Background

Wang Yanzhang was born in 863, during the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang. He was from Shouzhang (壽張, in modern Liaocheng, Shandong). Neither his grandfather Wang Xiu (王秀) nor father Wang Qingzong (王慶宗) served as an official or a general. In his youth, Wang Yanzhang became a soldier under the command of the major warlord Zhu Quanzhong the military governor (Jiedushi) of Xuanwu Circuit (宣武, headquartered in modern Kaifeng, Henan), and became known for his bravery and ferocity. He became well known for his use of a heavy iron spear, and gained the nickname of Wang Tieqiang for the use of the spear.

Service under Emperor Taizu of Later Liang

Because of Wang Yanzhang's abilities, he was promoted gradually in the ranks of Zhu Quanzhong's army and often served under Zhu in Zhu's campaigns. In 909, by which time Zhu had forced Tang's last emperor Emperor Ai (Emperor Yizong's grandson) to yield the throne to him and established Later Liang as its Emperor Taizu, Later Liang forces were attacking Later Liang's western rival Qi as the Qi general Liu Zhijun was attacking the Later Liang vassal Han Xun the military governor of Shuofang Circuit (朔方, headquartered in modern Yinchuan, Ningxia). The Later Liang forces, commanded by the general Kang Huaizhen (康懷貞), fell into a trap that Qi forces laid for them, and it was said that they would have been completely annihilated had not for Wang's efforts in fighting to keep an escape path open.

Service under Zhu Yougui and Zhu Zhen

In 913, by which time Emperor Taizu had been assassinated by and succeeded by his son Zhu Yougui the Prince of Ying, Wang Yanzhang was made the prefect of Pu Prefecture (濮州, in modern Puyang, Henan), but remained in the main Later Liang imperial army as the commander of the forces from Pu Prefecture. In 914, by which time Zhu Yougui had committed suicide and been succeeded by his brother Zhu Youzhen the Prince of Jun (who soon changed his name to Zhu Zhen), Wang was made the prefect of Dan Prefecture (澶州, in modern Anyang, Henan) and created a count.

In 915, Zhu Zhen, believing that Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei) was an overly powerful circuit that had an independent tradition, decided to try to weaken it by diving its six prefectures into two circuits—with three of the prefectures becoming a new Zhaode Circuit (昭德, headquartered in modern Anyang). As part of the operations to divide it, in addition to sending the general He Delun (賀德倫) to be Tianxiong's new military governor and Zhang Yun as Zhaode's military governor, to oversee the division, Zhu also sent a large part of the Later Liang imperial army north, commanded by the major general Liu Xun, claiming to be defending Tianxiong against Later Liang's northern rival Jin but instead intending to intimidate the Tianxiong forces. Wang was serving under Liu in this operation and was sent to Tianxiong's capital Wei Prefecture (魏州) with 500 men in advance of Liu's own arrival there. The Tianxiong soldiers, resentful and fearful of the division, soon mutinied and put He Delun under house arrest; they also surrounded Jinbo Pavilion (金波亭), where Wang's troops were stationed at the time, but Wang was able to fight his way out of the city. The Tianxiong mutineers subsequently surrendered the circuit to Jin, and Jin's prince Li Cunxu arrived to take over the circuit, defeating subsequent Later Liang attempts to recapture it. During the campaign, Dan Prefecture fell to Jin forces, and Wang's wife and children were taken captive. The Jin forces initially treated them well and took them to the Jin capital Taiyuan, and sent a secret messenger to Wang, trying to persuade him to turn to the Jin cause. Wang killed the secret messenger and refused to respond; as a result, several years later, Jin had his wife and children executed.

In 916, Wang was promoted to be the defender (防禦使, Fangyushi) of Zheng Prefecture (鄭州, in modern Zhengzhou, Henan), but remained in the Later Liang imperial army. In 917, he was given the title of acting Taifu (太傅).

Around the new year 919, Wang, then under the command of He Gui, participated in a major confrontation between Later Liang and Jin forces at Huliu Slope (胡柳陂, in modern Heze, Shandong). It was said that it was Wang's initial suffering of some losses that led to a chain reaction that caused massive losses (two thirds) for both armies—when Wang was retreating, part of the Jin army misread Wang's movement as a retreat by their own army, and collapsed, although a subsequent Jin counterattack also inflicted great losses on the Later Liang army. It was said that in the aftermaths of the battle, fleeing soldiers from both Wang's army and the Jin army found their way to the Later Liang capital Daliang, causing much panic in the city that the Jin army was approaching, although the panic soon subsided.

In 919, Wang was made the acting military governor of Kuangguo Circuit (匡國, headquartered in modern Xuchang, Henan), but continued to serve as a general in the imperial army. In 920, he was made full military governor and created a marquess. Soon after, he was made the deputy commander of the armies in the north (i.e., the armies defending against Jin) under Dai Siyuan. In spring 921, he was transferred from Kuangguo to Xuanyi Circuit (宣義, headquartered in modern Anyang).

Later in 921, Zhu Zhen's cousin Zhu Youneng (朱友能) the Prince of Hui, who was then the prefect of Chen Prefecture (陳州, in modern Zhoukou, Henan), rebelled and headed for Daliang. Zhu Zhen sent Wang, along with Huo Yanwei and Zhang Hanjie, to intercept Zhu Youneng. They defeated him, who fled back to Chen Prefecture. They then put the city under siege. He surrendered, and Zhu Zhen, while sparing his life, demoted him and put him under arrest.

Events of 923

In spring 923, Li Cunxu, then at Wei Prefecture, declared himself emperor of a new Later Tang (as Emperor Zhuangzong), effectively claiming to be the legitimate successor to Tang. Shortly after, he had his general Li Siyuan launch a surprise attack across the Yellow River on Later Liang's Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong), capturing it. The fall of Tianping's capital Yun Prefecture (鄆州) left few defenses between it and Daliang, causing great panic at Daliang. Zhu Zhen relieved Dai Siyuan of his command for failing to anticipate the attack, and, at the urging of the senior chancellor Jing Xiang, named Wang Yanzhang to replace Dai, with Duan Ning serving as his deputy.

After being commissioned, Wang immediately attacked the Later Tang-held city of Desheng (德勝, in modern Puyang)—which was divided into two parts by the Yellow River. He destroyed the bridge between the two parts so that the Later Tang forces to the north could not reinforce the southern city, and then captured the southern city and killed thousands of Later Tang soldiers, dealing a big blow to the Later Tang morale. He then prepared to attack Yangliu (楊劉, in modern Liaocheng), the ford on the Yellow River that was allowing the Later Tang forces to the north of the River to maintain communication and supply lines open to Yun Prefecture, in order to trap Li Siyuan at Yun. Both armies tore down the Desheng buildings to use as rafts, and as they headed down the river, they battled intensely on the river. When he arrived at Yangliu, he laid siege to it, nearly capturing it several times, but the city's defenses eventually held under the defense by the Later Tang general Li Zhou (李周). When Later Tang soon built a second fort at Majiakou (馬家口, also in modern Liaocheng) to allow a second passageway to Yun, Wang attacked it but could not defeat the Later Tang emperor, who was defending the fort himself, Wang was forced to withdraw.

It was said that throughout these battles, however, Wang was being undermined inside the Later Liang army itself. He had long resented what he saw as the corrupting influence that Zhu Zhen's brother-in-law Zhao Yan and four brothers/cousins of Zhu Zhen's deceased wife Consort Zhang (including Zhang Hanjie, who was her brother), and had told people, "After I victoriously return, I will kill all the wicked men on the behalf of the people of the empire." His hatred of them eventually was discovered by Zhao and the Zhangs. Further, Duan was jealous of Wang and wanted to be the commander himself, and therefore formed an alliance with Zhao and the Zhangs, and it was said that Wang's military campaign was much hampered by this group of internal enemies. After his forced withdrawal from Majiakou, Zhu Zhen believed the false accusations against Wang and relieved him of his command of the main Later Liang army, instead ordering him to rendezvous with Dong Zhang to attack Ze Prefecture (澤州, in modern Jincheng, Shanxi). Zhu Zhen replaced him with Duan, despite the oppositions of senior officials Jing, Li Zhen, and Zhang Zongshi.

Soon thereafter, Wang was recalled back from the Ze front and instead ordered to attack Yun Prefecture to recapture it, with Zhang Hanjie serving as the monitor of his army, as part of a four-prong counterattack against Later Tang that Duan was envisioning—having Dong attack northwest toward Taiyuan, having Huo attack north toward Zhending (真定, in modern Baoding, Hebei), having Wang attack northeast toward Yun, and having Duan himself attack the Later Tang emperor directly near Desheng. This four-prong plan was revealed to the Later Tang emperor, however, when the Later Liang officer Kang Yanxiao defected to Later Tang. Kang also revealed that the main strength was with Duan, who had by that point crossed the Yellow River and headed toward what he believed to be the Later Tang main army. The Later Tang emperor decided to risk opening up his rear by heading immediately to Yun to rendezvous with Li Siyuan, bypassing the Later Liang main army, and attack Daliang directly.

Just as the Later Liang army was about to put the four-prong plan into effect, the Later Tang emperor arrived at Yun Prefecture and advanced toward Daliang, with Li Siyuan as his forward commander. They encountered and surprised Wang, who was forced to retreat to the poorly-fortified city of Zhongdu (中都, in modern Jining, Shandong). The Later Tang forces quickly breached its defenses, and Wang tried to flee, but as he did, the Later Tang general Xia Luqi (夏魯奇), who had served in the Later Liang army before with Wang, recognized him and speared him. Wang was seriously injured and captured, along with Zhang and most of his army.

The Later Tang emperor, impressed with Wang, initially wanted to spare his life and get him to submit. Wang repeatedly refused, however, stating that he was a faithful Later Liang subject who would never serve Later Tang. When the Later Tang emperor sent Li Siyuan to also try to persuade him, he insulted Li Siyuan by referring to Li Siyuan by nickname. When the Later Tang forces, after a short rest, was getting ready to march on Daliang, Wang still tried to prevent its advance by falsely stating to the Later Tang emperor that Duan's army (which in reality was trapped north of the Yellow River and would not be able to come to Daliang's aid) was on its way, the Later Tang emperor executed him. Shortly after, the Later Tang forces captured Daliang; Zhu Zhen committed suicide, and Later Liang was at its end.

Notes and references

• History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 21.

• New History of the Five Dynasties, vol. 32.

• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 267, 269, 270, 271, 272.

生平

王彥章祖籍鄆州壽張縣，祖父王秀及父親王慶宗皆未曾擔任官職。王彥章獲重用後，兩人分別被追封為左散騎常侍及右武衛將軍。

他年輕時加入朱全忠的軍隊，由於戰功卓著，王彥章受到朱全忠建立的後梁政權重用。最初王彥章任開封府押牙（押衙），開平二年（908年）十月遷任左龍驤軍使，次年兼任左監門衛上將軍。乾化元年（911年）再兼任行營左先鋒馬軍使，並被封為金紫光祿大夫及檢校司空。次年（912年）朱友珪加封王彥章為檢校司徒。朱友貞（即後梁末帝）奪得政權後，王彥章於乾化三年（913年）被委任為濮州刺史及馬步軍都指揮使。次年（914年）遷任澶州刺史，並被封為「開國伯」。

乾化五年（915年）三月，後梁朝廷決議分魏州為兩個鎮，為防備當地人叛變，派遣王彥章率領五百騎兵駐守鄴城金波亭，預防突發情況。魏州人於該月月底叛變，投降晉國（後唐前身) 。王彥章因軍隊受到攻擊而率軍向南逃走，其家屬被晉軍俘虜。晉國方面為了招降王彥章，優待他的家屬，又派人離間王彥章。王彥章把晉國的使者斬首，斷絕往來。同年九月，王彥章被委任為汝州防禦使、檢校太保。貞明二年（916年）四月，遷任鄭州防禦使。

與晉軍的戰鬥

後梁失去魏州後，不時與晉國（後唐）軍隊於黃河兩岸戰鬥，王彥章常在這些戰事中擔任先鋒。其官職時有調動：貞明三年（917年）十二月，王彥章遷為西面行營馬軍都指揮使、檢校太傅，繼續留守鄭州。不久兼任行營諸軍左廂馬軍都指揮使。貞明五年（919年）五月，遷任許州兩使留後，並保留之前的軍職。次年（920年）正月，正式擔任許州匡國軍節度使，加封「開國侯」，隨後擔任北面行營副招討使。貞明七年（921年）正月，改駐滑州。

此時，晉國軍隊已佔領黃河北岸全部地區，並於德勝口設立鐵鎖截斷航道及跨河築城。而後梁朝廷的執政者趙巖、張漢傑等人向後梁末帝建議疏遠資歷較深的大臣，故王彥章雖然身為高級將領，但朝廷並未採用他所提議的戰術。

龍德三年（923年）四月初，後唐軍隊攻佔鄆州。該消息使後梁朝廷產生恐慌。宰相敬翔在後梁末帝前自殺被阻，隨後向梁末帝建議起用王彥章。梁末帝採納其建議，於五月委任王彥章為北面招討使，取代戴思遠，並派段凝作其副手。王彥章向後梁末帝表示用三天時間即可擊敗敵軍，梁末帝身邊的大臣不相信他的保證而發笑。

王彥章認為趙巖等人敗壞朝政、令國力削弱，臨行前向親信表示，若得勝回朝，將要處死朝廷內的「奸臣」。趙巖、張漢傑得知後，感到恐懼，並認為與其被王彥章處死，不如被沙陀人（後唐軍隊）殺害，於是與段凝合謀，設法阻撓王彥章的軍事行動。

德勝口之戰

王彥章離開朝廷，兩天後到達滑州，在設宴的同時，暗中派遣六百名斧手，及冶鐵人員，乘船前往德勝口。王彥章在宴會中途託言更衣離場，率領數千人沿黃河往德勝口。船上士兵燒斷鐵鎖、並以斧斬斷浮橋，王彥章則率兵攻破南城。這時距離王彥章離朝之日剛好三天。李存勗得悉王彥章被任命後，認為王彥章會立刻攻擊德勝口南城，立刻引騎兵增援，但在到達時，南城已被王彥章攻佔。

李存勗拆掉北城，建造木筏，退守楊劉，沿途與王彥章隔河對戰超過一百次。戰事持續約兩個月，期間王彥章的軍隊曾幾乎攻陷楊劉，直至李存勗於博州的黃河東岸建造堡壘協助防守，形勢開始改變。王彥章之軍隊先進攻該堡壘而未能攻入，及後重新進攻楊劉而戰敗。

後梁朝廷得到戰報後，即召還王彥章，委派段凝代替其招討使職務。史稱段凝向朝廷大臣行賄，又與趙巖、張漢傑等人合謀向後梁末帝隱瞞王彥章的戰功，又於王彥章戰敗時誣陷他飲酒輕敵，因此得到兵權。及後由於段凝無法抵禦後唐軍隊的進攻，後梁在他就任後不足一百天滅亡。

王彥章回到汴梁後，在朝廷上力言自己的戰功。趙巖等人指使有關部門彈劾他「不恭」，迫令他回家。

被俘與被殺

其後，後唐軍隊向兗州進攻，後梁末帝再委派王彥章迎戰。這時後梁的主力皆隨段凝出征，故朝廷把首都汴梁剩下的五百名新經招募的騎兵守禦都交給王彥章，另委派張漢傑監軍。王彥章率軍渡過汶水，計劃進攻鄆州，於遞坊鎮被後唐軍隊襲擊。王彥章因兵少戰敗，撤退至中都。

十月四日（公曆923年11月14日），李存勗率領軍隊到達中都，與王彥章軍交戰。唐軍將領夏魯奇曾為朱全忠效力，與王彥章相識，聽到王彥章說話後將他認出，以槊刺傷他後將他擒獲。

李存勗與王彥章見面，問他為何防守沒有防禦工事的中都而不前往兗州防守。王彥章回應指自己受制於形勢而無能為力。王彥章看不起李存勗和李嗣源。李存勗在勸說王彥章投降被拒絕後，又派李嗣源勸說他。王彥章因傷重不能起床行走，李嗣源走到王彥章的病榻前，被王彥章以小字「邈佶烈」稱呼，以示輕蔑。

次日，李存勗命人以肩輿送王彥章至任城，王彥章以傷患痛楚為由不肯出發。李存勗派人問王彥章此行能否成功，王彥章稱段凝麾下六萬軍隊並不會輕易叛變，因此難以成功。李存勗取得回應後，知道王彥章肯定不會歸順，下令把他斬首。王彥章享年六十一歲。

評價

史稱王彥章驍勇善戰及擁有強大臂力。他作戰時以鐵槍為武器攻擊敵方，而其他人無法舉起他的鐵槍。軍中稱他為「王鐵槍」。

石敬瑭建立後晉後，為嘉許王彥章對後梁的忠誠，追封王彥章為太師，並尋訪其後人，授以官職。

歐陽修認為王彥章忠於職守而死，死得其所；並於新五代史中，特為王彥章另立一傳，稱為「死節傳」。

傳說

據《五代史補》記載，王彥章能赤腳於佈滿荊棘之地行走，因此被朱全忠賞識。

在《水滸傳》中，宋江稱王彥章曾於極短的時間內連打三十六名後唐將領。

金庸小說《射鵰英雄傳》中出現的嘉興鐵槍廟被稱為紀念王彥章而建。內裡供奉王彥章所用鐵槍，後來被江南七怪之首柯鎮惡取用，成為鐵杖。而該鐵槍廟最後成為《射鵰英雄傳》中大反派楊康中毒身亡的地方。

註釋