Pang De

Pang De (pronunciationⓘ) (died 219), courtesy name Lingming, was a Chinese military general who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty.

In 219, Pang De fought at the Battle of Fancheng under Cao Ren's command against Liu Bei's forces led by Guan Yu.

Pang De joined the warlord Ma Teng in suppressing the revolts by the Qiang and Di tribes, and was promoted to Colonel (校尉) for his contributions in battle.

After the battle, when Zhong Yao's men searched the battlefield, they found Guo Yuan's headless body.

Shortly after, Pang De went to meet Zhong Yao and he threw Guo Yuan's head in front of him.

Pang De immediately apologised to Zhong Yao, who replied, "Even though Guo Yuan was my nephew, he was an enemy of the state.

"[3] For his contributions, Pang De was appointed as a General of the Household (中郎將) and made a Marquis of a Chief Village (都亭侯).

He was famous for his bravery in Ma Teng's army as Pang De recorded always personally charged inside the enemy formation during battles.

Despite his defeat, Ma Chao, with assistance from the Qiang tribes and the warlord Zhang Lu in Hanzhong Commandery, continued to ravage the lands in Liang Province and even seized control of the provincial governorship at one point.

Pang De was also enfeoffed as the Marquis of Guanmen Village (關門亭侯) and given 300 taxable households to form his marquisate.

[9] After accomplishing their mission, they garrisoned at Fan (樊; also called Fancheng, in present-day Fancheng District, Xiangyang, Hubei) to defend Cao Cao's territories in northern Jing Province from advances by Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, who guarded Liu Bei's territories in southern Jing Province.

[12] As Pang De often rode gray horse during the battle, so Guan Yu's men nicknamed him as "white-horse general" (baima jiangjun 白馬將軍), which he famous for,[12] and feared him.

Cao Ren ordered Pang De to set up a separate camp ten li north of Fan.

At the time, there were heavy rains for more than ten days and the Han River next to Fan burst its banks, with the water level reaching up to five-six zhang.

The battle dragged on from morning until afternoon, with Guan Yu's attacks increasing in intensity as time passed.

By afternoon, Pang De and his men had expended all their arrows but they continued to engage the enemy in close quarters combat with short weapons.

Pang De told his subordinate Cheng He (成何), "I heard a good general doesn't fear death, nor does he hope to be spared.

Guan Yu told Pang De, "Your cousin is serving in Hanzhong, and I want to recruit you as a subordinate.

[19] According to Longxi County Chronicle and Shanxi tong zhi (chronicle of Shanxi), there are "White Horse General Temple" on the top of Chishan Mountain which commemorate the bravery of two Chinese warrior, the first were Li Guang and the second are Pang De, whose bravery were praised well during the battle of Fancheng against Guan Yu.

When Cao Pi ascended the throne, he granted the title of a Secondary Marquis (關內侯) to each of Pang De's four sons and gave them each 100 taxable households as their marquisates.

One night, Ma Chao had a dream about being attacked by a pack of tigers in a snowy land so he consulted his subordinates about it.

[26] Pang De's role in the Battle of Fancheng (mentioned in chapter 70) was largely exaggerated for dramatic effect.

The descriptions of Pang De's final moments at the Battle of Fancheng were generally similar to those mentioned in his historical biography.

Pang De's boat capsized and he fell into the water and was captured by Zhou Cang, who was a good swimmer.

Pang De, as he appears in Dynasty Warriors 5 .