 Huang Chao, the son of a wealthy local salt merchant, tried to become one of these mandarins but failed the imperial exams and took up salt smuggling instead.When the salt smuggler Wang Xianzhi rose against the empire in nearby Changyuan County in 874, he was able to overrun several towns and even defeated the local forces under Xue Chong ( "Xuē Chóng"), the governor of the area's Tianping Circuit ( "Tiānpíng Dào").The next year, Huang Chao raised several thousand men of his own from Yuanqu and joined Wang, eventually overrunning much of the country and proclaiming the Qi Dynasty before being defeated and driven to suicide in 884.