Overview
Cao Mo was a general.
Life and dates
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Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 83Biographies of Lu Zhonglian and Zou Yang · 4 passages
曹子為魯將，三戰三北，而亡地五百里。
Cao Mo served as a general of Lu and lost three battles in a row, surrendering five hundred li of territory.
鄉使曹子計不反顧，議不還踵，刎頸而死，則亦名不免為敗軍禽將矣。
Had Cao Mo refused to look back, declined to reconsider, and simply cut his own throat, his name would have been forever associated with a defeated army and a captured general.
曹子棄三北之恥，而退與魯君計。
Instead, Cao Mo set aside the shame of three defeats and withdrew to plan with the lord of Lu.
桓公朝天下，會諸侯，曹子以一劍之任，枝桓公之心於壇坫之上，顏色不變，辭氣不悖，三戰之所亡一朝而復之，天下震動，諸侯驚駭，威加吳、越。
When Duke Huan summoned the lords of the realm to an assembly, Cao Mo advanced with only a dagger, pressing it against Duke Huan's chest upon the altar platform. His expression did not change, and his words did not falter. In a single morning he recovered all the territory lost in three battles. The realm was shaken, the feudal lords stood in awe, and his prestige reached as far as Wu and Yue.