Cao Hong 曹洪

Cao Hong 曹洪 Served Wei. One of Cao Cao’s cousins and a vital element of his army.

Biography
Younger cousin to Cao Cao, at Xingyang he would say “The world can do without Cao Hong, but not without you!” when giving up his horse so Cao Cao could escape Xu Rong’s pursuit. Gathering several thousand troops at Yangzhou, Cao Hong would seize the cities of Dongping and Fan from Zhang Miao and gain valuable supplies in a time of famine. Cao Hong seized ten prefectures in that campaign and gained merit in those many battles.

Cao Hong fought in many battles under Cao Cao including a campaign against Liu Biao, defeating generals at Wuyang, Yinye, Duyang, and Bowang. Cao Hong’s family was wealthy but Cao Hong was stingy, refusing to loan a young Cao Pi money so when Cao Pi became Emperor, Cao Hong was thrown in jail on a pretext and nearly executed but instead was dismissed and stripped of his fief. Cao Rui would later reinstate Cao Hong as General of the Agile Cavalry. name.filetype | description or name of source