Biography
Family Background and Early Years
Wang Quanbin was born into a military family. His father was the commander of the Kelan garrison under Later Tang and privately maintained more than one hundred armed retainers. Li Cunxu, later Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang, became suspicious and summoned Wang's father, who was afraid to appear. At the age of twelve, Wang Quanbin told his father that the ruler probably suspected him of another design and offered to serve as a hostage. His father followed the proposal, and the arrangement dispelled Li Cunxu's suspicions. Wang Quanbin was thereafter taken into military service. The *History of Song*, vol. 255, biography 14, records this episode explicitly and presents it as evidence of his courage from an early age.
A chronological issue should be noted. Li Cunxu proclaimed himself emperor and founded Later Tang in 923; in 919, when Wang was twelve if his birth year of 908 is accepted, Li Cunxu was still Prince of Jin. Historical texts call him “Emperor Zhuangzong” retrospectively, a conventional historiographical practice.
Career during the Five Dynasties
In 923, Wang Quanbin followed Emperor Zhuangzong into Luoyang and successively held palace posts. In 926, the mutiny at Weizhou set off a chain of disturbances, and the Xingjiaomen Incident then erupted in Luoyang as mutineers entered the palace city. Senior attendants and veteran generals abandoned their armor and fled, but Wang Quanbin, Fu Yanqing, and a dozen others remained inside and resisted. When Emperor Zhuangzong was struck by an arrow, they supported him to Jiangxiao Hall. He died of his wounds, and Wang Quanbin left in tears. The *History of Song* records this as the outstanding example of Wang's loyalty and bravery in his early career.
After Li Siyuan, Emperor Mingzong, took the throne, Wang was appointed an officer of the imperial guard. Early in the Later Jin, he followed Hou Yi and defeated Zhang Congbin at Sishui, earning promotion to commander of the Husheng unit. Early in the Guangshun era of Later Zhou, Husheng was renamed Longjie, and Wang became commander-in-chief of the right wing. During the Later Zhou campaign against Murong Yanchao at Yanzhou, he served as chief commander of infantry and cavalry in the field army.
In 955, Wang followed Xiang Xun, also known as Xiang Gong, in attacking the Later Shu prefectures of Qin and Feng. For his service he was appointed Training Commissioner of En Prefecture and soon Military Prefect of Si Prefecture. In 959, he joined Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, Chai Rong, in a northern campaign against the Liao, captured Waqiao Pass, and became acting military governor of Xiang Prefecture. By this stage he was an experienced general of the late Five Dynasties, having served four regimes and repeatedly distinguished himself in battle.
Achievements in the Early Song
In 960, Zhao Kuangyin replaced Later Zhou and founded the Song. In the fifth month, Li Yun, Military Commissioner of Zhaoyi Circuit, rebelled at Lu Prefecture. Wang Quanbin and Inspector-General of the Palace Command Murong Yanzhao advanced by the eastern route to join the main army and suppress him. For this merit Wang became Military Commissioner of Anguo Circuit. Zhao Kuangyin later ordered him to repair the fortifications of the Western Hills; Wang completed the work on time and won Emperor Taizu's approval.
In 963, Wang and Guo Jin, Military Prefect of Ming Prefecture, led troops against Northern Han, penetrated the Taiyuan region, captured several thousand men, and took Leping. The campaign further strengthened Wang's position in the early Song military establishment.
Commander of the Campaign against Shu
In the tenth month of 964, Wang transferred to Military Commissioner of Zhongwu Circuit. The following month, Emperor Taizu ordered an invasion of Later Shu and appointed Wang overall commander of the forward army on the Feng Prefecture route of the Western Sichuan field army. He led 20,000 imperial infantry and cavalry and another 10,000 troops from the prefectures. Zhao Kuangyin summoned him to the palace, displayed a map of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and personally explained the strategy. In heavy winter snow, the emperor removed his own purple sable coat and cap and sent them by fast messenger to the front as a sign of favor.
In the twelfth month, Wang captured the fortified positions at Qanqudu and Wanrenyanzi and then took Xing Prefecture. Lan Siwan, Later Shu's prefect of Xing, withdrew to Xi County. Wang defeated 7,000 Shu troops and captured more than 400,000 hu of grain. Song troops then took more than twenty fortified sites including Shichui, Yuguan, and Baishui. The vanguard under Shi Yande advanced on Sanquan, defeated tens of thousands of Shu troops, captured the Shu campaign commander Han Baozheng and deputy Li Jin, and seized more than 300,000 hu of grain.
The Shu army blocked the plank roads and halted the Song advance. Wang considered entering Shu by the Luochuan route. Kang Yanze privately told Cui Yanjin that the Luochuan route was too narrow for the army to advance together and proposed dividing the forces, repairing the plank road, and rejoining the main army at Shendu. Cui conveyed the proposal and Wang accepted it, ordering Cui Yanjin and Kang Yanze to supervise repairs. The work was completed in several days. The Song army then attacked Jinshan Stockade and Xiaomantian Stockade, while Wang advanced through Luochuan to Shendu and joined Cui. Shu forces formed along the river. Cui sent Zhang Wanyou and others to seize the bridge, forcing them to withdraw to Damantian Stockade. The next day Cui, Kang, and Zhang attacked in three columns and routed the Shu elite. The Shu generals Wang Shenchao and the army supervisor Zhao Chongwo fled, then joined Sanquan army supervisor Liu Tingzuo and senior commanders Wang Zhaoyuan and Zhao Chongtao, but lost three successive engagements. Song troops pursued them to the north of Li Prefecture. Wang Zhaoyuan crossed the Jubo River, burned the bridge, and retreated toward Jianmen. Song forces captured Li Prefecture and seized 800,000 hu of grain.
Battle of Jianmen and the Fall of Later Shu
Advancing from Li Prefecture toward Jianmen, Wang encamped at Yiguang and consulted his commanders. Xiang Tao, head of the palace guard troops, reported information from the surrendered soldier Mou Jin: east of the Yiguang River, beyond several mountains, a narrow path called Laisu led toward the southern side of Jianmen and rejoined the main road at Qingqiang, twenty li south of the pass. Wang initially prepared to lead the movement himself, but Kang Yanze argued that such a narrow path did not require the chief commander and recommended that the main forces attack together while a detachment took Laisu, reached Qingqiang, and struck Jianmen from the south.
Wang accepted the plan and ordered Shi Yande to lead a detachment toward Laisu and build a floating bridge. The Shu defenders abandoned their position when the bridge was completed. Hearing that Shi had reached Qingqiang, Wang Zhaoyuan withdrew to Hanyuapo and formed battle lines while leaving a subordinate force at Jianmen. Wang Quanbin and the other Song commanders defeated the Shu army. Wang Zhaoyuan and Zhao Chongtao fled but were pursued and captured by light cavalry and sent to Bianjing. Song troops then took Jian Prefecture, killing more than ten thousand Shu soldiers. Once the natural defenses of Jianmen were broken, Chengdu stood exposed.
On 13 January 965, Song forces encamped at Weicheng. Meng Chang, ruler of Later Shu, sent an envoy with a memorial of surrender. Wang and the other commanders entered Chengdu, bringing Later Shu to an end only sixty-six days after the army had set out. More than ten days later, the eastern-route army under Liu Guangyi, also known as Liu Tingrang, arrived by the gorge route. Meng Chang gave Liu's forces rewards and provisions at the same level as those earlier given to Wang's troops, and the Song court likewise made no distinction in its awards. Mutual resentment arose between the two armies, and the commanders became divided. Wang and the others had earlier been instructed that matters were to be decided jointly by the commanders; even minor issues could therefore no longer be settled by one man alone.
Unrest in Shu and Failure of Governance
Soon after the conquest, the court ordered surrendered Shu soldiers to be sent to the capital, with ten thousand cash given to each man and two additional months of rations for those not yet dispatched. Wang and the other commanders did not promptly implement the order. The surrendered troops became resentful and increasingly inclined to rebel. Numerous military envoys attached to the two armies were protected by Wang, Cui Yanjin, Wang Renshan, and others and were not required to escort the surrendered soldiers; instead, local staff officers were sent from the prefectures. At Mian Prefecture the Shu soldiers rebelled, plundered surrounding counties, gathered more than 100,000 followers, and called themselves the “Army for Reviving the State.”
Quan Shixiong, a former Later Shu officer and prefect of Wen Prefecture, had a reputation for authority and benevolence among soldiers. He was taking his entire family toward the capital when the uprising broke out at Mian Prefecture. Fearing he would be forcibly drawn into the rebellion, he hid his family in a household at Jiangqu, but the rebels found them several days later and made him their leader. Wang sent army supervisor Mi Guangxu to offer amnesty. Instead, Mi exterminated Quan's family, took Quan's favored daughter as a concubine, and confiscated the family's property. When Quan learned what had happened, he abandoned any thought of surrender. He attacked Mian Prefecture but was defeated by Liu Fu of the Henghai command and Tian Shaobin of the Longjie command. He then captured Peng Prefecture, killed army supervisor Li Derong, and occupied the city. Ten counties around Chengdu rose in response. Quan styled himself “Great King Who Revives Shu,” established a headquarters and staff, appointed more than twenty military commissioners, and divided control of Guankou, Daojiang, Pi, Xinfan, Qingcheng, and other counties among his followers.
Cui Yanjin, Zhang Wanyou, Gao Yanhui, and Tian Qinzuo marched against him but were defeated. Gao was killed and Tian narrowly escaped. Wang next sent Zhang Tinghan and Zhang Xu, who also failed and retreated into Chengdu. Quan divided forces between Mian and Han, cut the plank roads, built fortified posts along the river, and announced that he would attack Chengdu. Seventeen prefectures—Qiong, Shu, Mei, Ya, Dongchuan, Guo, Sui, Yu, He, Zi, Jian, Chang, Pu, Jia, Rong, Ling, and another Rong named in the source list—rose one after another. Postal communications were cut for more than a month, and Wang and the other commanders became extremely fearful.
There were still 20,000 surrendered soldiers in Chengdu. Fearing they would join the rebellion, Wang and the commanders lured them into the enclosed city area and killed them all. The act was extremely brutal and did not restore order; instead, resistance spread further. Lü Han, commander of the Hujie unit, killed Wu Huaijie, prefect of Jia Prefecture, and naval army supervisor Liu Hanqing, then joined Quan's subordinate Liu Ze with 50,000 men. Song Dewei, commander at Guo Prefecture, killed prefect Wang Yongchang; Wang Kepao, a local military officer at Sui Prefecture, led local people in revolt. Wang Renshan and others attacked Lü Han at Jia Prefecture, forcing him to flee to Ya Prefecture. Quan Shixiong died of illness at Jintang. The rebels chose Xie Xingben as leader and Luo Qijun as Supporting-State Lord; together with Song Dewei they occupied Tongshan but were defeated by Kang Yanze. Wang Renshan then defeated Lü Han at Ya Prefecture, and Lü fled to Li Prefecture, where his own followers killed him. Ding Deyu and others subsequently divided their forces to accept surrenders, and the disorder was finally suppressed.
Demotion and Later Years
In 967, Wang was accused of “forcibly seizing women, children, jade, and silk after the conquest of Shu, unauthorized opening of government treasuries, concealing property, and other illegal acts.” Emperor Taizu, mindful of his military service, merely demoted him to Military Commissioner of Chongyi Circuit rather than imposing a heavier punishment. According to Wang's biography in the *History of Song*, he then lived at Sui Prefecture in relatively comfortable circumstances.
In 976, after Emperor Taizu conquered Southern Tang, the emperor summoned Wang and said that because the Jiangnan region had not yet been pacified, he had feared that commanders campaigning in the south would disregard discipline and had therefore kept Wang down for several years to establish a precedent. Now that Jinling had been taken, he would restore Wang's military commission. Wang was appointed Military Commissioner of Wuning Circuit. He died in the sixth month of that year at the age of sixty-nine.