Cao Zheng
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Cao Zheng (曹正) was a character in the epic Chinese tale, Water Margin.
Cao Zheng was born into a family of butchers in Kaifengfu and was once learnt martial arts from Lin Chong. He was an excellent butcher and earned himself the nickname 'Demon carver' (操刀鬼). Once, Cao Zheng went to Shandong on a business trip. Unfortunately, he got himself into debt and owed the landlord a large sum of money and could not return home. He opened a rented restaurant to earn himself some money to repay the debt.
Once, Yang Zhi was put in charge of escorting the convoy of birthday gifts, but he was drugged and the gifts were robbed by Chao Gai and his friends. He felt very unhappy and went to Cao Zheng's restaurant for a meal without paying, and had a fight with Cao. Cao used a pole to hit Yang Zhi but he still lost to Yang Zhi, and he admitted defeat, becoming friends with Yang.
Cao Zheng persuaded Yang Zhi to join the bandits on Erlong Mountain, and on the way there, they met Lu Zhishen. Lu told them that Deng Long, the bandit leader, had refused to allow him to join the band and chased him away. Cao Zheng came up with a plan and he pretended to make Lu Zhishen drunk, then tied up Lu and pretended to escort him to Deng Long. There, Lu broke free and the three heroes killed Deng and took control of the stronghold. Later, the Erlong bandits aided the Liangshan heroes in conquering Qingzhou, and it was then when they joined the Liangshan band.[citation needed]
Cao Zheng became in charge of slaughtering cattle and poultry, just like a butcher as he once had been. After the heroes had obtained amnesty from the emperor, Cao Zheng followed them on their campaigns against the Liao Tartars and southern rebels, making great contributions. During the Fang La campaign, Cao Zheng was killed by a poisoned arrow during the battle of Xuanzhou.
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