Background and governance of Yiwu

It is not known when Wang Gao was born. His father Wang Chucun had become the military governor (Jiedushi) of Yiwu Circuit in 879, and during Wang Chucun's governance, Wang Gao became deputy military governor (副大使, Fudashi). After Wang Chucun's death in 895, the soldiers supported Wang Gao to be acting military governor. Then-reigning Emperor Zhaozong thus commissioned him as acting military governor, and then full military governor. In 897, Emperor Zhaozong gave Wang Gao the honorary chancellor designation Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi.

Defeat and flight

In 900, the major warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), an archrival to Wang Gao's ally Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), sent his general Zhang Cunjing north to try to subdue Li Keyong's allies east of the Taihang Mountains. After first forcing Wang Rong the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei) to submit, Zhang attacked Yiwu Circuit. Wang Gao sent his uncle Wang Chuzhi to resist Zhang. Wang Chuzhi advocated building fences to try to impede the Xuanwu army's advancement, to tire it out, before engaging the Xuanwu army. However, the officer Liang Wen (梁汶), arguing that the Yiwu army had a numerical advantage, advocated an immediate confrontation. Wang Gao thus ordered one. Zhang, however, crushed the Yiwu army and killed over half of its soldiers; the remaining soldiers escorted Wang Chuzhi and fled back to Yiwu's capital Ding Prefecture (定州).

Faced with his uncle's defeat, Wang Gao fled to Hedong Circuit. (The soldiers subsequently supported Wang Chuzhi as acting military governor, and he was able to secure a peace agreement with Zhu by agreeing to submit to Zhu.) Li Keyong gave him an honorary post. He died early in the Tianfu era (901–904).

Notes and references

• Old Book of Tang, vol. 182.

• New Book of Tang, vol. 186.

• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 260, 261, 262.

家世及管治義武軍

王郜生年不詳。父王處存于乾符六年（879年）成為義武軍節度使，王處存管治期間，王郜為副大使。乾寧二年（895年）王處存死後，士兵推王郜為留後。唐昭宗任王郜為留後，又任為全權節度使。三年（896年），昭宗出奔華州，河東節度使李克用派王郜和成德節度使王鎔給附庸盧龍節度使劉仁恭寫信並向其徵兵，欲聯合定關中，奉昭宗回長安，劉仁恭以契丹正入侵為由推辭。四年（897年）九月，昭宗加王郜宰相銜同中書門下平章事，加檢校司空，又進太保。十一月，朱全忠大舉進攻淮南節度使楊行密但在清口之戰中被擊退，便說服鎮海軍和鎮東軍節度使錢鏐、鎮南軍節度使鐘傳、武昌軍節度使杜洪、平盧軍節度使王師範指稱被楊行密攻打，請求昭宗以朱全忠為都統討伐楊行密，王郜則與護國軍節度使王珂、李克用、王鎔指稱被朱全忠攻打，請求以楊行密為都統討伐朱全忠。昭宗拒絕雙方所請。

敗逃

光化三年（900年）七月，王郜盟友河東節度使李克用的主要敵人大軍閥宣武軍節度使朱全忠派潁州刺史張存敬北上降服李克用在太行山以東的盟友。王鎔首先被迫歸順，並在其判官張澤勸說下派使者周式說服朱全忠先對付和李克用結親的鄰鎮義武軍。九月，張存敬攻打劉仁恭，王郜正與劉仁恭交厚，派堂叔父後院中軍都知兵馬使王處直率兵擾敵軍之後，令騎將甄瓊章屯義豐，但張存敬的游奕騎已到，且戰且退十餘里，擒獲甄瓊章。王處直想在迎戰宣武軍之前依城建柵欄阻其前進以疲之，但孔目官梁汶說張存敬軍隊才三萬，義武軍則有五萬，數量占優，主張立刻一戰。王郜下令交戰，但張存敬卻擊潰義武軍于沙河懷德亭，俘殺大將十五人，殺義武軍過半。張存敬收集繳獲的械甲交給戰士，焚燒其餘，于是圍定州。王郜告急于李克用，李克用派衙內都將李嗣昭率步騎三萬赴援，李嗣昭攻下懷州，卻未能攻下孟州，僅壞其羊馬城。王郜斬梁汶，寫信給張存敬，請求盟好。義武軍軍部定州外城被宣武軍攻陷，義武軍敗軍餘眾擁王處直回定州，驅逐王郜。

十月，王郜畏懼，率弟弟王鄴等族人逃到河東。當時，河東內牙軍副周德威剛會同劉仁恭子盧龍將劉守光在望都打敗二萬宣武軍，聞王郜來奔，便班師。義武軍士兵隨後推王處直為留後，他答應歸順朱全忠，從而與朱講和。李克用為王郜上表求得榮銜檢校太尉。天複（901年-904年）初年，卒于晉陽。

注釋及參考文獻