[3] It was said that Wang Zhixing was a ferocious warrior while young, and he served as a soldier under Li Wei (李洧) the prefect of Xu Prefecture (徐州, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu).
[4] After this battle, Wang Zhixing was often given commands to resist Li Na, and he served at Xu Prefecture over 20 years.
After Li Shidao was eventually killed by his own general Liu Wu, and Pinglu surrendered, Wang was made the prefect of Yi Prefecture (沂州, in modern Linyi, Shandong).
[6] Subsequently, Wang Zhixing was commissioned to command 3,000 elite Wuning soldiers against the Chengde and Lulong rebels.
Cui became fearful and, while sending messengers to welcome the troops, ordered them to drop their arms and armor and enter Xu Prefecture unarmed.
He also sent 2,000 soldiers to attack Hao Prefecture (濠州, in modern Chuzhou, Anhui); its prefect Hou Hongdu (侯弘度) abandoned it and fled.
The imperial government felt that it had no ability to attack Wang, and Emperor Muzong thus made him the military governor of Wuning.
As a result, people were rushing to Si Prefecture to take tonsure, to avoid taxes; the fees they paid caused Wang to become even more wealthy.
When Li Deyu the governor of Zhexi Circuit (浙西, headquartered in modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) submitted an objection and pointed out that if this continued, Zhexi and its neighboring circuits would lose some 600,000 battle-capable young men, Emperor Jingzong ordered a stop to the practice.
Emperor Wenzong agreed, and subsequently commissioned Wang and several other nearby military governors to converge on Henghai.
Subsequently, when Wu died while still on the campaign, Emperor Wenzong made Li Huan (李寰) the military governor of Baoyi Circuit (保義, headquartered in modern Linfen, Shanxi) the military governor of Shanxi, at Wang's request, and further bestowed the honorific chancellor title of Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事) on Wang.
(When Li Huan subsequently was slow in reporting to the battlefront, Emperor Wenzong was forced to replace him with Fu Liangbi (傅良弼).)
Meanwhile, Wang was able to capture Di Prefecture (棣州, in modern Binzhou, Shandong) and was given the honorific title of acting Situ (司徒, one of the Three Excellencies).
Emperor Wenzong agreed, and made Shi the prefect of Bi Prefecture (壁州, in modern Bazhong, Sichuan).