Ze Rong
Encyclopedia
Ze Rong style-named Weiming, was originally a general and active occultist serving under the warlord Tao Qian during the late Han Dynasty
period of Chinese history
. When the Yan Province warlord, Cao Cao
, attacked Tao, Ze left his post and traveled south, killing local officers and plundered the cities along the way, and finally established himself a minor warlord of Yuzhang.
, when he led his cult to join forces with the latter, for whom he served as a logistic officer, and was tasked to oversee the transportation of materials for Guangling (廣陵), Xiapi (下邳), and Pengcheng (彭城). However, he and his followers attacked Tao's troops, and seized the supplies for personal usage. Since then, he entered into a semi-independence and monopolized the logistics affiliated with the 3 commandaries. He then constructed a large Buddhist temple in Xiapi, which had a capacity of 3000 people, and recruited followers around the area. Furthermore, he had bronze and gold melted to build luxurious Buddha statues, food and wine prepared for fellow occultists, and several tens li
of cotton to cover the road. The budget for the commandaries totaling thousands of million was all consumed by Ze. Nevertheless, more than 5,000 households and numerous monks and nuns moved into the city, and pledged allegiance to Ze. Therefore, Tao never severed ties with Ze, because he valued Ze's influence and his powerful cult.
Tao thought his tolerance would earn Ze's loyalty; however, when Cao Cao
attacked Xu Province, Ze immediately led his followers numbering tens of thousand on an exodus away from the city. When he arrived the city of Guangling, the Grand Administrator, Zhao Yu (趙昱), welcomed him and treated him with respect. When Ze noticed the city had stored up abundant materials under good governance of Zhao, he invited the latter to a banquet, and had the drunk Zhao Yu murdered. Then, he ordered his troops to plunder the city, leaving nothing for the citizens. After he seized all valuables from Gangling, he went to Moling (present day Nanjing
), the local official there, Xue Li, also welcomed Ze warmly like Zhao did. Ze wanted to take advantage of Xue, but was worried that Xue's powerful ally, Liu Yao
of the east, would interfere.
was engaged in conflict with the rising Sun Ce
, Ze Rong served as one of the former's allies, camping near Moling with Xue Li. They were routed by Sun Ce and forced to retreat, though Ze Rong managed to avoid complete annihilation due to Fan Neng
and Yu Mi
's hinder on Sun Ce's forces. During one battle, Sun Ce suffered an arrow wound and returned to his base at Niuzhu. Ze Rong sought to take advantage of this with a quick attack, but Sun personally came out despite the wound, and Ze suffered a heavy casualty. Henceforth, Ze entrenched himself and avoided battles with Sun, leading to Sun Ce abandoning the attack on him.
tribes. Not knowing what Buddha was, the Shanyue people paid no heed to Ze's evil speeches, and had him killed.
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
period of Chinese history
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
. When the Yan Province warlord, Cao Cao
Cao Cao
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
, attacked Tao, Ze left his post and traveled south, killing local officers and plundered the cities along the way, and finally established himself a minor warlord of Yuzhang.
Service under Tao Qian
Ze Rong was a native of Danyang, and became a leader of a Buddhist sect in his early life. He began his career under the Xu Province warlord, Tao QianTao Qian
Tao Qian , better known as Tao Yuanming , was a Chinese poet. Born in modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi, he was one of the most influential pre-Tang Dynasty Chinese poets....
, when he led his cult to join forces with the latter, for whom he served as a logistic officer, and was tasked to oversee the transportation of materials for Guangling (廣陵), Xiapi (下邳), and Pengcheng (彭城). However, he and his followers attacked Tao's troops, and seized the supplies for personal usage. Since then, he entered into a semi-independence and monopolized the logistics affiliated with the 3 commandaries. He then constructed a large Buddhist temple in Xiapi, which had a capacity of 3000 people, and recruited followers around the area. Furthermore, he had bronze and gold melted to build luxurious Buddha statues, food and wine prepared for fellow occultists, and several tens li
Li
Li or li may refer to:* Li , the Confucian concept of ritual** Li , philosophical concept of principle* Li people, an ethnic group of China...
of cotton to cover the road. The budget for the commandaries totaling thousands of million was all consumed by Ze. Nevertheless, more than 5,000 households and numerous monks and nuns moved into the city, and pledged allegiance to Ze. Therefore, Tao never severed ties with Ze, because he valued Ze's influence and his powerful cult.
Tao thought his tolerance would earn Ze's loyalty; however, when Cao Cao
Cao Cao
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...
attacked Xu Province, Ze immediately led his followers numbering tens of thousand on an exodus away from the city. When he arrived the city of Guangling, the Grand Administrator, Zhao Yu (趙昱), welcomed him and treated him with respect. When Ze noticed the city had stored up abundant materials under good governance of Zhao, he invited the latter to a banquet, and had the drunk Zhao Yu murdered. Then, he ordered his troops to plunder the city, leaving nothing for the citizens. After he seized all valuables from Gangling, he went to Moling (present day Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
), the local official there, Xue Li, also welcomed Ze warmly like Zhao did. Ze wanted to take advantage of Xue, but was worried that Xue's powerful ally, Liu Yao
Liu Yao
Liu Yao , courtesy name Yongming , was the final emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Han Zhao. He became emperor in 318 after most other members of the imperial Liu clan were massacred by Jin Zhun in a coup. However, the empire was soon divided in half, as the general Shi Le declared...
of the east, would interfere.
Service under Liu Yao
When Liu YaoLiu Yao (warlord)
Liu Yao , style name Zhengli, was a warlord in the Jiangdong region during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He ruled for a brief period of time before Sun Ce invaded and conquered his territories.-Biography:...
was engaged in conflict with the rising Sun Ce
Sun Ce
Sun Ce was a military general and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He was the oldest of the children of Sun Jian who was killed during the Battle of Xiangyang when Sun Ce was only 16. Sun Ce then broke away from his father's overlord, Yuan Shu, and headed to...
, Ze Rong served as one of the former's allies, camping near Moling with Xue Li. They were routed by Sun Ce and forced to retreat, though Ze Rong managed to avoid complete annihilation due to Fan Neng
Fan Neng
Fan Neng was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Yao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history.-Biography:During the end of Han Dynasty, regional leaders and government officials turned into warlords and constantly waged wars on each other to merge the smaller forces...
and Yu Mi
Yu Mi
Yu Mi was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Yao during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He fought with Sun Ce, but was captured in less than three passes. With his head trapped in Sun's arms, he was strangled to death as Sun returned to camp.-See also:*List of people...
's hinder on Sun Ce's forces. During one battle, Sun Ce suffered an arrow wound and returned to his base at Niuzhu. Ze Rong sought to take advantage of this with a quick attack, but Sun personally came out despite the wound, and Ze suffered a heavy casualty. Henceforth, Ze entrenched himself and avoided battles with Sun, leading to Sun Ce abandoning the attack on him.
As a warlord and death
Following the loss of most of the major cities, Liu Yao decided to flee for Yuzhang. Knowing Liu had begun to depart, Ze murdered his old ally, Xue Li, and seized his troops, and arrived Yuzhang before Liu did. The Grand Administrator of Yuzhang, Zhu Hao, was an innocent and kind-hearted person, so he did not suspect Ze, who was known to be the greatest Buddhist of China at the time, and welcomed him in just like Zhao and Xue previously did. Xu Zizhang once reminded Liu to send a letter informing Zhu of what kind of person Ze really was, but before the messenger arrived, Zhu had already been killed by Ze. Ze then succeeded Zhu to be the Grand Administrator, and severed tie with Liu Yao. Liu was enraged by Ze and attacked him, but was soundly defeated. Believing he had annexed Liu's army, Ze perceived secure and did not give chase. However, Liu had the support of his people, and was able to recruit them to fight again. During their second encounter, Ze was defeated by Liu, and he fled into the deep hills controlled by the ShanyueShanyue
Shanyue was a tribe that was resided in the Yue area of ancient China during Han Dynasty. Since the Southern part of China was not yet controlled by the Han ethnicity , the Shanyue people would performe regular raids against Han citizens to gather living essentials...
tribes. Not knowing what Buddha was, the Shanyue people paid no heed to Ze's evil speeches, and had him killed.