Zhang Zhongwu

Zhang Zhongwu (; died 849 ), formally Prince Zhuang of Lanling (; per the Old Book of Tang ) or Duke Zhuang of Lanling (; per the New Book of Tang ), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Tang dynasty who governed Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) as its military governor (jiedushi) in de facto independence from the imperial government, but who followed imperial orders in campaigns against remnants of the Uyghur Khanate, as well as Khitan, Xi, and Shiwei tribes.

Background and seizure of Lulong Circuit It is not known when Zhang Zhongwu was born, but it is known that his family was from Fanyang, the capital of Lulong Circuit, which was then in de facto independence from the imperial government. His father Zhang Guangchao was an officer of the Lulong army. It was said that in his youth, he studied the Zuo Zhuan version of the Spring and Autumn Annals, but at some point abandoned his studies and joined the military, eventually becoming the commander of Xiongwu Base (雄武軍, in modern Chengde, Hebei).

Meanwhile, Zhang Zhongwu sent his subordinate Wu Zhongshu to Chang'an to submit a petition on his behalf, accusing Zhang Jiang of cruelty and requesting imperial permission to attack Zhang Jiang. When Wu arrived at Chang'an, Emperor Wuzong had the chancellors question Wu further on the situation at Lulong. Wu, under Li Deyu's questioning, argued that because neither Chen nor Zhang Jiang was from the Lulong army, the Lulong soldiers did not completely support either, while Zhang Zhongwu was well-supported by the Lulong soldiers due to his father's long-standing career in the Lulong army. Wu opined that when Zhang attacked Fanyang, he would be quickly able to capture it due to the soldiers' support—and even if he failed to do so, because the food supplies for You Prefecture (幽州, i.e., Fanyang) came from the prefectures and bases to its north, Zhang Zhongwu could starve You Prefecture into submission by cutting off its supply lines.

After the campaign against the Uyghurs Still, Emperor Wuzong was worried that the rivalry between Zhang Zhongwu and Liu Mian would interfere with the Zhaoyi campaign, and therefore (after the imperial emissary Li Hui was unable to moderate the strain between Zhang and Liu) soon transferred Liu to Yicheng Circuit (義成, headquartered in modern Anyang, Henan). The former chancellor Li Shi was made the military governor of Hedong, but soon, a mutiny led by Yang Bian expelled Li Shi. In the aftermaths of the mutiny against Li Shi, Emperor Wuzong considered sending Zhang to attack Yang, but Li Deyu pointed out that, due to Zhang's and Liu's rivalry, Zhang might bear a grudge against Hedong Circuit in general and might kill excessively, so Emperor Wuzong did not send Zhang. (Yang's mutiny was soon put down by Hedong soldiers under the command of the eunuch monitor of the army, Lü Yizhong .)

After Liu Zhen was defeated, Emperor Wuzong again urged Zhang to wipe out the Uyghur raiders, and apparently, Zhang repeatedly prevailed, causing Wujie Khan to flee further. As a result, Zhang requested that a monument be erected to commemorate the victories over the Uyghurs. Emperor Wuzong agreed, and had Li Deyu author the text.

In 845, Emperor Wuzong, a devout Taoist, ordered a general suppression of Buddhism and several other religions. Many Mount Wutai Buddhist monks fled to You Prefecture. Li Deyu, who encouraged Emperor Wuzong to suppress Buddhism, summoned Zhang's emissary at Chang'an and informed him that it would merely damage his relationship with the imperial government if he accepted the Mount Wutai monks. In response, Zhang sent two swords to his commander at Juyong Pass, ordering the commander to behead every monk who came through the pass.

In 847, by which time Emperor Wuzong had died and been succeeded by his uncle Emperor Xuānzong, Zhang was given the honorary chancellor title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi to reward him for his victories over the Uyghurs. Later in the year, he had a great victory over the Xi. By that point, Wujie Khan's brother and successor E'nian Khan had been dependent on the Xi chieftain Shi Shelang for support, and after Zhang's victory over the Xi he could no longer do so, and so was forced to flee further to the Shiwei. In 848, apparently to try to appease Tang, E'nian Khan sent an emissary to pay homage to Emperor Xuānzong. When the emissary was returning to E'nian Khan through You Prefecture, however, Zhang ordered him to kill E'nian Khan once he arrived back at E'nian Khan's headquarters. When E'nian Khan heard this, he fled, leaving his people with the Shiwei.

In 849, Zhang died. Emperor Xuānzong allowed his son Zhang Zhifang to inherit his position, and gave him posthumous honors.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 180 New Book of Tang, vol. 212. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 246, 247, 248.