Wang Zhang () (died December 24, 950) was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Later Han. Wang was one of the key officials that Later Han's founding emperor Liu Zhiyuan (Emperor Gaozu) left in charge of the government during the youth of his son and successor Liu Chengyou (Emperor Yin), but Liu Chengyou eventually tired of these officials' governance and had Wang killed, along with Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao.
Background
It is not known when Wang Zhang was born, but it is known that he was from Nanle (南樂, in modern Puyang, Henan). In his youth, he served as an administrator at the headquarters of the military governor (Jiedushi) of Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei), which Nanle was a part of. Early in the Tongguang era (923-926) of the Later Tang emperor Li Cunxu, he served for some time at the office of the emperor's chiefs of staff, but later returned to Tianxiong and became the circuit's treasurer. At some point, he married the daughter of the general Bai Wenke (). He did not have any sons by Lady Bai or anyone else, but did have one daughter.
In 936, during the reign of Later Tang's last emperor Li Congke (Li Cunxu's adoptive nephew), the officer Zhang Lingzhao () mutinied at Tianxiong, expelled the military governor Liu Yanhao, and claimed the title of acting military governor. Wang served as the public works officer (in addition to being the treasurer) under Zhang during Zhang's mutiny. Soon, Li Congke sent the general Fan Yanguang to suppress Zhang's mutiny, and Fan quickly captured Tianxiong's capital Wei Prefecture () and executed Zhang. He also sought to find and execute Zhang's followers. As Bai Wenke was friendly with Fan's deputy Li Zhou (), Bai asked Li Zhou to save Wang. Li Zhou thus located and hid Wang, and had him delivered to Li Zhou's mansion at the capital Luoyang in secret and continued to hide him there.
Later in 936, Later Tang was overthrown in a rebellion by the general Shi Jingtang, who established Later Jin and took over Later Tang's territory. Wang became an administrator in the Later Jin imperial government, and later was put in charge of food supplies at the transit city Heyang (河陽, in modern Luoyang, Henan). When the major general Liu Zhiyuan became in charge of the imperial guards, he became Liu's treasurer, and later followed Liu when Liu became the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) in 941. At Hedong, Wang became in charge of the circuit's financial and food supply matters.
During Liu Zhiyuan's reign
Around the new year 947, Later Jin was destroyed by the Khitan Liao dynasty. Liu Zhiyuan, after initially hesitating, eventually decided to resist, and he declared himself emperor (of a new state later known as Later Han. He made Wang Zhang the acting director of the three financial agencies (taxation, treasury, and salt and iron monopolies). After Liu was able to capture Luoyang and Daliang later in the year (from the Liao troops which were evacuating the region), he made Wang the permanent director of those agencies. At that time, after the Central Plains had been war-ravaged, both the imperial government and the people were impoverished, and the military expenses were high as Liu was merging his Hedong army into the Later Jin imperial troops who remained in the Luoyang-Daliang region. Wang persuaded Liu to cut back on unnecessary expenditures to allow the military to be properly maintained, and was able to make sure that the treasury was not depleted.
During Liu Chengyou's reign
Liu Zhiyuan died in early 948, and was succeeded by his young son Liu Chengyou. Liu Chengyou bestowed on Wang Zhang the additional titles of chancellor (同中書門下平章事, Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi) and acting Taiwei (太尉, one of the Three Excellencies). At that time, the Later Han imperial government was facing the threat posed by rebellions at three different circuits — Huguo (護國, headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi), Fengxiang (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi), and Yongxing (永興, headquartered in modern Xi'an, Shaanxi). It was said that Wang capably managed the imperial government's finances such that the military operations against the three circuits (overseen by Guo Wei) did not lack anything, and that even after the campaign, the treasury was not depleted. It was said that the imperial government was well run at that time, with Yang Bin overseeing the imperial government, Guo overseeing the military matters, Shi Hongzhao overseeing the imperial guards, and Wang overseeing the financial matters.