Wang Chongrong facts for kids

Wang Chongrong (王重榮) was a powerful military leader during the late Tang dynasty in ancient China. He controlled an important area called Hezhong (in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). Wang Chongrong played a key role in helping the Tang dynasty defeat a big rebel leader named Huang Chao. However, he sometimes had disagreements with the emperor, Emperor Xizong, and a powerful court official, the eunuch Tian Lingzi. He was given the special title of Prince of Langye.

Early Life

We don't know exactly when Wang Chongrong was born. Historical records give different ideas about where his family came from. Some say his family was from Hezhong, while others say Taiyuan.

His father, Wang Zong, was a successful military officer. He became a high-ranking official in Yan Prefecture. Because of his father's achievements, Wang Chongrong and his older brother, Wang Chongying, also joined the military. Both brothers were known for being very brave and skilled fighters. Wang Chongrong also had another older brother named Wang Chongjian.

Becoming a Leader and Fighting Rebels

In 880, Wang Chongrong was a commander in the Hezhong army. He soon gained control of the Hezhong region. How he did this is told in slightly different ways by old history books.

One story says that when the major rebel leader Huang Chao captured the Tang capital city, Chang'an, the emperor, Emperor Xizong, had to run away. The military leader of Hezhong, Li Du, decided to surrender to Huang Chao. Wang Chongrong was made a deputy leader by Huang Chao. However, Wang Chongrong didn't like Huang Chao's many demands for supplies. So, he forced Li Du to give up his power. Wang Chongrong then took over as the acting military leader, killed Huang Chao's messengers, and sent Li Du to the emperor.

After Wang Chongrong turned against Huang Chao, the rebel leader sent his generals, including Zhu Wen, to attack Hezhong. Wang Chongrong defeated them. He then teamed up with Wang Chucun, another military leader. Together, they planned to take back Chang'an for the Tang dynasty.

In the summer of 881, the Tang forces briefly recaptured Chang'an. But the soldiers started looting the city, and Huang Chao's forces fought back, taking Chang'an again. During this time, Emperor Xizong officially made Wang Chongrong the military leader of Hezhong. Wang Chongrong and another general, Gao Xun, later captured Hua Prefecture for the Tang dynasty. In 882, Zhu Wen attacked Hezhong, but Wang Chongrong successfully defended it.

Zhu Wen couldn't defeat Wang Chongrong. He asked Huang Chao for more soldiers, but Huang Chao's assistant hid his requests. In late 882, Zhu Wen believed Huang Chao's rebellion would fail. So, he surrendered to Wang Chongrong. Zhu Wen even honored Wang Chongrong as an uncle. Wang Chongrong then suggested that Zhu Wen be made a military leader by the Tang court.

The Tang forces were still struggling against Huang Chao. Wang Chongrong, along with other important officials, decided to ask a powerful rebel general named Li Keyong for help. Li Keyong was a leader of the Shatuo people. He agreed to join the fight. In late 882, Emperor Xizong gave Wang Chongrong an important honorary title, Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi.

In 883, Li Keyong and Wang Chongrong combined their armies. They marched towards Chang'an, winning many battles against Huang Chao's forces. Li Keyong soon entered Chang'an, forcing Huang Chao to escape. For his great help, Wang Chongrong was given the high title of acting Taiwei and was made the Prince of Langye.

Conflict with Tian Lingzi

After Emperor Xizong returned to Chang'an in 885, a problem started between Wang Chongrong and Tian Lingzi. Tian Lingzi was a very powerful eunuch who controlled the emperor's court.

The government's money was very low because many military leaders were keeping the taxes from their regions. Wang Chongrong himself had taken control of two salt production areas in Hezhong. These areas used to be controlled by the government. Wang Chongrong only sent a small amount of salt to the emperor.

Tian Lingzi asked the emperor to give control of these salt areas back to the government. He even put himself in charge of them. Wang Chongrong disagreed and sent many requests to keep control of the salt areas, but it didn't work.

Later, Tian Lingzi's adopted son, Tian Kuangyou, visited Hezhong as a messenger. Wang Chongrong first welcomed him. But Tian Kuangyou was very arrogant, which angered the soldiers in Hezhong. Wang Chongrong then turned against him, arrested him, and spoke about Tian Lingzi's wrongdoings. Other eunuchs asked Wang Chongrong to release Tian Kuangyou, and he did. When Tian Kuangyou returned to Chang'an, he told Tian Lingzi to act against Wang Chongrong.

In the summer of 885, Tian Lingzi convinced Emperor Xizong to order Wang Chongrong to move to a different region. Other leaders were also told to switch places.

Wang Chongrong refused this order. He sent a message accusing Tian Lingzi of crimes. Another military leader, Wang Chucun, also supported Wang Chongrong. When the order wasn't changed, Wang Chucun only pretended to move before returning to his own area.

Tian Lingzi then formed an alliance with two other military leaders, Zhu Mei and Li Changfu. Wang Chongrong asked for help from Li Keyong. Around the start of 886, the armies fought. Wang Chongrong's and Li Keyong's forces defeated Tian Lingzi and his allies. Li Keyong's army got close to Chang'an. Tian Lingzi then took Emperor Xizong and fled to Xingyuan.

Li Keyong and Wang Chongrong pulled their armies back to Hezhong. They sent messages demanding that Tian Lingzi be executed. When Emperor Xizong later asked Wang Chongrong to send food to the imperial army, Wang Chongrong said he would refuse unless Tian Lingzi was killed. Meanwhile, Zhu Mei took this chance to turn against Emperor Xizong. He declared a distant relative of the emperor, Li Yun, as the new emperor in Chang'an.

Making Peace with the Emperor

By this time, Tian Lingzi knew that everyone in the empire hated him. He resigned and went to live with his brother, Chen Jingxuan, who was a military leader in another region. Tian Lingzi was replaced by Yang Fugong, the brother of a general named Yang Fuguang.

A high-ranking official, Du Rangneng, suggested that Emperor Xizong ask Yang Fugong to write to Wang Chongrong. Yang Fuguang and Wang Chongrong had been friends. Yang Fugong wrote to Wang Chongrong, asking him to become loyal to Emperor Xizong again.

When Wang Chongrong received the letter, he declared his loyalty to Emperor Xizong once more. He sent gifts of silk and offered to attack Zhu Mei for the emperor. Li Keyong also declared his loyalty to Emperor Xizong.

Around the start of 887, Zhu Mei's officer, Wang Xingyu, had been sent to capture Emperor Xizong but failed. Fearing Zhu Mei's punishment, Wang Xingyu was tempted by Yang Fugong's promise that whoever killed Zhu Mei would be given control of his region. Wang Xingyu returned to Chang'an and killed Zhu Mei in a surprise attack.

Li Yun's officials, Pei Che and Zheng Changtu, along with about 200 other officials, took Li Yun and fled to Hezhong. Wang Chongrong first pretended to welcome them. Then, he arrested and executed Li Yun. He also imprisoned Pei and Zheng, who were later executed by Emperor Xizong's order. Wang Chongrong sent Li Yun's head to Emperor Xizong. After this, Emperor Xizong was able to return to Chang'an.

Death

It is said that later in his life, Wang Chongrong became even harsher in his rule of Hezhong. He once punished an officer named Chang Xingru. Chang Xingru felt ashamed and decided to turn against him. In the summer of 887, Chang Xingru started a rebellion at night and attacked Wang Chongrong's headquarters.

Wang Chongrong escaped to his vacation home outside the city. But Chang Xingru found him there and killed him. Chang Xingru then supported Wang Chongrong's brother, Wang Chongying, to take his place. Wang Chongying was the military leader of a nearby region. Emperor Xizong then officially transferred Wang Chongying to Hezhong. Wang Chongying's son, Wang Gong, was left in charge of his father's old region. After Wang Chongying took control of Hezhong, he had Chang Xingru put to death.

Wang Chongrong's nephew, Wang Ke, who was also his adopted son, later became the leader of Hezhong after Wang Chongying died in 895.