Zhu Kerong () (died 826), formally the Prince of Wuxing (), was a military governor (Jiedushi) of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty who ruled Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing) independent of the imperial authority during the reigns of Emperor Muzong and Emperor Jingzong, until he and his son Zhu Yanling () were killed by their own soldiers in 826.
Background
It is not known when Zhu Kerong was born. His granduncle Zhu Ci and grandfather Zhu Tao had successively ruled Lulong Circuit from 772 until Zhu Tao's death in 785, upon which the Lulong soldiers supported Zhu Tao's cousin Liu Peng. Zhu Kerong's father Zhu Hui () remained at Lulong Circuit and appeared to have served as an officer under Liu Peng, Liu Peng's son Liu Ji, and grandson Liu Zong, as Zhu Hui was later referred to as a senior officer. Zhu Kerong, in his youth, also became an officer under Liu Zong.
During Emperor Muzong's reign
After Liu Zong submitted to imperial authority in 818, during the reign of Emperor Xianzong, he became concerned, as Lulong had long been unaccustomed to following imperial orders, that a number of officers were difficult to control and would create problems later on. Around the time that Emperor Xianzong died and was succeeded by his son Emperor Muzong, Liu Zong sent those officers to the capital Chang'an and requested the imperial government give them commissions and honors, with the hopes that the honors received by those officers would encourage the Lulong officers in being faithful to the imperial government. Liu Zong himself resigned his governorship in spring 821, took tonsure, and became a Buddhist monk. Prior to doing so, as Liu was concerned that his officers might not abide by the decision he made, he further proposed that Lulong be divided into three circuits, with the circuit capital, You Prefecture (), along with Zhuo Prefecture (涿州, in modern Baoding, Hebei), be given to former chancellor Zhang Hongjing; Ji (薊州, in modern Tianjin), Gui (媯州, in modern Zhangjiakou, Hebei), and Tan (檀州, in modern Beijing) Prefectures be given to the general Xue Ping; and Ying () and Mo (莫州, both in modern Cangzhou, Hebei) Prefectures be given to the official Lu Shimei (). (Liu had made these recommendations on the bases that when Zhang ruled Hedong, which neighbored Lulong, Liu had often heard good opinions of Zhang's governance; that Xue was the son of Xue Song and familiar with the region; and that Lu was a relative of Liu's wife's.)
Emperor Muzong accepted Liu's submission, but did not fully implement Liu's partition plan; Ying and Mo were given to Lu Shimei, but the remaining prefectures were all given to Zhang, under the suggestion of the chancellors Cui Zhi and Du Yuanying, who did not understand the rationale of Liu's plan. Further, Zhu and the other officers that Liu sent to Chang'an were not given offices or salaries, and it was said that as they lacked income, they fell into financial desperation, even requiring loans for their food and clothing, despite their frequent submission of requests for offices to Cui and Du. When Zhang arrived at Lulong, he ordered Zhu and the others to return to Lulong, further angering them. Meanwhile, Zhang further drew the anger of the people and soldiers of Lulong over a number of actions:
In contrast to the past military governors' willingness to bear the difficulties with the people, including the weather conditions, when Zhang was arriving at You Prefecture, he was in a litter borne by eight men, shocking the people of You Prefecture. Zhang Hongjing was solemn and arrogant, not willing to speak with the people, and he rarely accepted advice from guests and the army officers. He gave much authority to his assistants Wei Yong () and Zhang Zonghou (), and these assistants were disrespectful of soldiers and extravagant in their living — such that, shocking to the people of You Prefecture, they were often feasting deep into the night and going home after midnight, with their guards loudly escorting them. When Liu submitted to imperial authority, Emperor Muzong ordered a large cash reward for the Lulong soldiers, but Zhang Hongjing took 20% of the award for headquarter expenses. The people of You Prefecture had venerated the leading figures of the Anshi Rebellion, An Lushan and Shi Siming, and referred to them as the "Two Holy Men." Zhang Hongjing, wanting to change this custom, had An and Shi exhumed and their caskets destroyed, causing resentment among the people.