Pang Tong



Pang Tong, nickname Fledgling Phoenix, is an adviser to the warlord Liu Bei in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Bio
Pang Tong came from Xiangyang in the later kingdom of Wu, where he initially served Sun Quan. At the Battle of Chibi, he acted as if he ran to Cao Cao, and proposed to him the tactics of the connected ships, which Cao Cao defeat caused. After Wu Supreme Commander Zhou Yu's death, his successor suggested Lu Su, Pang Tong as senior adviser to Sun Quan. However, this rejected him because of his ugly appearance, what Pang Tong aroused. So when he asked how his knowledge was compared to Zhou Yu, he did not compare his knowledge with Zhou Yu. Pang Tong joined Liu Bei's service, planning to conquer Ba Shu (today's Sichuan). This area, then under Governor Liu Zhang, was later to be the centerpiece of Liu Bei's realm of Shu. Pang Tong's proposal to capture Liu Zhang at a meeting, however, Liu Bei refused, so as not to lose the sympathy of the population. The story of the Three Kingdoms adorns this story in such a way that Wei Yan should murder Liu Zhang at an alleged sword dance.

However, because Liu Bei saw a relative in Liu Zhang, he prevented that act, and later helped Liu Zhang even against an attack by the western warlord Zhang Lu. However, when Liu Zhang did not send reinforcements to Liu Bei, Liu Bei decided to drop his attention and launched the attack on Liu Zhang through the strategically important Fu Pass. Liu Zhang's generals Yang Huai and Gao Pei lurked there. They had an attack on Liu Bei, but were discovered and executed by Pang Tong. Pang Tong himself was ambushed in the Valley of the Fallen Phoenix and fall. In the story of the Three Realms, his death is dramatically described: After Liu Bei had left his horse as a substitute for his own, collapsed, Pang Tong rode into the valley. When he heard the name of the place, he shuddered and ordered the retreat, but it was already too late. Liu Zhang sent archers to kill Liu Bei. Since they did not know him, they targeted Pang Tong and shot him dead. This left Liu Bei at the pass in distress, so that Zhuge Liang had to leave the Jing province to shock him. Guan Yu held the Jing Province alone until he was defeated in 219 by the combined forces of Cao Cao and Sun Quan.