We all know that the prison of the Ministry of Justice in feudal society is a dark place. In this place where one-stop "services" of "arrest, trial, sentencing, imprisonment and execution" are concentrated, naturally there are a lot of hidden things. unspoken rules and shady secrets.

Now, the editor will reveal to you the hidden rules and secrets of the Qing Dynasty’s Ministry of Justice that we don’t know!

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1 , The big elm tree in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment

The prison of the Ministry of Punishment is an extremely dark place. There is no reason to argue here. As long as the prisoners who are incarcerated are willing to spend money, they will not only have beds and quilts, but also wine and meat. , and even the concubine can come in and stay with her. Once there is no money, the jailer, who is black and white, has a thousand ways to make the prisoners worse than death.

All the trees should have been cut down near the prison, because once there were trees, it would be convenient for night walkers who robbed and rebelled against the prison. However, there was a tree growing in the yard of the Prison of the Ministry of Punishment of the Qing Dynasty. A large elm tree several arms thick. According to legend, this tree was planted by Zuo Guangdou, a great loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty.

Why is this big tree left in the yard of the Penal Department prison? Because no matter how chaotic the world is, there are always some justice-minded officials of the Penal Department who never forget to use this tree to warn all the personnel of the Penal Department: We must beware of unjust imprisonment (but unjust imprisonment often occurs).

2. How to get out of the prison when the prisoner is executed

The Ministry of Punishment has procedures for executing prisoners to get out of the prison. Generally, the jailer has to use the pretext of going to court or meeting with his family to trick the prisoner out of the cell. When the prisoner walked out of the second door, the jailer suddenly pushed the prisoner in the back and shouted: Hand over. The guards who were ambushing outside the second door would rush forward, grab the prisoner's pigtails, pull his arms and legs, push the prisoner to his knees, and then shout "Okay".

The next step is to identify the person, announce the crime, and mark the prisoner's crime mark with a red pen. The process of getting out of prison is complete.

3. Prison kidnapping is very violent

Prisoners were tricked out of prison and heard that they were about to be beheaded. All of them struggled, but the jailers had already prepared various plans. If the prisoner did not struggle, he would be tied up in all directions. If the prisoner struggled violently, he would pick up a small hammer and directly smash the prisoner's bones. The prisoner's arms would be weak and he would be tied up at will.

If the prisoner is willing to give the jailer some silver in advance, the jailer will add camphor to the guillotine wine to make the prisoner semi-conscious and reduce the pain caused by the binding.

4. The Ministry of Punishment must verify the identity of the prisoner when executing him

When the criminal is taken to Caishikou for execution, there is a mat next to the execution ground for the use of the officials who supervise the execution. Criminals in the Qing Dynasty Before the execution, family members are allowed to say goodbye and pay homage to their loved ones at the execution site.

Allowing relatives to visit the court is partly out of humanity for the rulers, and partly because of the need to verify their integrity. When the chief officer of the Ministry of Punishment, the Criminal Justice Officer, the Supervising Yushi and others visit the criminal's relatives at the execution site, they will judge from the sad attitudes of both parties whether the person who was beheaded is the real person of the criminal. It can be seen that the supervisory beheading officer It's really not easy to do.

5. The red pen of the chief official of the Ministry of Punishment is also sold for money

At noon, ask for a beheading. The chief officer of the Criminal Department will pick up a red pen and mark the criminal's mark. After making a check mark, the chief officer of the Criminal Department will throw away a red pen, and this red pen will cause looting by the officers below, because the red pen is in the legend , can treat malaria, and if sold to doctors and drug stores, you can make a small amount of money.

6. The executioner's execution is customized

The executioner kills people on the execution ground. Instead of slashing with a knife, he uses a spatula to execute the prisoner.

It is not easy to practice this kind of spatula. The executioner needs to hold the ghost head knife backwards on weekdays and spread the tofu on the table into even thin slices. Finally, he practiced putting copper coins on the tofu and using the ghost head knife to spread the tofu. , the copper coins on the tofu don’t fall, then you are done.

When such an executioner is on the execution ground, he can kill people as quickly as chopping melons and vegetables.

7. Zhuyuan’s business is only three needles

The executioner cut off the prisoner’s head. In order to allow the prisoner to report to the underworld “completely”, the family members asked him to give birth to a complete child in the next life. If there is a living person, they will find a cobbler, that is, a person from Zhuyuan, who will sew the fallen head back to its original place.

Anyone who thinks that a person who makes a repair will sew a circle with leather thread along the edge of the knife is wrong. They only sew three points, and after the work is done, they collect the money and leave.

The punishments in feudal society are severe, but why do many righteous men take desperate risks and test themselves against the law? The reason is very simple. The corruption, official corruption, and officials in feudal society have made it impossible for ordinary people to survive. Failure to resist is doomed to death, but resistance does not necessarily mean death. No wonder people will rise up! ……