Zhang Xiaozhong

Zhang Xiaozhong (張孝忠) (730 – April 30, 791), né Zhang Alao (張阿勞), formally Prince Zhenwu of Shanggu (上谷貞武王), was a general of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, of Xi extraction. Initially he served the rebel state Yan, during the Anshi Rebellion, and later served the warlord Li Baochen. After Li Baochen's death he joined the Imperial cause, giving the Imperial army a foothold north of the Yellow River in spite of being surrounded by semi-independent warlord realms.

Zhang Xiaozhong, initially known as Zhang Alao, was born in 730, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. He was of Xi ethnicity. His great-grandfather Zhang Jing (張靖) and grandfather Zhang Xun (張遜) were both chieftains of the Yishihuo (乙失活) tribe. During Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao era (742–756), Zhang Alao's father Zhang Mi (張謐) led his tribal people in submitting to Tang rule and was given an honorary title as the minister of vassal affairs.

Zhang Alao himself was tall, brave, strong, and filially pious. In the region, he and Wang Monuogan (later known as Wang Wujun) were known as the strongest warriors. Near the end of the Tianbao era, as he was a capable archer, he came to serve under the Tang general An Lushan, and made contributions in defeating Tujue tribes.

In 755, An Lushan rebelled at Fanyang (范陽, in modern Beijing), and Zhang Alao served as one of his forward commanders, along with Tian Chengsi and Zhang Zhongzhi. After An declared himself emperor of a new state of Yan, Zhang Alao served as a general of the Yan state, and later served under the later Yan emperor Shi Siming and Shi Siming's son and successor Shi Chaoyi as well in their campaigns against Tang. After Yan ended with Shi Chaoyi's death in 763, Zhang Zhongzhi surrendered to Tang, was bestowed the name Li Baochen, and became a Tang general — the military governor (Jiedushi) of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), and Zhang Alao served under Li Baochen.

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