Wang Tingcou( vương đình thấu or vương đình thấu; died 834), formally theDuke of Taiyuan(Thái Nguyên công), was a general of theChineseTang dynasty who, in 821, during the reign ofEmperor Muzong,took over control of Chengde Circuit ( thành đức, headquartered in modernShijiazhuang,Hebei) and thereafter ruled it in ade factoindependent manner from the imperial government. He was said to be particularly cruel even for a warlord. After his death, his family held onto control of the circuit, even after the end of Tang dynasty, until his great-great-grandsonWang Rongwas overthrown in 921 – 100 years after Wang Tingcou had initially taken over the circuit.[1]
Background
editIt is not known when Wang Tingcou was born. His ancestors were of theHuiguAbusi (A Bố tư) tribe, which had been submissive to theTang dynastyProtectorate General to Pacify the East.His great-grandfather Wugezhi (Ngũ ca chi) came to serve underLi Baochen[2]the military governor (Jiedushi) of Chengde and Li Baochen's sonLi Weiyue.After Li Weiyue's death, Li Weiyue's successorWang Wujun,because of Wugezhi's bravery in battle, adopted Wugezhi as a son, and thus Wugezhi took on the surname of Wang.[3]Both Wang Tingcou's grandfather Wang Modahuo (Vương mạt đát sống) and father Wang Shengchao (Vương thăng triều) continued to serve under Wang Wujun's family as cavalry officers. Wang Tingcou himself was said to be brave and quiet, but decisive.[4]
During Emperor Muzong's reign
editWhen Wang Wujun's grandsonWang Chengzongdied in 820, Wang Chengzong's brotherWang Chengyuantemporarily took over command of the circuit but requested to be transferred, fearing to be targeted as a warlord.[5]At that time, Wang Tingcou served as the commander of Wang Chengyuan's guards.[4]Then-reigningEmperor MuzongtransferredTian Hongzhengthe military governor of Weibo Circuit ( Ngụy bác, headquartered in modernHandan,Hebei) to Chengde and transferred Wang Chengyuan to Yicheng Circuit ( nghĩa thành, headquartered in modernAnyang,Henan). Wang Chengyuan subsequently left Chengde and headed for Yicheng despite the attempts by some soldiers to detain him at Chengde.[5]
However, Tian, while at Weibo, had engaged in many campaigns against Chengde, and therefore was hated by the Chengde soldiers. He therefore took 2,000 Weibo soldiers to Chengde with him to protect him. He requested the imperial government to pay these soldiers' salaries. The director of finances, Cui Ling (Thôi 倰), however, did not realize the seriousness of the situation and rejected Tian's request. Tian was forced to send the Weibo soldiers back to Weibo. Meanwhile, Wang Tingcou had been inciting the soldiers against Tian, and as soon as Weibo soldiers left, in fall 821, he gathered the troops at Chengde's capital Zhen Prefecture (Trấn châu) and attacked Tian's headquarters, killing Tian, his staff members, and their families — some 300 people. He forced theeunuchmonitor of the army, Song Weicheng (Tống duy trừng), to submit a request on his behalf to be made military governor. Meanwhile, he had Wang Jinji (Vương tiến ngập), the prefect of another of Chengde's prefectures, Ji Prefecture ( Ký Châu, in modernHengshui,Hebei) assassinated and took over Ji Prefecture. The prefect of another of Chengde's prefectures, Shen Prefecture ( thâm châu, in modern Hengshui), Niu Yuanyi (Ngưu nguyên cánh), refused to follow Wang and followed orders from the imperial generalLi Su,who had succeeded Tian as the military governor of Weibo. Emperor Muzong named Niu the new military governor of Chengde. However, Li Su soon grew ill, and his command was instead given to Tian's sonTian Bu.When five Chengde officers, led by Wang Jian (Vương kiệm), tried to assassinate Wang Tingcou, Wang Tingcou not only killed them but also the 3,000 soldiers under their command. He subsequently took his own soldiers and those of his allyZhu Kerong(who had seized Lulong Circuit ( Lư long, headquartered in modernBeijing)) and put Shen Prefecture under siege.[6]
The imperial troops soon tried to attack Wang Tingcou from three directions —Pei Duthe military governor of Hedong Circuit ( Hà Đông, headquartered in modernTaiyuan,Shanxi) from the west, Tian Bu from the south, andWu Chongyinthe military governor of Henghai Circuit ( hoành hải, headquartered in modernCangzhou,Hebei) from the east. (Wu was soon succeeded byLi Guangyan.) After the key outpost Gonggao ( cung cao, in modern Cangzhou) fell to Zhu's troops in spring 822, however, the imperial army's own supply routes, as well as the supply routes for Shen Prefecture, were cut off. With Shen Prefecture in dire straits, Emperor Muzong was forced to commission Wang Tingcou the military governor of Chengde. Wang accepted the commission, but refused to lift the siege on Shen Prefecture, even when the imperial officialHan Yuwas sent to urge him. Eventually, Niu fought his way out of the siege, and his subordinate Zang Ping (Tang bình) surrendered. Wang rebuked Zang for defending the city for too long and executed Zang and 180 other officials in the city.[6]When Emperor Muzong subsequently sent the eunuch messenger Yang Zaichang (Dương lại xương) to Wang to order him to turn over Tian Hongzheng's body and Niu's family, Wang responded that Tian's body could no longer be located and that he would soon release Niu's family[4]— but he never actually did so, despite Niu's repeatedly sending Wang gifts and requests to release his family, while Niu served as the military governor of Shannan East Circuit ( Sơn Nam đông đạo, headquartered in modernXiangfan,Hubei),[7]until Niu's death in 823.[8]
During Emperor Jingzong's and Emperor Wenzong's reigns
editShortly after Emperor Muzong died in 824 and was succeeded by his sonEmperor Jingzong,Wang Tingcou heard of Niu Yuanyi's death and slaughtered Niu's family — leading the new emperor to lament that thechancellorswere incompetent. As of 826, Emperor Jingzong was originally intent on visiting the eastern capitalLuoyangand restoring the early Tang customs of the emperor spending time in both the main capitalChang'anand Luoyang. Both Wang and Zhu Kerong sent arrogantly worded offers to contribute troops to repair the long-ruined palaces and governmental offices at Luoyang, offers that Emperor Jingzong declined, and Emperor Jingzong subsequently abandoned the plan to visit Luoyang, at the urging of the senior chancellorPei Du.[7]
Also in 826, after Li Quanlüe (Lý toàn lược) the military governor of Henghai Circuit died, his sonLi Tongjietook over the circuit without imperial sanction. The imperial government initially took no reaction against Li Tongjie. After Emperor Jingzong was assassinated in late 826 and was succeeded by his brotherEmperor Wenzong,Li Tongjie hoped that the new regime would be willing to let him inherit the circuit, and in early 827 sent his secretary Cui Congzhang (Thôi từ trường) and his brothers Li Tongzhi (Lý đồng chí) and Li Tongsun (Lý cùng tốn) to Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Wenzong. Emperor Wenzong, however, did not intend to let Li Tongjie take over the circuit, subsequently issued an edict transferring Wu Chongyin from Tianping Circuit ( thiên bình, headquartered in modernTai'an,Shandong) to Henghai and Li Tongjie to Yanhai Circuit ( duyện hải, headquartered in modernJining,Shandong). As the imperial government was concerned that the other circuit governors would encourage Li Tongjie to resist, Emperor Wenzong bestowed various honorific titles on the military governors, including Wang, around Henghai. Wang, however, requested commission for Li Tongjie, and when his request was denied, mobilized his own troops to interfere with the operations by Weibo's military governorShi Xianchengagainst Henghai. He also tried to bribe theShatuochieftain Zhuxie Zhiyi (Chu tà chấp nghi), trying to get Zhuxie to ally with him, but Zhuxie refused.[7]
Emperor Wenzong subsequently declared a general campaign against Li Tongjie, but with Wang assisting Li Tongjie and supplying him with both troops and supplies in the other circuits' campaign against Li Tongjie, in fall 828, Emperor Wenzong declared Wang a renegade but did not order a campaign against him, merely ordering the other circuits to treat him as a renegade and wait for his repentance. Soon thereafter, however, he stripped Wang and his sons of their titles and ordered a general campaign against him. Meanwhile, with the other circuits' armies making headway against Li Tongjie and Wang unable to relieve him, in winter 828, Wang persuaded the Weibo officer Qi Zhishao (Kỳ chí Thiệu) to rebel and turn against Shi, attacking Weibo's capital Wei Prefecture (Ngụy châu). Emperor Wenzong was forced to order the troops from Yicheng and Heyang ( Hà Dương, headquartered in modernLuoyang,Henan) to aid Weibo.[7]In spring 829, after Shi Xiancheng's son Shi Tang (Sử đường) and the military governor of Yicheng, Li Ting (Lý nghe), defeated Qi, Qi fled to Chengde. After Li Tongjie soon surrendered but was killed by the imperial official Bo Qi (Bách kỳ) after he surrendered, Emperor Wenzong thereafter resumed the posture of declaring Wang a renegade but not waging a campaign against him. Wang soon sent a letter toLi Chengthe military governor of Hedong Circuit, offering to resubmit and surrender Henghai's Jing Prefecture ( cảnh châu, in modern Cangzhou), which Wang had seized during the campaign, and reporting that Qi had committed suicide. In fall 829, Emperor Wenzong pardoned Wang and his subordinates and restored their titles.[9]
Wang Tingcou was subsequently created the Duke of Taiyuan.[4]In 834, he died. The soldiers supported his sonWang Yuankuito succeed him, and Emperor Wenzong subsequently approved.[10]Wang Tingcou was given posthumous honors. Wang Tingcou's biography in theOld Book of Tangcommented:[4]
Ever since the time of Li Baochen, although Zhenji [(i.e., Chengde)] saw the rebellions of Li Weiyue and Wang Chengzong, it nevertheless befriended its neighbors and feared the law, hoping to be forgiven. But as it comes to being violent, malevolent, treasonous, having no regard for the emperor, and being unkind, none exceeded Wang Tingcou.