His father Wang Jingrou (王敬柔) was an officer of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), and his mother was a daughter of Liu Rengong, a late-Tang dynasty warlord who would rule Lulong[2] (although not yet at the time of Wang Sitong's birth — he would take over Lulong in 895, initially as a vassal of the major warlord Li Keyong the military governor (Jiedushi) of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi), but later turning against Li and becoming an independent warlord).
Wang, then 15, fled to Hedong with another uncle, Liu Shouqi (劉守奇), and the officer Li Chengyue (李承約).
During that war, Wang, at Li Cunxu's order, constructed a fortress at Yangliu (楊劉, in modern Liaocheng, Shandong), and thereafter was promoted to be a commander of 10 corps of troops known as the Shenwu (神武).
"[2] At that time, it was believed that a confrontation between the imperial government and two military governors — Meng Zhixiang of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), and Dong Zhang of Dongchuan Circuit (東川, headquartered in modern Mianyang, Sichuan) — was about to occur.
[13] After the imperial army's withdrawal, Wang Sitong, for his accomplishments, was made the military governor of Shannan West Circuit (山南西道, headquartered in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi).
[14] In early 934, his chiefs of staff Zhu Hongzhao and Feng Yun, not wanting Shi Jingtang, who was then the military governor of Hedong, to become entrenched there, issued orders transferring Li Conghou's older adoptive brother Li Congke the Prince of Lu from Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi) to Hedong, Shi from Hedong to Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang, Hebei), and Fan Yanguang from Chengde to Tianxiong Circuit (天雄, headquartered in modern Handan, Hebei).
When his emissaries Hao Xu (郝詡) and Zhu Ting'ai (朱廷乂) to Chang'an, hoping to convince Wang to join him.
Wang, however, believed that Li Congke's rebellion was without cause, and therefore arrested Hao and Zhu and reported this to the imperial government.
However, a tearful declaration by Li Congke from the city walls caused the imperial army soldiers to become sympathetic to him.
When one of the generals under Wang, Zhang Qianzhao (張虔釗) the military governor of Shannan West, subsequently angered the soldiers by forcing them, under the threat of swords, to scale Fengxiang's wall, the soldiers turned against Zhang, and the officer Yang Siquan (楊思權) took the opportunity to defect to Li Congke, causing the imperial army to collapse.
He therefore repeatedly warned Li Congke's close associate Liu Yanlang (劉延朗) that sparing Wang would cause dissension among the ranks.
Liu decided to act by himself, and he waited for an occasion when Li Congke was drunk to execute Wang and his wife.