Zhang Xiaozhong
Encyclopedia
Zhang Xiaozhong (730 – April 30, 791), né Zhang Alao (張阿勞), formally Prince Zhenwu of Shanggu (上谷貞武王), was a general of the Chinese
Tang Dynasty
, of Xi
extraction. Initially he served the rebel state Yan
, during the Anshi Rebellion, and later served the warlord Li Baochen
. After Li Baochen's death he joined the Imperial cause, giving the Imperial army a foothold north of the Yellow River
in spite of being surrounded by semi-independent warlord realms.
. He was of Xi
ethnicity. His great-grandfather Zhang Jing (張靖) and grandfather Zhang Xun (張遜) were both chieftains of the Yishihuo (乙失活) tribe. During Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao era (742–756), Zhang Alao's father Zhang Mi (張謐) led his tribal people in submitting to Tang rule and was given an honorary title as the minister of vassal affairs.
Zhang Alao himself was tall, brave, strong, and filially pious. In the region, he and Wang Monuogan
(later known as Wang Wujun) were known as the strongest warriors. Near the end of the Tianbao era, as he was a capable archer, he came to serve under the Tang general An Lushan
, and made contributions in defeating Tujue tribes.
), and Zhang Alao served as one of his forward commanders, along with Tian Chengsi
and Zhang Zhongzhi
. After An declared himself emperor of a new state of Yan
, Zhang Alao served as a general of the Yan state, and later served under the later Yan emperor Shi Siming
and Shi Siming's son and successor Shi Chaoyi
as well in their campaigns against Tang. After Yan ended with Shi Chaoyi's death in 763, Zhang Zhongzhi surrendered to Tang, was bestowed the name Li Baochen, and became a Tang general — the military governor (Jiedushi
) of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang
, Hebei
), and Zhang Alao served under Li Baochen.
, Hebei
). In 775, when Tian Chengsi, then the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan
, Hebei
) wore out the patience of not only the imperial government by annexing most of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, then headquartered in modern Anyang
, Henan
), killing Li Baochen's brother Li Baozheng (李寶正), and being disrespectful to Li Zhengji
the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Weifang
, Shandong
), Emperor Xuanzong's grandson Emperor Daizong
commissioned a campaign against Tian. Tian preemptively attacked Chengde's Ji Prefecture (冀州, in modern Hengshui
, Hebei
). Li Baochen sent Zhang to defend against the attack with the Chengde elite troops, and when Tian realized that the campaign was not going well for him, he stated, "With Zhang Alao still present, I cannot take Ji Prefecture," and he withdrew. Subsequently, when Li Baochen was tricked by Tian into attacking another general, Zhu Tao
, the acting military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) but was unable to seize Lulong Circuit, Li Baochen made Zhang the prefect of Yi Prefecture as precaution of a Zhu counterattack.
Toward the end of Li Baochen's life, he, who was ruling Chengde Circuit as his own domain semi-independent from the Tang imperial government, wanted to pass his position to his son Li Weiyue
, but believing Li Weiyue to be weak in personality and might not be able to stand up to some of the stronger officers, he found excuses to execute many of those officers. At one point, he sent Zhang Xiaozhong's brother Zhang Xiaojie (張孝節) to Yi Prefecture to summon Zhang Xiaozhong back to the circuit capital Heng Prefecture (恆州). Zhang Xiaozhong told Zhang Xiaojie to respond to Li Baochen:
Zhang Xiaojie protested that if he returned with this message that Li Baochen would surely kill him, but Zhang Xiaozhong pointed out that if they went back together, they would both die, but if he did not go, Li Baochen would not dare to act against Zhang Xiaojie — prediction that turned out to be correct. It was said that because of this, Zhang Xiaozhong and Wang Wujun, whose son Wang Shizhen
was a son-in-law to Li Baochen, were the only two senior Chengde officers who survived Li Baochen's executions.
Li Baochen died in 781, and Li Weiyue requested that Emperor Daizong's son and successor Emperor Dezong
allow him to succeed Li Baochen. Emperor Dezong refused. As a result, Li Weiyue and his allies Tian Yue
(Tian Chengsi's nephew, who had succeeded Tian Chengsi in 779), Li Na
(Li Zhengji's son, who, similarly, was rejected by Emperor Dezong as his father's successor when Li Zhengji also died in 781), and Liang Chongyi
, the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangfan
, Hubei
), prepared for war against the imperial government. Zhu Tao, who was then submissive to the imperial government, attacked Chengde from the north. When he reached Yi Prefecture, Zhang was defending against his attack, but Zhu sent his subordinate Cai Xiong (蔡雄) to convince Zhang that Li Weiyue's cause was hopeless and unjust. Persuaded by Zhu, Zhang submitted to the imperial government, and Emperor Dezong gave Zhang the title of military governor of Chengde. Grateful to Zhu, Zhang had his son Zhang Maohe (張貿和) marry Zhu's daughter and formed a friendship with Zhu. Hearing that Zhang Xiaozhong had turned against him, Li Weiyue slaughtered all of Zhang Xiaozhong's brothers and sons still remaining at Heng Prefecture.
As Zhang predicted, Wang, once he returned to Heng Prefecture, started an uprising and killed Li Weiyue and surrendered. In the aftermaths of Li Weiyue's death, Li Weiyue's brother-in-law Yang Rongguo (楊榮國), who had been defending Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern Hengshui
, Hebei
), surrendered to Zhu. With Li Weiyue and Liang (who had been defeated by Li Xilie
and committed suicide) defeated and the forces loyal to the imperial government besieging Tian and Li Na, it was believed that the rebels would soon be destroyed and the empire returned to unity.
After the victory at Chengde, however, Emperor Dezong made a series of moves that simultaneously alienated Zhu and Wang. He refused to give Shen Prefecture to Lulong, as Zhu had requested. Rather, he divided the seven prefectures of Chengde into three smaller circuits, making Zhang the military governor of a newly created Yidingcang Circuit (易定滄, headquartered in modern Baoding, soon renamed to Yiwu (義武)), consisting of three prefectures, with his headquarters at Ding Prefecture (定州), while giving two prefectures each to Wang and Kang Rizhi (康日知, another Chengde general who had submitted to imperial authority during the campaign), with the lesser titles of military prefect (團練使, Tuanlianshi). Emperor Dezong, on paper, gave Lulong two additional prefectures — De (德州, in modern Dezhou
, Shandong
) and Di (棣州, in modern Binzhou
, Shandong
) — both still then held by Li Na. Zhu was angered by Emperor Dezong's refusal to give him any part of Chengde territory (in particular, Shen Prefecture) and requiring him to capture two additional prefectures on his own, while Wang was angered that contrary to Emperor Dezong's implicit promises to give whomever killed Li Weiyue Li Weiyue's offices, he not only received a lesser title, but was in a position where he could easily be destroyed. Tian Yue, who was then still under imperial attack, thus persuaded Zhu and Wang to join him in an alliance to defend against imperial forces. Zhu and Wang both agreed, although when Zhu further tried to persuade Zhang to join the alliance as well, Zhang refused. As Zhu advanced south to meet Wang and to aid Tian, then, he left his cousin Liu Peng
in charge of Lulong Circuit, to defend against a potential attack by Zhang, while Zhang prepared for defending against attacks from Zhu and Wang. Subsequently, when Wang Wujun sent Wang Shizhen to put Kang under siege at Zhao Prefecture (趙州, in modern Shijiazhuang), the imperial general Li Sheng
, whose forces had been part of the forces fighting against Tian in the south, requested leave to advance north to meet Zhang to relieve Zhao Prefecture, and Emperor Dezong agreed. Once Li Sheng arrived at Zhao Prefecture, Wang Shizhen lifted the siege and returned to Heng Prefecture. In spring 783, Li Sheng and Zhang's son Zhang Shengyun (張昇雲) attacked Zhu's officer Zheng Jingji (鄭景濟) at Qingyuan (清苑, in modern Baoding). This, however, drew a response from Zhu, who left Tian's capital Wei Prefecture (魏州) and arrived at Qingyuan to battle Li Sheng. He defeated Li Sheng, forcing Zhang Shengyun and Li Sheng, who grew ill after the defeat, back to Yiwu's capital Ding Prefecture (定州).
In fall 783, troops from Jingyuan Circuit (涇原, headquartered in modern Pingliang
, Gansu
), then at Chang'an to wait for deployment to the eastern battlefield, mutinied when Emperor Dezong did not give them sufficient rewards, forcing Emperor Dezong to flee to Fengtian (奉天, in modern Xianyang
, Shaanxi
). They supported Zhu Tao's brother Zhu Ci
as their leader, and Zhu Ci soon declared himself the emperor of a new state of Qin and put Fengtian under siege. Li Sheng, upon his recovery later in the year, wanted to head immediately toward Fengtian to aid Emperor Dezong, but as Yiwu Circuit was wedged between Zhu Tao's and Wang's territory, Zhang Xiaozhong feared that he would be attacked and so tried to keep Li Sheng at Yiwu. Only after Li Sheng bribed Zhang's subordinates with jade and also kept his son Li Ping (李憑) at Yiwu (to be married to Zhang's daughter) did Zhang agree to let Li Sheng depart, and he further had Yang Rongguo, who had become his subordinate, accompany Li Sheng to aid Emperor Dezong. In spring 784, after Emperor Dezong tried to quell various rebellions by issuing a general pardon, he gave Zhang the honorary chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事).
In 786, after the realm had become relatively peaceful and submissive to Emperor Dezong's authority again, there was a famine for the region north of the Yellow River
. In the aftermaths of the war, there was little food storage, and many people starved to death. During this time, Zhang reduced his own diet and ate just dried beans. It was said that the people appreciated his frugality and considered him a model of goodness. In 787, Emperor Dezong gave him the honorary title of acting Sikong (司空, one of the Three Excellencies
), and offered to let his son Zhang Maozong (張茂宗) marry Emperor Dezong's daughter Princess Yizhang. Zhang sent his wife Lady Meigu, who was by this time carrying the title of Lady of Deng, to Chang'an to personally receive Princess Yizhang into the household, and Emperor Dezong welcomed Lady Meigu in a grand ceremony. In 789, for reasons unclear in history, Zhang attacked Wei Prefecture (蔚州, in modern Datong
, Shanxi
, not the same Wei Prefecture as Weibo's capital) and seized both people and livestock. Emperor Dezong issued an edict condemning the attack, and Zhang withdrew after some 10 days. As a result, Zhang was stripped of his honorary acting Sikong title. He died in 791. He was posthumously created the Prince of Shanggu and given a number of other posthumous honors.
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, of Xi
Kumo Xi
The Kumo Xi ) were a Mongolic steppe people located in current Manchuria from 207 AD to 907 AD. After the death of their ancestor Tadun in 207 they were no longer called Wuhuan but joined the Khitan Xianbei in submitting to the Yuwen Xianbei. Their history is widely linked to the more famous Khitan...
extraction. Initially he served the rebel state Yan
Yan (Anshi)
Yan , also known as the Great Yan , was a state established in 756 by the Tang Dynasty general An Lushan, after he rebelled against the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in 755. The state was extinguished in 763, with the death of An Lushan's former subordinate, Shi Siming's son, Shi Chaoyi, who...
, during the Anshi Rebellion, and later served the warlord Li Baochen
Li Baochen
Li Baochen , originally named Zhang Zhongzhi , courtesy name Weifu , known as An Zhongzhi during the Anshi Rebellion and Zhang Baochen 778–779, formally the Prince of Longxi , was a general of the Chinese rebel state Yan, who later submitted to and became a general of Tang Dynasty, from...
. After Li Baochen's death he joined the Imperial cause, giving the Imperial army a foothold north of the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
in spite of being surrounded by semi-independent warlord realms.
Background
Zhang Xiaozhong, initially known as Zhang Alao, was born in 730, during the reign of Emperor XuanzongEmperor Xuanzong of Tang
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...
. He was of Xi
Kumo Xi
The Kumo Xi ) were a Mongolic steppe people located in current Manchuria from 207 AD to 907 AD. After the death of their ancestor Tadun in 207 they were no longer called Wuhuan but joined the Khitan Xianbei in submitting to the Yuwen Xianbei. Their history is widely linked to the more famous Khitan...
ethnicity. His great-grandfather Zhang Jing (張靖) and grandfather Zhang Xun (張遜) were both chieftains of the Yishihuo (乙失活) tribe. During Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao era (742–756), Zhang Alao's father Zhang Mi (張謐) led his tribal people in submitting to Tang rule and was given an honorary title as the minister of vassal affairs.
Zhang Alao himself was tall, brave, strong, and filially pious. In the region, he and Wang Monuogan
Wang Wujun
Wang Wujun , courtesy name Yuanying , né Monuogan , formally Prince Zhonglie of Langye , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a long-time Jiedushi of Chengde Circuit during the reign of Emperor Dezong and ruling Chengde in a de facto independent manner...
(later known as Wang Wujun) were known as the strongest warriors. Near the end of the Tianbao era, as he was a capable archer, he came to serve under the Tang general An Lushan
An Lushan
An Lushan was a general who rebelled against the Tang Dynasty in China.His name was also transcribed into Chinese as Āluòshān or Gáluòshān ,...
, and made contributions in defeating Tujue tribes.
During Anshi Rebellion
In 755, An Lushan rebelled at Fanyang (范陽, in modern BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
), and Zhang Alao served as one of his forward commanders, along with Tian Chengsi
Tian Chengsi
Tian Chengsi , formally the Prince of Yanmen , was a general of the Chinese rebel state Yan, who later submitted to and became a general of Tang Dynasty, from which Yan had rebelled...
and Zhang Zhongzhi
Li Baochen
Li Baochen , originally named Zhang Zhongzhi , courtesy name Weifu , known as An Zhongzhi during the Anshi Rebellion and Zhang Baochen 778–779, formally the Prince of Longxi , was a general of the Chinese rebel state Yan, who later submitted to and became a general of Tang Dynasty, from...
. After An declared himself emperor of a new state of Yan
Yan (Anshi)
Yan , also known as the Great Yan , was a state established in 756 by the Tang Dynasty general An Lushan, after he rebelled against the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in 755. The state was extinguished in 763, with the death of An Lushan's former subordinate, Shi Siming's son, Shi Chaoyi, who...
, Zhang Alao served as a general of the Yan state, and later served under the later Yan emperor Shi Siming
Shi Siming
Shi Siming , or Shi Sugan , was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who followed his childhood friend An Lushan in rebelling against Tang, and who later succeeded An Lushan's son An Qingxu as emperor of the Yan state that An Lushan established.-Background:It is not known when Shi Sugan was born,...
and Shi Siming's son and successor Shi Chaoyi
Shi Chaoyi
Shi Chaoyi was the final emperor of the Yan state that was established in rebellion against the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the oldest son of Shi Siming, and he overthrew and then killed his father in a coup in 761 and took over as emperor...
as well in their campaigns against Tang. After Yan ended with Shi Chaoyi's death in 763, Zhang Zhongzhi surrendered to Tang, was bestowed the name Li Baochen, and became a Tang general — the military governor (Jiedushi
Jiedushi
The Jiedushi were regional military governors in China during the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. Originally set up to counter external threats, the jiedushi were given enormous power, including the ability to maintain their own armies, collect taxes, and pass their...
) of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about south of Beijing...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
), and Zhang Alao served under Li Baochen.
Service under Li Baochen and Li Weiyue
While serving under Li Baochen, Zhang Alao was given a number of honorary positions, and a new name of Xiaozhong (meaning "filially pious and faithful"). Li Baochen, believing Zhang to be faithful and brave, initially trusted him greatly, and married his sister-in-law Lady Meigu to Zhang. He also entrusted Zhang with the troops from Yi Prefecture (易州, in modern BaodingBaoding
-Administrative divisions:Baoding prefecture-level city consists of 3 municipal districts, 4 county-level cities, 18 counties:-Demographics:The Baoding urban area has a population of around 1,006,000 . The population of the Baoding administrative area is 10,890,000. The considerable majority are...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
). In 775, when Tian Chengsi, then the military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China.- History :Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period , after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
) wore out the patience of not only the imperial government by annexing most of Zhaoyi Circuit (昭義, then headquartered in modern Anyang
Anyang
Anyang is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, People's Republic of China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively....
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
), killing Li Baochen's brother Li Baozheng (李寶正), and being disrespectful to Li Zhengji
Li Zhengji
- Background :Li Huaiyu was born in 733, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. He was born in Tang's Pinglu Circuit...
the military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Weifang
Weifang
Weifang is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to the Laizhou Bay to the north.-History:Weifang is a historical city...
, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
), Emperor Xuanzong's grandson Emperor Daizong
Emperor Daizong of Tang
Emperor Daizong of Tang , personal name Li Yu , né Li Chu , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty....
commissioned a campaign against Tian. Tian preemptively attacked Chengde's Ji Prefecture (冀州, in modern Hengshui
Hengshui
Hengshui is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, China. It has an urban population of 460,240 in the built up area and a population of 4,340,373 at the 2010 census in its administrative area...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
). Li Baochen sent Zhang to defend against the attack with the Chengde elite troops, and when Tian realized that the campaign was not going well for him, he stated, "With Zhang Alao still present, I cannot take Ji Prefecture," and he withdrew. Subsequently, when Li Baochen was tricked by Tian into attacking another general, Zhu Tao
Zhu Tao
Zhu Tao , formally the Prince of Tongyi , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who initially served imperial causes during the reigns of Emperor Daizong and Emperor Dezong, but later turned against imperial rule in alliance with Wang Wujun, Tian Yue, and Li Na...
, the acting military governor of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) but was unable to seize Lulong Circuit, Li Baochen made Zhang the prefect of Yi Prefecture as precaution of a Zhu counterattack.
Toward the end of Li Baochen's life, he, who was ruling Chengde Circuit as his own domain semi-independent from the Tang imperial government, wanted to pass his position to his son Li Weiyue
Li Weiyue
Li Weiyue was the son of the Chinese Tang Dynasty general Li Baochen. After Li Baochen's death in 781, Li Weiyue tried to succeed his father as the de facto ruler of Chengde Circuit and waged a campaign against the imperial government when Emperor Dezong refused to let him do so...
, but believing Li Weiyue to be weak in personality and might not be able to stand up to some of the stronger officers, he found excuses to execute many of those officers. At one point, he sent Zhang Xiaozhong's brother Zhang Xiaojie (張孝節) to Yi Prefecture to summon Zhang Xiaozhong back to the circuit capital Heng Prefecture (恆州). Zhang Xiaozhong told Zhang Xiaojie to respond to Li Baochen:
Zhang Xiaojie protested that if he returned with this message that Li Baochen would surely kill him, but Zhang Xiaozhong pointed out that if they went back together, they would both die, but if he did not go, Li Baochen would not dare to act against Zhang Xiaojie — prediction that turned out to be correct. It was said that because of this, Zhang Xiaozhong and Wang Wujun, whose son Wang Shizhen
Wang Shizhen (Tang Dynasty)
Wang Shizhen , formally Prince Jingxiang of Qinghe , was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who served as a military governor of Chengde Circuit and ruled it in a de facto independent manner from the imperial regime.- Background :It is not known when Wang Shizhen was born...
was a son-in-law to Li Baochen, were the only two senior Chengde officers who survived Li Baochen's executions.
Li Baochen died in 781, and Li Weiyue requested that Emperor Daizong's son and successor Emperor Dezong
Emperor Dezong of Tang
Emperor Dezong of Tang , personally name Li Kuo , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and the oldest son of his father Emperor Daizong. His reign of 26 years was the third longest in the Tang dynasty...
allow him to succeed Li Baochen. Emperor Dezong refused. As a result, Li Weiyue and his allies Tian Yue
Tian Yue
Tian Yue , formally the Prince of Jiyang , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who, from 782 to 784, claimed the title of Prince of Wei independent from the Tang regime...
(Tian Chengsi's nephew, who had succeeded Tian Chengsi in 779), Li Na
Li Na (Tang Dynasty)
Li Na , formally the Prince of Longxi , was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. Inheriting the post from his father Li Zhengji, he served as the military governor of Pinglu Circuit semi-independently from the imperial government.- Background :Li Na was born in 758, during the reign of...
(Li Zhengji's son, who, similarly, was rejected by Emperor Dezong as his father's successor when Li Zhengji also died in 781), and Liang Chongyi
Liang Chongyi
Liang Chongyi was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Daizong, Liang took advantage of the army's discontent after the death of the general Lai Tian to seize control of Shannan East Circuit and hold it semi-independently from the imperial regime...
, the military governor of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道, headquartered in modern Xiangfan
Xiangfan
Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province of the People's Republic of China. It was formed from two famous ancient cities, Xiangyang and Fancheng...
, Hubei
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
), prepared for war against the imperial government. Zhu Tao, who was then submissive to the imperial government, attacked Chengde from the north. When he reached Yi Prefecture, Zhang was defending against his attack, but Zhu sent his subordinate Cai Xiong (蔡雄) to convince Zhang that Li Weiyue's cause was hopeless and unjust. Persuaded by Zhu, Zhang submitted to the imperial government, and Emperor Dezong gave Zhang the title of military governor of Chengde. Grateful to Zhu, Zhang had his son Zhang Maohe (張貿和) marry Zhu's daughter and formed a friendship with Zhu. Hearing that Zhang Xiaozhong had turned against him, Li Weiyue slaughtered all of Zhang Xiaozhong's brothers and sons still remaining at Heng Prefecture.
As Jiedushi
In spring 782, Zhu Tao and Zhang Xiaozhong captured Shulu (束鹿, in modern Shijiazhuang). Li Weiyue, in fear, considered submitting to the imperial government and giving up Chengde, but after Tian Yue found out, he angrily demanded the death of Li Weiyue's secretary Shao Zhen (邵真), who had recommended submission; Li Weiyue killed Shao and sent an army, commanded by the Weibo officer Meng You (孟祐) and Wang Wujun, to try to recapture Shulu. The joint Zhu and Zhang forces, however, defeated Li Weiyue's forces — as Wang was apprehensive that if he prevailed, Li Weiyue would be without apprehension and would kill him after his return, as Li Weiyue had also been fearful of him. Zhu wanted to continue on to the capital of Chengde, Heng Prefecture, but stopped his advances when, to his surprise, Zhang backed off and withdrew to Yifeng (義豐, in modern Baoding). When his subordinates questioned this move, Zhang stated his reasons:As Zhang predicted, Wang, once he returned to Heng Prefecture, started an uprising and killed Li Weiyue and surrendered. In the aftermaths of Li Weiyue's death, Li Weiyue's brother-in-law Yang Rongguo (楊榮國), who had been defending Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern Hengshui
Hengshui
Hengshui is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, China. It has an urban population of 460,240 in the built up area and a population of 4,340,373 at the 2010 census in its administrative area...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
), surrendered to Zhu. With Li Weiyue and Liang (who had been defeated by Li Xilie
Li Xilie
Li Xilie was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty who, believing himself to be strong enough to claim imperial title, did so as the emperor of a new state of Chu...
and committed suicide) defeated and the forces loyal to the imperial government besieging Tian and Li Na, it was believed that the rebels would soon be destroyed and the empire returned to unity.
After the victory at Chengde, however, Emperor Dezong made a series of moves that simultaneously alienated Zhu and Wang. He refused to give Shen Prefecture to Lulong, as Zhu had requested. Rather, he divided the seven prefectures of Chengde into three smaller circuits, making Zhang the military governor of a newly created Yidingcang Circuit (易定滄, headquartered in modern Baoding, soon renamed to Yiwu (義武)), consisting of three prefectures, with his headquarters at Ding Prefecture (定州), while giving two prefectures each to Wang and Kang Rizhi (康日知, another Chengde general who had submitted to imperial authority during the campaign), with the lesser titles of military prefect (團練使, Tuanlianshi). Emperor Dezong, on paper, gave Lulong two additional prefectures — De (德州, in modern Dezhou
Dezhou
Dezhou is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei to the north....
, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
) and Di (棣州, in modern Binzhou
Binzhou
Binzhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River with two arms extended to the southern bank, Binzhou borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southwest, Dezhou to the west, Zibo to the south,...
, Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
) — both still then held by Li Na. Zhu was angered by Emperor Dezong's refusal to give him any part of Chengde territory (in particular, Shen Prefecture) and requiring him to capture two additional prefectures on his own, while Wang was angered that contrary to Emperor Dezong's implicit promises to give whomever killed Li Weiyue Li Weiyue's offices, he not only received a lesser title, but was in a position where he could easily be destroyed. Tian Yue, who was then still under imperial attack, thus persuaded Zhu and Wang to join him in an alliance to defend against imperial forces. Zhu and Wang both agreed, although when Zhu further tried to persuade Zhang to join the alliance as well, Zhang refused. As Zhu advanced south to meet Wang and to aid Tian, then, he left his cousin Liu Peng
Liu Peng
Liu Peng , formally Duke Gong of Pengcheng , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, who served as military governor of Lulong Circuit briefly in 785 following the death of his cousin, the warlord Zhu Tao.- Background :Liu Peng was born in 727, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong...
in charge of Lulong Circuit, to defend against a potential attack by Zhang, while Zhang prepared for defending against attacks from Zhu and Wang. Subsequently, when Wang Wujun sent Wang Shizhen to put Kang under siege at Zhao Prefecture (趙州, in modern Shijiazhuang), the imperial general Li Sheng
Li Sheng
Li Sheng was a Chinese landscape artist. His brush painting Saying Farewell by the Lake Dianshan is popular in the west, as exemplified by its widespread availability.- See also :* Chinese painting in the Song and Yuan dynasties...
, whose forces had been part of the forces fighting against Tian in the south, requested leave to advance north to meet Zhang to relieve Zhao Prefecture, and Emperor Dezong agreed. Once Li Sheng arrived at Zhao Prefecture, Wang Shizhen lifted the siege and returned to Heng Prefecture. In spring 783, Li Sheng and Zhang's son Zhang Shengyun (張昇雲) attacked Zhu's officer Zheng Jingji (鄭景濟) at Qingyuan (清苑, in modern Baoding). This, however, drew a response from Zhu, who left Tian's capital Wei Prefecture (魏州) and arrived at Qingyuan to battle Li Sheng. He defeated Li Sheng, forcing Zhang Shengyun and Li Sheng, who grew ill after the defeat, back to Yiwu's capital Ding Prefecture (定州).
In fall 783, troops from Jingyuan Circuit (涇原, headquartered in modern Pingliang
Pingliang
Pingliang is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu Province in China. Pingliang is famous for a local mountain range that includes Kongtong Mountain, a site sacred to Taoism and mythical meeting place of the Yellow Emperor and Guangchengzi, an immortal....
, Gansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
), then at Chang'an to wait for deployment to the eastern battlefield, mutinied when Emperor Dezong did not give them sufficient rewards, forcing Emperor Dezong to flee to Fengtian (奉天, in modern Xianyang
Xianyang
Xianyang is a former capital of China in Shaanxi province, on the Wei River, a few kilometers upstream from Xi'an. It has an area of...
, Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
). They supported Zhu Tao's brother Zhu Ci
Zhu Ci
Zhu Ci was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. He initially served as military governor of Lulong Circuit , but later became a general for the imperial government...
as their leader, and Zhu Ci soon declared himself the emperor of a new state of Qin and put Fengtian under siege. Li Sheng, upon his recovery later in the year, wanted to head immediately toward Fengtian to aid Emperor Dezong, but as Yiwu Circuit was wedged between Zhu Tao's and Wang's territory, Zhang Xiaozhong feared that he would be attacked and so tried to keep Li Sheng at Yiwu. Only after Li Sheng bribed Zhang's subordinates with jade and also kept his son Li Ping (李憑) at Yiwu (to be married to Zhang's daughter) did Zhang agree to let Li Sheng depart, and he further had Yang Rongguo, who had become his subordinate, accompany Li Sheng to aid Emperor Dezong. In spring 784, after Emperor Dezong tried to quell various rebellions by issuing a general pardon, he gave Zhang the honorary chancellor designation of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事).
In 786, after the realm had become relatively peaceful and submissive to Emperor Dezong's authority again, there was a famine for the region north of the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
. In the aftermaths of the war, there was little food storage, and many people starved to death. During this time, Zhang reduced his own diet and ate just dried beans. It was said that the people appreciated his frugality and considered him a model of goodness. In 787, Emperor Dezong gave him the honorary title of acting Sikong (司空, one of the Three Excellencies
Three Excellencies
The Three Ducal Ministers , also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in ancient China...
), and offered to let his son Zhang Maozong (張茂宗) marry Emperor Dezong's daughter Princess Yizhang. Zhang sent his wife Lady Meigu, who was by this time carrying the title of Lady of Deng, to Chang'an to personally receive Princess Yizhang into the household, and Emperor Dezong welcomed Lady Meigu in a grand ceremony. In 789, for reasons unclear in history, Zhang attacked Wei Prefecture (蔚州, in modern Datong
Datong
Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province of North China, located a few hundred kilometres west by rail from Beijing with an elevation of...
, Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, not the same Wei Prefecture as Weibo's capital) and seized both people and livestock. Emperor Dezong issued an edict condemning the attack, and Zhang withdrew after some 10 days. As a result, Zhang was stripped of his honorary acting Sikong title. He died in 791. He was posthumously created the Prince of Shanggu and given a number of other posthumous honors.