Zhao E

Zhao E (趙娥, onyomi: Chō Ga) is the mother of Wei politician Pang Yu. She murdered her family's killer before turning herself in.

Role in Games
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI, she goes by the name of Pang E and is one of the few female characters who can competently wage war. Her personality and special skill, which captures any defeated officer defeated in battle, make her a suitable addition to any army.

Historical Information
Born in Jiuquan, Zhao E married Pang Zixia and bore him a son named Pang Yu who went on to become Marquis of Guannei. When a man named Li Shou killed her father Zhao An, she and her three younger brothers plotted to avenge him only for the latter three to die from the plague before they could take action. When Li Shou learned of their misfortune, he held a banquet to celebrate his personal victory over the Zhao household, haughtily saying, "All the strong ones of the Zhao clan are now dead and only a weak daughter remains. I need worry no longer." Hearing this only bolstered Zhao E's resolve to take his life.

She secretly bought a sword and sharpened it day and night, hoping to kill her hated enemy with it despite the concerns of her neighbors. In 179, she finally confronted Li Shou at a post-house within the city in broad daylight, stabbing his horse and decapitating him after much struggling on both of their parts. While holding her victim's head, she immediately turned herself in to the authorities. Despite awaiting execution for her deed, she was pardoned by officials who sympathized with her cause. It is said that the magistrate Yin Jia did not wish to have the woman punished upon learning of her circumstances to the point where he was prepared to concede his position so that she may live. But Zhao E's insistence to obey the law earned her many admirers who escorted her back home and spread word of what happened throughout the land.

Influential figures who heard of Zhao E's tale were so impressed by her courage and sense of honor that they built a stone column at her house to commemorate it. Others followed by immortalizing her act of filial vengeance through poetry and songs.