History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 648: Pacification of Three Towns
When Zhao Siwan was still a teenager, he went to the home of retired imperial guard general Li Su to seek a job as a servant in the general's mansion to make a living. General Li Su interviewed him and came to the conclusion on the spot that this kid would definitely be a traitor in the future! The reason was that he had "dizzy eyes and absurd words", which meant that Zhao Siwan's eyes were erratic and his words were absurd.

Appearance is determined by the heart, the mouth is the gateway to the heart, and the eyes are the messenger of the heart. When applying for a job, the interview is not mainly about professional skills, but about character. By looking at a person's eyes, expressions, and the content of his speech, you can judge his knowledge and cultivation.

Li Su had predicted that Zhao Siwan would be a disaster in the future, just like Zhuge Liang predicted that Wei Yan would definitely rebel. So Li Su planned to shut him out.

This Li Su is the son-in-law of the "healing master" Zhang Quanyi. His wife Zhang advised: "It is better to offend a gentleman than a villain. Since you know that he is a greedy, treacherous and evil villain, don't be so ruthless and ungrateful."

"Then according to Madam, what should we do?"

"You have to refuse, but you should give him more gold, silver, silk and other things, and try to comfort him with kind words."

"Makes sense!"

So, Li Su gave Zhao Siwan a huge sum of money and said, "Sorry, the temple is too small to accommodate the monk, and the pond is too shallow to hide the dragon. Please find another job!"

When Zhao Siwan occupied Chang'an, Li Su lived there. Zhao Siwan visited Li Su many times, kowtowed to him, thanked him for his kindness, and treated Li Su with great respect.

Li Su turned around and said to his wife Zhang, "This kid has come to see me again and again, and is very respectful. I think he wants to ask me to come out of retirement to be an official and to be his political vase. I would rather die than go along with the rebels!" After saying this, he was about to hang himself.

Zhang quickly hugged him and said, "Instead of committing suicide, it is better to persuade him to return to the central government. Not only can you save your life, but you can also save his life, and you can also do a great thing for the country. Why not do it?"

"Makes sense!"

Behind every successful man, there is always a virtuous woman.

Li Su found Zhao Siwan's aide Chen Rangneng, and the two hit it off. Chen Rangneng had always wanted to persuade Zhao Siwan to return to the central government.

Zhao Siwan, who was trapped in a dilemma, was like a lost lamb. He wanted to defect to Hou Shu, to fight stubbornly and wait and see, and to surrender to the court...

He was just about to ask his benefactor Li Su to show him a way forward, when Li Su and Chen Rangneng appeared at the crossroads of his life like angels. Chen Rangneng analyzed the pros and cons for him:

"You have no deep hatred for the Later Han Dynasty. It's just because you are a subordinate of Zhao Kuangzan, and Zhao Kuangzan and his father Zhao Yanshou both received false orders from the Khitans. This is a matter between Zhao Kuangzan and the court. What does it have to do with you? You were just afraid of being implicated.

Now the court is facing three battles at the same time, and the pressure is enormous. If you repent and surrender at this time, then the court will definitely not treat you unfairly. If you persist in your mistakes, I am afraid you will only wait for death. "

Zhao Siwan nodded repeatedly after hearing this, thinking it made a lot of sense.

At this time, the siege troops also learned that Zhao Siwan's army had run out of food and had to rely on cannibalism to survive. The commander Guo Congyi also sent envoys to persuade Zhao Siwan to lay down his butcher knife and become a Buddha on the spot.

Zhao Siwan finally agreed to surrender and sent envoys to Bianzhou to meet Liu Chengyou, expressing his willingness to surrender.

The peaceful liberation of Chang'an is a great blessing! Liu Chengyou was very happy and immediately appointed Zhao Siwan as the governor of Huazhou Zhenguo Army and his general Chang Yanqing as the governor of Guozhou. He also specially allowed them to go directly to the post without having to come to Bianzhou to express their gratitude. It was a general operation of accepting surrender to let the rebels move away from the revolutionary base Chang'an and divide their direct forces. Letting them go directly to the post without coming to the capital was also to appease their emotions and show that the court trusted them and did not intend to solve the problem with the Hongmen Banquet.

This condition is more in line with Zhao Siwan's expectations.

The two sides began negotiating in May, and on July 5, Zhao Siwan officially disarmed, left Chang'an City, and knelt to receive Liu Chengyou's amnesty edict.

Guo Congyi took over the south gate of Chang'an City, sent Zhao Siwan back to the city, and told him to pack up his bedding and leave in a dignified manner.

Zhao Siwan proposed to return his personal guard troops (Ya Bing), and Guo Congyi agreed;

Zhao Siwan proposed to return the weapons and armor of the guards, and Guo Congyi agreed.
Zhao Siwan suggested leaving a few days later because there were still many trivial matters to arrange, and Guo Congyi agreed...

In this way, Guo Congyi agreed to a series of unreasonable demands that violated principles put forward by Zhao Siwan, just to show him the court's sincerity.

What was Zhao Siwan busy with? A thief never leaves empty-handed. Since he was leaving, he wanted to take everything he could. He openly allowed his soldiers to plunder and rob the people of Chang'an City, wanting to squeeze the people of Chang'an dry. Because he was busy robbing the people, the date of departure was changed three times in a row, and he still delayed and refused to leave.

On July 7, a subordinate of Zhao Siwan named Cao Yanjin secretly reported to Guo Congyi that Zhao Siwan planned to lead 9 direct subordinates to escape to Hou Shu overnight at midnight on July 7.

The next morning, Guo Congyi urged Zhao Siwan to leave again. Zhao Siwan replied that he would leave at midnight. It turned out to be the same time as Cao Yanjin said.

Prior to this, Guo Congyi had reported to Commander-in-Chief Guo Wei on the process of taking over Chang'an, especially emphasizing Zhao Siwan's hesitation and evasion, and asked Guo Wei if we could help him if he insisted on not going on the journey.

Guo Wei replied, let him do what is convenient for him. He should do it according to the actual situation and be flexible.

Therefore, Guo Congyi and the military supervisor Wang Jun led their troops into the city, first controlled the city gates, and then set up a banquet in the headquarters building, saying it was a farewell party for Zhao Siwan, and notified him to come to the banquet. Then they arrested Zhao Siwan and his capable general Chang Yanqing and his followers, a total of more than 300 people, and took them to the streets and beheaded them in public.

According to historical records, when Zhao Siwan was tied up, he already knew his fate. He did not beg for mercy or struggle in vain. Instead, he calmly asked, "How are you going to kill me?"

The soldier replied: "I heard they will use the punishment of 'standing on the nail'."

The historical records do not explain the execution method of "standing nails", which is probably similar to "nailing a wooden donkey" or the traditional method of Xichuan, nailing people to the wall until they die. In short, it is a very humiliating way of execution for the prisoners.

Zhao Siwan was furious after hearing this and said in a stern voice: "Tell Mr. Guo for me: My death is not enough to atone for my crime, but the ugliness of being crucified is something a man should be ashamed of! Please give me some time off."

Scholars can be killed but not humiliated.

Guo Congyi agreed to his request and finally adopted the execution method of beheading, which preserved Zhao Siwan's final dignity and allowed him to die in dignity.

(End of this chapter)