Background
Little is known about Wang Benli's career before his brief stint as chancellor; atypical for a chancellor, he did not have a biography in either the Book of Tang or the New Book of Tang. Further, it is not known where his family was from, as he was not listed among any branch of the Wang clan in the table of chancellors' family trees. The first reference to him in historical accounts was in 679, when he was serving as a secretary at the executive bureau of government (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng). He was said to be favored by Emperor Gaozong and, on account of that favor, was committing many illegal deeds and intimidating other officials. The censor, Di Renjie, accused him of crimes, and initially, Emperor Gaozong was set to pardon him. At Di's insistence—pointing out that the empire did not lack people with Wang's talent—Emperor Gaozong relented and allowed Wang to be punished.
By 683, Wang was serving as the commandant at Sheng Prefecture (勝州, in modern Hohhot, Inner Mongolia), when Eastern Tujue's khan Ashina Gudulu attacked the nearby Chanyu Protector General headquarters (單于總督府, also in modern Hohhot), capturing and killing the official Zhang Xingshi (張行師). Emperor Gaozong sent Wang, along with Li Chongyi (李崇義) the commandant at Xia Prefecture (夏州, roughly modern Yulin, Shaanxi), to defend against the Eastern Tujue attack, but historical accounts did not indicate what the results were.
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