Wang Rong (; c. 877?Old Book of Tang, vol. 142.New Book of Tang, vol. 211.History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 54.New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 54.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 255.All traditional historical sources for Wang Rong indicated that he was nine when he succeeded his father Wang Jingchong in 883, making him born in 874. However, the Zizhi Tongjian also, when discussing his age when surviving Li Kuangwei's coup attempt in 893, said that he was 16, which would make him born in 877 if correct there.–921Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 271.), was a warlord in the final years of the Tang dynasty who later became the only ruler of the state of Zhao during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Late in Tang, he initially tried to chart an independent course between the more powerful warlords Zhu Quanzhong and Li Keyong, but later was forced to become Zhu's vassal, although he continued to govern his domain without much interference from Zhu. After Zhu declared himself the emperor of a new dynasty of Later Liang (as Emperor Taizu), Wang continued to serve as a vassal and was created the Prince of Zhao. Later, though, when the Later Liang emperor tried to seize the Zhao domain by force, Wang broke away from Later Liang and realigned with Li Keyong's son and successor Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin instead. In 921, Wang was overthrown and killed in a coup led by his adoptive son Wang Deming, who subsequently took over his domain and changed back to the birth name of Zhang Wenli, before dying later in the year; Li Cunxu then defeated and killed Zhang's son and successor Zhang Chujin, incorporating Zhao into his Jin state.
Background Wang Rong was probably born in 877. At the time of his birth, his father Wang Jingchong was the military governor (jiedushi) of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), which the Wang family had held in de facto independence since Wang Jingchong's great-grandfather Wang Tingcou. Wang Rong's mother was a Lady He; it is not known whether she was Wang Jingchong's wife or concubine, but she was described as being virtuous and strict in discipline in her rearing of Wang Rong.
Wang Jingchong died in 883. The soldiers of Chengde supported Wang Rong, who at that time was only six-years-old but held the title of deputy military governor, as the acting military governor. The Tang dynasty emperor Emperor Xizong soon thereafter confirmed him as acting military governor, and later in the year confirmed him as full military governor.
As Tang dynasty jiedushi of Chengde Circuit
Initial alliance with Lulong Circuit By that point, the Tang empire had fallen into a state of confusion, with the military governors of the circuits attacking each other and seizing each other's territory. One of the strongest military governors at the time was Li Keyong, the ethnically-Shatuo military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi). Wang Rong's neighbor Wang Chucun the military governor of Yiwu Circuit (義武, headquartered in modern Baoding, Hebei) was allied with Li Keyong, and had his nephew Wang Ye () marry one of Li Keyong's daughters. Both Wang Rong and Li Keju the military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) feared the growing strength of Li Keyong and therefore despised Wang Chucun for allying with Li Keyong. They thus entered into an alliance against Wang Chucun, planning to destroy him and divide Yiwu's two prefectures (the capital Ding Prefecture () and Yi Prefecture (易州, in modern Baoding as well)) among themselves. They launched the attack in 885, after persuading Helian Duo the military governor of Datong Circuit (大同, headquartered in modern Datong, Shanxi) to attack Li Keyong's back so that he could not come to Wang Chucun's aid, with Li Keju's officer Li Quanzhong attacking Yi Prefecture and Wang Rong's troops attacking Wuji (無極, in modern Shijiazhuang). Subsequently, with Li Keyong sending his officer Kang Junli to come to Wang Chucun's aid, Wang Rong withdrew, and Li Quanzhong, after initially capturing Yi Prefecture, lost Yi Prefecture again to Wang Chucun's counterattack. Li Quanzhong, fearing punishment from Li Keju, instead returned to Lulong's capital You Prefecture () and attacked it. Li Keju, facing defeat, committed suicide, allowing Li Quanzhong to take over the circuit.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 256.
Subsequently, both Wang Rong and Li Quanzhong's son and successor Li Kuangwei remained enemies to Li Keyong, and in 890, when Emperor Xizong's brother and successor Emperor Zhaozong announced a general campaign against Li Keyong commanded by the chancellor Zhang Jun, he commissioned Wang Rong and Li Kuangwei as two of the commanding generals, although there was no indication Wang Rong actually conducted substantial warfare against Li Keyong on that occasion. (Indeed, it was said that both Wang Rong and Luo Hongxin the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei) viewed Hedong as a guard against expansion of imperial power and therefore refused to contribute troops and supplies to the war effort, contributing to Zhang's subsequent defeat by Li Keyong.)Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 258.
In 891, after defeating imperial forces, Li Keyong decided to attack Chengde, and he initially prevailed over Chengde forces. Li Kuangwei came to Wang's aid, and Li Keyong withdrew. When Li Kuangwei and Wang jointly attacked the Hedong-held town of Yaoshan (堯山, in modern Xingtai, Hebei), in spring 892, however, Li Keyong's officer Li Sixun () defeated them and repelled their attack. Subsequently, Li Keyong and Wang Chucun jointly attacked Wang Rong, initially successful, but Wang Rong subsequently repelled them. Thereafter, Emperor Zhaozong sent special envoys to try to pacify the disputes between the four circuits, but no avail.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 259.
The battle at Yaoshan, however, led to a development in Wang Rong's favor briefly—as prior to sending Li Sixun, Li Keyong had sent two of his adoptive sons, Li Cunxiao, who was then the acting military governor of Xingmingci Circuit (邢洺磁, headquartered in modern Xingtai), and Li Cunxin, to try to relieve the siege on Yaoshan. As Li Cunxiao and Li Cunxin were rivals to each other for Li Keyong's favors, they did not work well together and would not advance, forcing Li Keyong to send Li Sixun instead. Li Cunxin then accused Li Cunxiao of being in secret communications with Wang Rong and Li Keyong's archrival Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan). Li Cunxiao, angry over Li Cunxin's accusations, broke away from Li Keyong and entered into an alliance with Wang Rong and Zhu. When Li Keyong subsequently attacked Li Cunxiao in spring 893, Wang Rong came to Li Cunxiao's aid, although his forces were then defeated by Li Keyong's. In turn, though, when Li Keyong attacked Wang Rong at Chengde's capital Zhen Prefecture (), Li Cunxiao aided him, but Li Keyong's attack continued. (Wang also sought aid from Zhu, but Zhu was then locked in a campaign against Shi Pu the military governor of Ganhua Circuit (感化, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) and could not come to Wang's aid.) It took Li Kuangwei's subsequent arrival from Lulong to defeat Li Keyong and force Li Keyong's withdrawal.
However, in Li Kuangwei's absence from Lulong, Li Kuangwei's brother Li Kuangchou mutinied at You Prefecture and took control of Lulong. Hearing of the mutiny, most of Li Kuangwei's soldiers deserted him and fled back to You Prefecture. Li Kuangwei, uncertain what to do next, initially submitted a petition to Emperor Zhaozong, asking to go to the imperial capital Chang'an to serve the imperial government. Wang Rong, however, thankful that Li Kuangwei saved Chengde at great cost to himself, welcomed him back to Zhen Prefecture, built a mansion for him, and honored him as if Li Kuangwei were his father.
Once Li Kuangwei settled in at Zhen Prefecture, he helped Wang Rong build up Zhen's defenses and train the Chengde soldiers. However, Li Kuangwei himself had designs to take over Chengde and, later in 893, on the anniversary of the death of one of Li Kuangwei's parents, when Wang was at Li Kuangwei's mansion to pay his respects, Li Kuangwei had his own soldiers try to seize Wang. Wang, reacting quickly, stated that he was willing to turn the control of the circuit to him but that they should formally do so at the circuit headquarters. Li Kuangwei agreed, and they rode horses together toward headquarters, escorted by Li Kuangwei's soldiers. On the way there, one of the Chengde soldiers, Mo Junhe (), hidden in a corner, seized Wang and took him out of Li Kuangwei's corps of soldiers. The remaining Chengde troops, once they saw that Wang was out of danger, attacked Li Kuangwei and his troops, slaughtering them and allowing Wang to retain Chengde. (This, however, ended the alliance between Chengde and Lulong, as Li Kuangchou, claiming to be trying to avenge Li Kuangwei's death, would subsequently attack Chengde, although without success.)
Independent course Almost immediately after Li Kuangwei's death, Wang Rong tried again to aid Li Cunxiao, whom Li Keyong was sieging in Xingminci's capital Xing Prefecture (). Li Keyong defeated him, however, and in fear, Wang instead joined Li Keyong in attacking Li Cunxiao and sent food supplies to Li Keyong's army. In 894, Li Cunxiao was forced to surrender, and Li Keyong subsequently executed him and took Xingminci back under control.
In 895, Emperor Zhaozong bestowed on Wang the honorary chancellor title of Shizhong ().Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 260.
In 897, when an attack by Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi) forced Emperor Zhaozong to flee from Chang'an to Kuangguo Circuit (匡國, headquartered in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), then governed by Han Jian, Li Keyong wanted to start a campaign to aid the emperor, and therefore wrote Wang Rong and Wang Chucun's son and successor Wang Gao to request them to contribute to the campaign. (There was no record of what Wang Rong's response was, if any.) Li Keyong was subsequently forced to give up on the campaign when his vassal Liu Rengong, whom Li Keyong had installed as the military governor of Lulong after defeating Li Kuangchou, turned against him and became independent. Subsequently, in 898, when Li Keyong considered suing for peace with Zhu Quanzhong in light of his recent setbacks, he wrote Wang Rong and asked Wang to serve as the intermediary between him and Zhu, but Zhu subsequently rejected Li Keyong's overture. Later that year, Emperor Zhaozong gave Wang the honorary chancellor title of Zhongshu Ling ().Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 261.
In 900, when Zhu sent his general Ge Congzhou to attack Yichang Circuit (義昌, headquartered in modern Cangzhou, Hebei), which Liu Rengong had captured earlier and had given to his son Liu Shouwen to govern, Ge had initial successes against Liu Shouwen, but after Wang Rong sent messengers to mediate and Ge encountered torrential rains, Zhu recalled Ge and his troops.Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 262.
Zhu, however, then decided that he would attack Wang for communicating with Li Keyong. He approached Zhen Prefecture and attacked it, burning its southern gate. Wang, in fear, sent his assistant Zhou Shi () to plead with Zhu, pointing out both that Wang had parlayed with Li Keyong to achieve peace and that the Chengde people had been loyal to the Wang family for generations and would fight fervently for Wang Rong. Zhu agreed to peace, but had Wang send his oldest son Wang Zhaozuo () and the sons of many Chengde officers to Xuanwu to serve as hostages and had Wang also surrender a large amount of silk. He then withdrew, and he gave a daughter in marriage to Wang Zhaozuo. Wang Rong thereafter became a vassal of Zhu's.
Submission to Zhu Quanzhong