In ancient times, felons were generally sent to the frontier, so why weren t they executed on the sp

When we watch ancient film and television works, we will find a very strange phenomenon, the same people who have committed heinous crimes, why some people will be beheaded at noon gate to show the public, while some people have to be sent to the border areas. In fact, it is very meaningful that the rulers do not put them to death. First of all, the prisoners can be placed there to realize the flow of population, thereby reducing the expenditure of **, and on the other hand, it also allows this part of the prisoners to open up territory for the country.

First, death on the way to distribution has to say that our ancestors are very smart, the ancient people of our country like to do face projects, do not like to show themselves too bloodthirsty and ruthless. In the face of some criminals, they will be sent to the frontier, also to preserve their good name. Second, they know that the frontier is a long way to go, and that it is full of difficulties.

Many of the exiled prisoners died on the road before they could reach the border. So this is also indirectly the ancient felons were directly executed on the spot. <>

Second, the addresses where the prisoners were exiled by the imperial court to work in the frontier were all in some wild areas, and basically they were mainly ethnic minorities. Putting the Han criminals there, to a certain extent, can sinicize these ethnic minorities, thereby enhancing the dominance of the Han people. On the other hand, these prisoners who were exiled to the border area can also be used for border defense construction projects.

For example, when Qin Shi Huang built the Great Wall, these prisoners were used as labor, even on the construction site, and the court would not suffer a big loss if they died of exhaustion. Moreover, the distribution of these people to areas outside the capital can reduce the financial expenditure of the state to a certain extent, and there is no need for additional expenses to support these prisoners. <>

3. The foresight of the ancientsThe ancient emperors believed that those who killed their heads at every turn were suspected of tyrants, so in order not to damage their reputation, they could solve the problem with the best of both worlds, so they came up with such a good policy as distributing the frontier, which could not only demonstrate their benevolence and righteousness, but also allow them to build for the country.

Because the road to the frontier is very far away, and in ancient times, the traffic was not very convenient, there were many felons who died halfway, and there were very few suspects in the frontier area.

This is because the ancients wanted to torture these felons in this way, and they also wanted to make these felons suffer in this way, to torture them little by little, and to consume their will to repentance and patience, which was even more uncomfortable than immediate execution.

This is because after being exiled to the frontier, the quality of life is relatively poor, and it is easy to encounter wild animals, and this is also a more painful psychological torture.

In fact, generally speaking, exile and the like should already be relatively light in addition to the heaviest punishment, generally speaking, they go to more remote places, and in ancient living conditions, transportation conditions, the world is scattered, and the fact is that it is very difficult to return to hunger.

In ancient Chinese history, the distribution of frontiers was a kind of heavy punishment, which can be described as "the punishment is not so miserable". According to historical records, this kind of punishment has existed since the Qin and Han dynasties, but most of the exiled nobles at that time were nobles who committed crimes, and the Song Dynasty began to formally enter the law. For example, in the classical masterpiece "Water Margin", Wu Song, Lin Chong and other heroes of Liangshan were once sentenced to be assigned to the frontier to serve as an army.

It is worth noting that for prisoners in ancient times, they often preferred to be beheaded rather than exiled to the frontier, that is, they would rather die than be sent to the frontier.

First of all, many people feel. The punishment of the frontier is second only to the death penalty. However, in the eyes of the ancients, exile on the frontier was much more terrible than the death penalty, so it was called "the punishment is not so miserable".

On the one hand, for prisoners in ancient history, they wore shackles and locks when distributing the frontier, and walked all the way through. For example, in the Northern Song Dynasty, from the capital Bianliang (now Kaifeng, Henan) to the area of present-day Guangdong and Guangxi, it was at least more than 2,000 miles on foot, and it was with heavy shackles. Also, if the prisoner walks slowly, the solution will hit you with a stick.

As a result, for the ancient prisoners, many were exhausted to death before they reached the penal colony.

As early as the historical stage of the Song Dynasty, the original purpose of assigning prisoners to the frontier was to enrich the strength of the border defense army, for example, in "Water Margin", Lin Chong was assigned to Cangzhou to fill the army because he offended Gao Taiwei. Since the Song Dynasty, the prisoners who were assigned to the frontier have become the labor force for the development of the border areas, and the extreme border, the smoke miasma (4,000 li), the remote (3,000 li), the border guard (2,500 li), and the coastal vicinity (1,000 li) have been used as the execution sites. Heavy sentences for confiscation were most prevalent during the Ming Dynasty, and were generally issued by the Ministry of War after conviction.

As a result, many of the ancient prisoners were exhausted in the process of garrisoning, building city walls, mining, and reclaiming wasteland.

Further, in ancient Chinese history, frontiers mostly refer to four major regions: the sparsely populated land in the northwest, the extremely bitter cold land in the northeast, the smoky land in the southwest, and the deserted island in the southeast almost uninhabited. For example, during the Three Kingdoms period, in the process of Zhuge Liang's Nanping Meng's capture, the miasma in the southwest brought a lot of land to the Shu army.

As for the prisoners assigned to the above areas, they are not accustomed to the water and soil, and they cannot adapt to it, and they may fall ill and die. Even if you don't die of illness, you may not be lucky enough to be eaten by a hungry beast one day. In other words, for the ancient prisoners, beheading was a direct death, while exile on the frontier was a living crime and a capital crime.

Finally, of course, not all of the ancient prisoners would rather be beheaded than exiled to the frontier. For some literati doctors, there is no possibility of turning over after cutting off their heads, but if they are assigned to the frontier, it is still possible to return to the imperial court. For example, in the Northern Song Dynasty, Su Shi was exiled to Huizhou and Danzhou in his later years, and Huizong of the Song Dynasty was granted amnesty and returned to the north.

Wang Yangming (Wang Shouren) of the Ming Dynasty was exiled to Longchangyi in Guizhou by the court staff for forty, and was eventually reactivated by the imperial court.

In the border war, it's okay to be cut off by a beard, otherwise you will become a slave; Otherwise, even if you survive, it will be all kinds of hardships, and life is better than death.

The first is that it is more painful to live sin.

On the other hand, in order to show heroic momentum, in fact, most people are not afraid of death and trouble.

Just like now, if you ask students to either take guns and fight devils, they must sign up one by one. Let them score 500 points, it will be more uncomfortable than going to the battlefield.

I think it's even worse to be sent to the frontier than when you are in prison, and you face a very difficult living environment when you are assigned to the frontier, and you can die at any time.

Because of the lack of people in the frontier, the distribution of frontiers can provide free labor and can also serve as an army for no money.

In ancient times, the frontier was not yet developed, the environment was harsh, and the living conditions were very difficult. In fact, this punishment is heavier than putting a prisoner in prison. These prisoners were sent to the frontier to work as coolies.

Because in this way, not only can they not have to bear the burden of their lives in the imperial court, but also increase the guard force of the frontier.