Cao Yong 曹永

In Chapter 58 of the Romance, Cao Cao, pursued by Ma Chao while crossing the Wei River, barely escapes thanks to Xu Chu's protection and to the cattle and horses let loose by Ding Fei, Magistrate of Weinan. Having reached the northern bank, Cao Cao has his commanders build walled roadways along the river, dig pits along the river and conceal them with a thin covering of earth, and then use troops to lure the enemy in. If the rebels come charging in haste, he reasons, they are sure to fall in, and once they fall in they can be struck at once. Romance, Ch. 58 §40–47

Han Sui argues that Cao Cao has crossed the river in order to strike at their rear and that they must attack quickly before he can set up his camp, and Ma Chao makes Pang De the vanguard and has him accompany Han Sui. When Han Sui and Pang De reach Weinan with 50,000 troops, Pang De charges ahead at the head of more than a thousand armored cavalry, and men and horses alike fall into the pits. Pang De springs up and leaps out of the pit, kills several men on the spot, cuts his way out of the layered encirclement on foot, and then goes on foot to rescue Han Sui, who is trapped in the middle of the encirclement. Romance, Ch. 58 §49–50

At this point Pang De runs into Cao Yong, a subordinate commander of Cao Ren, and with a single stroke of the blade cuts him down from his horse. Pang De takes Cao Yong's horse, carves out a bloody path, rescues Han Sui and flees to the southeast, while Ma Chao comes out and routs the Cao troops giving chase. After fighting until sunset, the Xiliang army had lost its commanders Cheng Yin and Zhang Heng, and more than two hundred men had died in the pits. In the Romance Cao Yong appears only in this scene, and there is no scene in which he speaks. Romance, Ch. 58 §51