Wang Rong was part of a military dynasty who had long ruled
Chengde Province as independent military governors () in nominal allegiance to the
Tang Empire. After the collapse of the Tang in 907, Wang became the vassal of
Zhu Wen, the founding emperor of the
Later Liang. In appreciation, Zhu bestowed on Wang the
noble title of Prince of Zhao. In 910, Zhu attempted to assert direct control over both Zhao and neighboring
Yiwu around modern
Baoding, Hebei. In response, Wang Rong and Yiwu's unrelated lord
Wang Chuzhi both seceded from the Later Liang Empire and allied with its rival
Jin. In 920, a failed mutiny prompted such severe retribution from Wang Rong that his adopted son Wang Deming was able to terrify the Zhenzhou guards into mounting a successful mutiny the next year. Wang Rong was killed, Wang Deming resumed use of his birth name
Zhang Wenli, and he then executed Wang Rong's natural children. Zhang nominally submitted his lands to Jin's king
Li Cunxu, asking to be named their military governor. Li initially accepted this arrangement but, faced with mounting evidence of Zhang's disloyalty, soon invaded. Zhang, already ill, supposedly died from the shock upon hearing of the invasion and the quick fall of Zhaozhou. His son
Zhang Chujin succeeded him and won a series of victories against Jin with his brothers' help. However, the Later Liang refused assistance, the
Yiwu governor was assassinated by
his own adopted son before he could help, and the
Khitan Empire's force was routed by Jin. The Jin siege of Zhenzhou, therefore, was able to finally starve Zhang into capitulation in 922. He, his brothers, and his father's wife were executed. The territory of Zhao was then incorporated into Jin, which subsequently established itself as the
Later Tang Empire. ==Kings==