In ancient times, if you were unfortunate enough to be imprisoned, ordinary people would be subjected to inhumane treatment. Prison cells are overcrowded and harsh, prison guards beat prisoners and extort money, and even when families want justice, they are often overwhelmed by poverty. The most terrifying thing is that some rich people will buy off the jailers and let innocent prisoners take their place, which is the so-called "white duck". Once you become a "white duck", what awaits the poor will be a miserable dead end. How miserable were the prisoners in ancient times? What kind of "white ducks" were they most afraid of? Let's find out.
The tragic situation of the prisoners
The conditions of the ancient prison were nothing short of hell on earth. In a county in the south of the Yangtze River, for example, dozens of prisoners are being held in a cell of less than 20 square meters. The cell was dimly lit, with only a small window, and the air was not circulating. The floor was covered with hay and filthy straw, and the stench of manure filled the small space.
The prisoners were shackled and shackled and could not move freely. They were shirtless, covered in scars, some of which had even festered and festered. These injuries were caused by beatings by the jailers for no reason. The jailer was armed with a long whip and had no fear of the prisoners, and would be severely beaten at the slightest disobedience.
The living conditions in the cells are extremely harsh. The prisoners lay huddled on the ground, unable to sleep peacefully. The diet is also extremely simple, with only one meal of dry and hard steamed buns and a bowl of water every day. Severely undernourished and the environment was filthy, and many prisoners were weakened and even contracted diseases.
Unspoken rules in prison
In ancient prisons, there were some unspoken rules and dark sides that ordinary people did not know. Prisoners who have just entered prison are often "mentored" by their "old cellmates".
Once, a newly imprisoned scholar was put in prison. He was penniless and did not know the rules of prison, so he just stayed timidly in the corner. Not long after, an old cellmate came up to him and said to him mysteriously: "Little brother, you have to be careful, this is not as simple as you think... ＂
The old cellmate continued: "The jailers are very black-hearted, and if you don't give them money, they will make you suffer a lot. But you just give money, and they'll get out of the way. The scholar looked dazed, and the old cellmate quickly explained: "For example, if you give money, you can change to a private room, so you don't have to crowd in this filthy prison; ＂
When the scholar heard this, although he felt a little disdainful in his heart, after all, it was his first time in prison, and he was inevitably a little stage frightened. Seeing this, the old cellmate gave him another idea: "If you want to get out of here as soon as possible, it's best to find a 'prison master' to help you write a complaint, and let the county magistrate retry your case." But those 'prison masters' are not helping for nothing, you have to give them money as a reward... ＂
When the scholar heard this, he immediately came to his senses, and nodded again and again to express his willingness to give it a try. Seeing this, the old cellmate secretly laughed, and then introduced the name of a "prison master" to the scholar. Soon, the scholar entrusted all his remaining money to the "master of prison", hoping that he would help him get out of prison.
The trial was dark
There were also many dark and unjust aspects to the ancient trials. One year, there was a murder in Yangzhou, a wealthy businessman was killed, and the murderer fled. The county magistrate naturally wants to solve the case as soon as possible to show his majesty.
It was the height of summer, and the heat was unbearable. One day, the county magistrate was in the garden in the backyard, playing cards with several concubines. Suddenly, an errand man walked in with a complaint in his hand about the murder.
The county magistrate was already impetuous, and when he was disturbed, he waved his hand and scolded the officer: "Take it to the side for me, don't bother me!" The officer had to put the complaint on the table beside him.
In the next few hours, the county magistrate concentrated on playing cards with the concubines, and seemed to forget the complaint. It wasn't until it was getting dark that he remembered the complaint.
The county magistrate hurriedly glanced at the indictment and found that it was a scholar who accused himself of being innocently imprisoned. He never paid attention to such ordinary things, so he threw the complaint on the table and said to the errand officer next to him: "For such a small case, he will be directly sentenced to three years in prison, and he will be sentenced to a heavy sentence!"
The messenger took the order and soon conveyed the county magistrate's verdict to the jailer. The jailers liked it because they could benefit from it.
The next day, the scholar was taken to the execution ground. The jailers first stripped him naked, then pressed his hands and feet, tied him with hemp rope to a horizontal log, and assumed a "big character" posture.
Families are ruined
The innocent scholar in prison, surnamed Zhang, was a scholar with only one elderly mother in the family. When Zhang Shusheng was suddenly imprisoned, his old mother was naturally very anxious, and hurriedly borrowed money everywhere to beg for help, hoping to avenge her son.
Zhang's mother first approached a well-known local lawyer, hoping that he could file a complaint on her son's behalf. When the lawyer saw her in shabby clothes, he bluntly said: "You can ask me to do the work for your son, but you must pay me two taels of silver as a reward." When Zhang's mother heard this, she was immediately saddened, where did she have so much money, and she had to continue to borrow money.
After a few days of running, Zhang's mother finally borrowed more than one or two pieces of silver from relatives and friends. She went to the lawyer again, offered the money in both hands, and begged him to save her son. The lawyer reluctantly agreed.
A few days later, Zhang's mother took the complaint written by the lawyer and braved the scorching heat to go to the county office. She sweated profusely along the way, and finally came to the county lord's yamen. When she saw that the door was closed, she knelt down in front of the door and begged bitterly.
It didn't take long for a man who looked like a servant to poke his head out of the crack in the door and said coldly: "The county magistrate has already tried your son's case and sentenced him to three years in prison, you better go back!"
After hearing this, Zhang's mother burst into tears, she knew that her son's case had become an "iron case" and could not be changed at all. But after all, she was a mother, so how could she just give up? So she ran around again, selling all the remaining fields and houses in the family in exchange for a dozen taels of silver, hoping to buy the favor of the county magistrate.
The most terrible "white duck" phenomenon
In ancient prisons, there was a frightening phenomenon, that is, the so-called "white duck". The so-called "white duck" refers to the fact that some rich or powerful people, in order to escape responsibility, will bribe the jailers and let the innocent poor take their place.
There is such an example that happened somewhere in the south of the Yangtze River: there was a wealthy local man who repeatedly cheated because of business failures, and was finally found to be wanted. Naturally, the rich man didn't want to give in, so he came up with a despicable idea.
He first asked someone to find out that there was a prisoner in the prison, a poor scholar, and only one elderly mother in the family. Fu Jia saw that this scholar had no one to rely on at home, and he was the one who could be used. So he secretly found the jailer and offered a sky-high price, as long as the jailer was willing to help him transfer the blame to the scholar, he would give it away.
When the jailers saw such a beautiful difference, they naturally clapped their hands and agreed. Soon they dragged the scholar out of his cell, forced him in chains, and beat him severely.
The scholar was beaten all over his body and was dying, but he still didn't know what had happened. When the jailer saw this, he explained the reason to him. It turned out that he had been bribed by Fu Jia as a jailer and became a "white duck" to take the blame for Fu Jia.
When the scholar heard this, he was immediately shocked and struggled to resist. But he was a poor scholar after all, and where was the jailer's opponent? Soon, he was suppressed and left at the mercy of the jailer.
From then on, the rich man was at large, while the scholar was burdened with a great grievance, imprisoned and tortured. In the end, he was even sentenced to capital punishment and brutally beheaded. And his elderly mother, after learning the bad news, also died of grief.