he who instructed the younger brother to rob the informant that day.
Hu Ti'an used his official identity to show off his martial arts during the day, and at night he turned into a robber to rob everywhere, and afterwards used his power for personal gain to cover up the truth, and when he really wanted to pay errands, he would spend money to buy a poor person to justify the crime. In this way, he relied on his dual identity to collect money, and he remained safe, which made him more and more emboldened, until he set his sights on the informant this time.
One day, Hu Ti'an heard that a fat sheep with thousands of family wealth had arrived, and his eyes suddenly lit up, and his mind was full of only white flowers and silver.
Hu Ti'an was afraid that this fat sheep would be preempted by others, and he didn't even have time to inquire more about the origin of this person, so he hurriedly made a robbery plan.
It is worth mentioning that Hu Ti'an's many years of arrest have not been in vain, and this robbery he neither killed nor injured anyone, and according to common sense, it does not constitute a death sentence. So Hu Ti'an took the stolen silver to dash, thinking that he could spend the most money as before, and he could continue to do evil afterwards.
When he learned that the informant was a retired official, he almost weakened his legs, because the impact was too bad, and he knew that he knew that the death penalty could not be escaped.
After the panic, Hu Tian wanted to repeat the old trick, but this offended the retired officials, how many people are willing to be this scapegoat? Unless it is an ignorant teenager who has little knowledge and is easily bluffed.
It just so happened that there was a fifteen-year-old servant in Hu Ti'an's house, named Wang Shuwen, who had no knowledge and no background, and it didn't matter, he was a good scapegoat. Hu Ti'an found a glimmer of life, and then bribed the officials who came to arrest him, colluding to bluff Wang Shuwen, and vowed that he would not be imprisoned for a few years.
Seeing that he was not very willing, Hu Ti'an promised to give him benefits, and threatened him to take his life on the spot if he did not comply, so frightened that Wang Shuwen did not dare to resist.
After Wang Shuwen was imprisoned, the officials who thought the dust had settled told him about the death penalty. This news is like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, no matter how timid people will arouse the desire to survive in the face of death, Wang Shuwen naturally changed his words on the spot, saying that he was apologizing for others.
But no matter how much he shouted his grievances, the county commanders, who were eager to close the case, insisted that he was the real murderer and used torture to beat him into a trick. The higher-level officials were also happy to end the case earlier, and did not review it much, even though it was clear that Wang Shuwen and Hu Ti'an, who was about thirty years old, did not match their stature and age.
Wang Shuwen, who felt that he had no way to survive, shouted in vain in anger, until he got into the prison car to the execution ground, and also shouted injustice, and it happened that this action made things turn around.
Wang Shuwen loudly stated his identity and accused him of the unfair treatment he had suffered, and the onlookers began to talk about it after hearing this. Although they do not have the ability to judge the case, they are not blind, and the young man in front of them is very thin and weak, and has nothing to do with the strong thief.
The prison officer did not dare to ignore public opinion and behead him, so he hurriedly reported to the governor of Henan, and Wang Shuwen was able to temporarily save a life.
He was fortunate to wait for the good news of the retrial, but the officials associated with the case, fearing that they would lose their black hats, hugged him and tried to push him to the death table, constantly pouring dirty water on him. If it weren't for the officials who wanted to thoroughly investigate the case to protect him, he would have been killed long ago.
The wrongful case, which was originally not difficult to overturn, was tried abruptly for five years because of the mutual shielding of a group of officials. By the time Wang Shuwen was released from prison, he was already a twenty-year-old young man.
As for the criminal Hu Ti'an, he has long changed his name and surname and gone to other places to escape, and he has not been punished until his death. And the "Wang Shuwen case" is just a typical example of "slaughtering white ducks", and some "white ducks" have been wrongfully convicted, and even close relatives have participated.
Sell for money
In the "Notes on Yong Idle Fasting" written by Chen Qiyuan of the Qing Dynasty, there is also a record of "slaughtering white ducks": "Rich households kill people, spend a lot of money on the poor, and replace them with death, although there are honest officials, they are all deceived by them, and they are called 'slaughtering white ducks'." ”
There is a story about "slaughtering the white duck" in the book, the official in charge of the trial is not an unconscious official, and knows the grievances of the "white duck", but finally sentenced him to death. This official is none other than the author's father, Chen Ao.
Chen Ao once handled a case of death by a fight, and the deceased had more than ten wounds on his body, apparently beaten by a group. Chen Ao was trying to investigate the murderer, but he didn't expect someone to turn himself in.
The one who turned himself in was a sixteen-year-old boy with thin yellow muscles, who was not an opponent of the deceased at first glance, and he could not defeat the deceased on his own, even if he participated in the fight, at most he was an accomplice.
Chen Ao told him to state the facts of the crime according to the process, and he said it verbatim with the confession of the first trial, which was not like a criminal telling himself, but more like reciting the prepared statement in advance. Chen Ao knew in his heart that this young man had come to apologize for others, and the real murderer was someone else.
But he interrogated repeatedly, and the teenager said that he was the murderer. Chen Ao had no choice but to take him into custody as a murderer awaiting trial.
In fact, if he was a little confused and beheaded the young man according to the true murderer's will, he would have no worries about his achievements. But Chen Ao is not such a comatose official who can rush people's lives and accept praise with peace of mind, and his conscience does not allow him to scribble the case. And if you want to save this teenager, in addition to catching the real murderer, the only way is to let him retract his confession.
Chen Ao came to the cell where the teenager was being held, saw him curled up in the corner of the cell, and understood that he was still afraid of beheading, not completely without the idea of survival. Chen Ao, who had made up his mind to save his life, ran several times before letting the young man relax and personally said that he was apologizing for others.
But Chen Ao failed to ask who he was responsible for, but this was not surprising. The teenager may not say it because he is afraid of retaliation, or maybe he really does not know who wants to buy his life, after all, the murderer does not necessarily come forward in person, but entrusts someone who can do this.
After the juvenile retracted his confession, the case was dismissed and retried, and if there was no accident, he should be acquitted. Chen Ao thought he had done a good thing, but he didn't expect to see him again.
The boy at this time was a little different from before, his expression was numb, and his eyes no longer had the will to survive. Chen Ao was very puzzled and asked him why he retracted his confession again, and the young man burst into tears and told him what happened to him.
When he was suffering in prison, his parents came to visit him, and when they saw him safe, they did not look surprised, but they cursed him as if they had seen an enemy: "The money for selling you has been exhausted, but you have retracted your confession, do you want to harm your parents?" If you get out of prison, kill you! ”
There were also bribed officials in the county who tortured him in private, forcing him to admit that he was the real murderer, and the boy suffered a double blow physically and mentally. He thought that even his parents wished that he would be beheaded earlier, and he was still struggling to endure this day when life was better than death, it was better to confess his sins and suffer less. In this way, he can be liberated, and he will obey his parents' wishes, when he has fulfilled his last filial piety.
Chen Ao knew that the teenager did not voluntarily become a "white duck", but was sold by his parents to the real murderer. Chen Ao was deeply saddened by what happened to him, he couldn't imagine that there were such ruthless parents in the world, who actually pushed their children into the fire pit with their own hands, and the parents who used his life money might be the ones who least wanted him to give birth.
This time, the young man was determined to confess his guilt, no matter how much Chen Ao persuaded him, he was unwilling to retract his confession, even if he knew that he was innocent, Chen Ao could only endure the pain of sentencing him to death. That machete not only cut off the young man's head, but also Chen Ao's benevolent and righteous heart.
After completing this case, Chen Ao was disappointed in the filthy imperial court, ashamed of his inability to return the victim's innocence, and actually took off his official uniform and asked himself to resign.
Is it because the emperor has no knowledge of "slaughtering white ducks" that there are frequent cases of "slaughtering white ducks"? Of course not, in fact, there have been officials who have been killed by the emperor for "slaughtering white ducks", and the emperor has ordered a thorough investigation of such incidents, but the effect is minimal.
Rise to the roots
As early as Qianlong's reign, he demoted an official who had caused a wrongful conviction by three ranks, hoping that other officials would take warning. But after Daoguang succeeded to the throne, the custom of "slaughtering white ducks" was still prevalent.
According to records, in the second year of Daoguang, 37 cases of "slaughtering white ducks" were detected in Chaozhou Prefecture alone. Like the "Wang Shuwen case", this case became a famous case in the country before it was closed, and Daoguang was furious about it. However, after the rumors, everything returned to the past, and local officials only learned to hold the news tighter.
In fact, "slaughtering white duck" is not unique to the Qing Dynasty, and the reason why it will rise in the Qing Dynasty is because its era background and legal loopholes give it space to breed. "Slaughtering white ducks" gradually developed to their peak after Qianlong, that is, after the implementation of the policy of closing off the country.
Isolation from the country did more harm than good to the Qing Dynasty, hindering economic development and accelerating the collapse of the Qing system. The long-term lack of contact with the outside world caused the Qing court to lose its vitality, replaced by a dull twilight, and corruption devoured the Qing court inch by inch.
Successive dynasties have never been able to put an end to the trend of corruption, and they have not been able to achieve a single wrongful case, but there is often a clean and honest wind that opposes it. The two are either evenly matched, or today you crush me, tomorrow I will beat you.
And in the late Qing Dynasty, Qing officials were precious, and more were unconscious officials with vegetarian meals. And there is also a phenomenon of confrontation between the local government and the central government, the strong dragon cannot suppress the ground snake, and the local government wants to hide things, and the central government cannot hear the slightest wind. As a result, it became more difficult for local people to convey their true voices to the central government than to ascend to heaven, and they could only be fooled by local governments.
The local gentry used money to open up relations, as long as they did not offend people who could not afford to offend, and only needed to send money to the official office, everything could be put in order. Even if he commits the death penalty, first go to the house of a poor person who is extremely short of money to pick someone, and then give a generous gift to the official, the real murderer only cares about it, and the machete will not fall on his head.
Some poor people who are too poor to open the pot, in order not to starve to death for their families, even volunteered to become their substitute ghosts, paying money with one hand and life with the other. The substitute ghost only needs to bite himself as the murderer to successfully replace the real murderer, which reflects a major loophole in the Qing Dynasty's legal system.
Different from the modern emphasis on evidence, the Qing Dynasty handled the case: "Once it is confirmed, that is, for the sake of the matter, whether the confessor is credible is not bothered to ask or ask." "Even if the suspect clearly does not match the presumed image of the real murderer, officials can convict the suspect based on a mere confession."
This loophole undoubtedly opens the door to "slaughtering white ducks", and the real murderer does not even need to carefully fabricate evidence, he only needs to let the dead ghost recite the confession, and he can rest easy.
The family of the dead ghost is looking forward to this life-saving money, not to mention that the family who can agree to this will never make trouble afterwards, but continue to live in a muffled voice, for fear that this money will attract the attention of the buyer and cause a lot of trouble.
And Qing officials like Chen Ao, even if they know the internal situation, suspicious criminals and confessions are in front of them, all they can do is cooperate with the real murderer, turn the pen in their hands into a butcher knife, and put the innocent people they want to protect to death.
Over time, a bad atmosphere has formed in the localities, collusion between officials and businessmen and bandits has become a common occurrence, and the problem of officials protecting each other has become even more serious. The people had nowhere to cry out for their grievances, and gradually they became numb.
All that the central government can see is that the place has been carefully beautified, but he does not know that the place where the people live and work in peace and contentment in their eyes has actually been stirred up by the unconscious officials.
For example, there are only a few "white ducks" like Wang Shuwen who escaped death and waited for justice alive, and it is the majority who die unjustly like that teenager. Until the fall of the Qing Dynasty, with the disappearance of the head snake, the custom of "slaughtering white ducks" gradually disappeared.
But although this has become the past, it does not mean that it should be forgotten, and there are still many unannounced unjust cases, and the grievances of the "white ducks" cannot rest in peace. Their tragic experience is a wake-up call to future generations, believing that no one will want the tragedy to repeat itself and be forced to become a "white duck".