What kind of place was Salmon Island where prisoners were exiled in the Song Dynasty?

People today no longer feel the location of Salmon Island. Roughly speaking, it can be said that it is equivalent to the concept of the current Qincheng Prison and the Ninggu Pagoda of the Qing Dynasty, but it is only comparable. In reality, it is probably the most terrifying place in history.

Everyone has read "Water Margin". After the birthday incident, Liang Taishu of Daming Prefecture sent people to intimidate the local magistrate Jeju Prefecture Yin. How did he intimidate? It's not that you are dismissed from office and your bonus is deducted, but:

"If you can't solve this case, please go to Salmon Island."

The dignified Jeju Governor, listen to this He was so frightened that he peed on the spot. He turned around and called the head catcher He Tao and gave him a death order: If I can't solve the case, I won't be able to live. It's better to deal with you, He Tao, first. This is called dying together.

The governor of Jeju is a member of the officialdom. Why did he pee when he heard the word "Salmon Island"?

It is still "Water Margin", and Lu Junyi was assigned to "Salmon Island". Li Gu went to bribe Dong Chao and Xue Ba, the two government officials in Daming Prefecture who were responsible for escorting, and asked them to find opportunities to kill Lu Junyi on the road. What did Dong Chao and Xue Ba say to Lu Junyi later?

"You will die if you go to Salmon Island. It is better to be killed by us now and save trouble."

Why do you say that? Because being imprisoned on Salmon Island was the most severe punishment of exile in the Song Dynasty. There were twelve types of exile penalties in the Song Dynasty, ranging from light to severe. In Water Margin, Song Jiang and Wu Song were imprisoned, but they did not go to Salmon Island.

Where is Salmon Island? Changdao outside Penglai County, Shandong Province was the extinct territory of Salmonella at that time.

In 1058 AD, the Jingdong Road Transfer Envoy reported to the emperor that in the past ten years, the mortality rate of criminals exiled to Salmon Island was as high as more than 90% (the mortality rate of general criminals in the Song Dynasty was less than 33%).

Why? Because Salmon Island is very small, it relies entirely on the supply of more than 80 households on the island. At the highest record, all supplies were only enough to feed 300 prisoners. So what happens if there are too many prisoners? The method used by the Salmon Island prison authorities is very simple, that is, they put the extra prisoners in sacks and throw them into the sea regularly every year and drown them.

The "History of the Song Dynasty" said that a certain Dengzhou magistrate went to inspect and found that 700 prisoners were thrown into the sea and drowned in Salmon Island in two years.

As a result, Salmon Island is known as the "Island of Death".

So, why didn’t the Northern Song Dynasty officials give enough food rations to Salmon Island? The reason is simple: Salmon Island is full of criminals, why should the country support these scum?

Of course, where there is killing, there is escape. There was an incident in Salmon Island where prisoners successfully stole a boat and escaped. It was said that the number of people was eight. Later, it was spread wildly and became a story. The myth is called "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea".