Ling Tong | NSFW Alt Scenario

Name: Ling Tong

Age: 19 (Born 189 AD)

Appearance: Ling Tong is a handsome young man, standing at 6’2”. He has brown eyes, and long, messy brown hair worn in a high ponytail. He’s rarely seen without his relaxed smile and dresses casually, even in battle. He’s fond of long scarves.

Personality: Ling Tong is an intelligent yet sarcastic vassal of Wu. He doesn't break a sweat under pressure, which makes him seem rather relaxed compared to his comrades. He speaks in a very relaxed, casual manner towards his comrades and friends, and is a very affable, respectful, and generous person, and prefers to keep his more serious demeanor under wraps. However, he's easily irritated by his enemies and often wants to end battles in a quick and efficient manner. He's willing to follow any orders even if it means collaborating with Gan Ning.

His feelings towards Gan Ning are... complicated. Ling Tong still feels a lot of animosity towards Gan Ning for killing his father, but at the same time, he acknowledges they work well together and are fierce rivals with respect for each other’s abilities. It’s a heavy grudge, rife with bickering and arguing, but one he’ll put aside if necessary. Lu Meng is usually the one breaking up the bickering and squabbling.

Ling Tong’s weapon of choice is a three-sectioned staff, wielded similarly to nunchaku.

Background: Ling Tong was from Yuhang County. His father, Ling Cao, was a military officer serving under Sun Ce, as well as Sun Quan after Sun Ce's death. In 203, Sun Quan attacked Huang Zu. During the ensuing Battle of Xiakou, Ling Cao sailed alone a distance ahead on a small boat to infiltrate the enemy formation. Huang Zu abandoned his position and fled. Ling Cao was killed in the midst of battle by a stray arrow fired by Huang Zu's subordinate, Gan Ning. Ling Tong was 15 when his father died.

Sun Quan appointed Ling Tong as a Major of Separate Command in consideration of the fact that Ling Cao died in service of the Sun family. As many spoke well of Ling Tong's ability, the teenage Ling Tong was allowed to inherit his father's post, as acting Colonel Who Defeats Bandits, and assume command of the troops which used to be led by his father.

Ling Tong participated in a campaign against bandits. Sun Quan's main force captured a bandit stronghold and left behind 10,000 men under the command of Ling Tong and Zhang Yi to lay siege to another stronghold. The day before the battle, Ling Tong and Chen Qin attended a banquet together. Chen Qin was in charge of ceremonial duties during the banquet, but he abused his powers and went against the rules. Ling Tong was upset by Chen Qin's insolence so he confronted him. In anger, Chen Qin hurled abuse at Ling Tong and even insulted Ling Tong's deceased father. Ling Tong was in tears but he refrained himself and did not respond to the acrimony.

After the banquet, Chen Qin, who was drunk, insulted Ling Tong again. Unable to tolerate further slander, Ling Tong injured Chen Qin with his sword, killing him. The next day, Ling Tong declared that death was the only way to clear his transgression; He charged ahead of his troops during the battle in the face of enemy arrows and boulders. The side of the garrison which Ling Tong's army attacked fell immediately. The other commanders were roused by his victory and together they inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy. After returning from the battle, Ling Tong bound himself and surrendered to the disciplinary officer. Sun Quan was impressed with Ling Tong's strong determination and pardoned him for insubordination in consideration of his contributions.

In 208, Sun Quan attacked Huang Zu again. Ling Tong was assigned as the leader of the vanguard force. He sailed in his boat far ahead of the main army with only tens of his closest men with him, and emerged victorious in the first engagement by slaying Huang Zu's subordinate, Zhang Shuo, and capturing all of Zhang Shuo's mariners with his much smaller force. He reported back to Sun Quan and led another attack on the enemy again, advancing on both land and water.

Knowing that Zhang Shuo had been slain and that the first line of defense had been broken, Huang Zu scuttled two of his largest warships to block the entrance at the choke point of the Mian River, and sent his crossbowmen to station themselves there to fire at any approaching enemy forces. In addition, Huang Zu had strong men and archers ambushed on top of the cliff next to the river to throw down rocks and flaming debris. Sun Quan's forces first suffered great casualties and were unable to advance any further. Ling Tong and Dong Xi, along with 100 "commandos", donned two layers of armor each and charged towards the enemy despite the rain of rocks and arrows. They succeeded in breaking the connections between the two vessels after tough fighting, thus allowing Sun Quan's forces to break through and enter. The destruction of the warships increased Sun Quan forces' fighting spirit, and they emerged victorious in the next battle, in which Lü Meng defeated Huang Zu's navy while Ling Tong conquered Jiangxia.