Pang De

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Pang De ( Chinese  龐德  /  庞德 , Pinyin Páng Dé ; † 219 ) was a general of the Chinese warlord Cao Cao in the late Han period and at the time of the Three Kingdoms .

Under Ma Teng and Ma Chao

Pang De originally served Ma Teng , a minor warlord in northwestern China. He took part in numerous campaigns up to Ma Teng's death (211). He then followed Ma Teng's son Ma Chao into the battle at the Tong Gate and, after the defeat, submitted to Governor Zhang Lu (张鲁) together with his master .

After Cao Cao took Hanzhong , Ma Chao went to see Liu Bei . But Pang De thought that a ministry under Cao Cao would be more promising, so he went to him. Cao Cao, who had met Pang Des martial arts at the Tong Gate, made him a Liyi general (立 义 将军).

Under Cao Cao

Pang De at the Battle of Fancheng. Illustration in an edition of the History of the Three Kingdoms from the Qin Dynasty.

Main article: Battle of Fancheng

In 219, Pang De and Generals Cao Ren and Yu Jin were sent to the garrison in Fancheng (present-day Xiangyang , Hubei ) to stop the invasion of Shu general Guan Yu . Many officers questioned Pang Des's loyalty, because his brother Pang Rou (庞 柔) was among the Shu officers . But Pang De proved his loyalty by fighting Guan Yu personally. He was able to shoot Guan Yu in the helmet and force him to withdraw temporarily.

Two weeks later, the Han Jiang flooded the castle. Pang De and his troops withdrew to a dam outside the castle, but Guan Yu's army came in ships and showered them with arrows. Pang De struggled to assert himself, and when two of his officers - Dong Heng (董 衡) and Dong Chao (董超) - suggested surrender, he had them both executed. The fight lasted from morning to afternoon, and Pang Des's troops ran out of arrows as Guan Yu's attack intensified. The water had risen and almost all of Pang Des’s army had fled. With only three men, Pang De attempted to row back to the castle in a small boat, but was captured and brought before Guan Yu. He refused to kneel before him. Guan Yu tried to get Pang De to his side, but he persisted and was executed.

When Cao Cao heard about this, he was very sad. He posthumously awarded Pang De the title of Marquis Zhuang (壮 侯 = steadfast marquis).

Pang De left four sons. His son Pang Hui later also became a general.

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Pang is the family name here, De is the first name.