Líng Tǒng 凌统

Translated Description:
Forthright and Courageous 豪情烈胆 (háo qíng liè dǎn)

Who is he:
Historically, Ling Tong was one of the most important generals under Sun Quan 孙权's command. Yet in the semi-fictional ROTK story, Ling Tong was not given much airtime. Ling Tong was put in as high regard as Lu Meng 吕蒙 and Gan Ning 甘宁, and succeeded in numerous battles as well. He is also one of those that is well remembered for having saved Sun Quan's arse from certain defeat. In his latter days, Ling Tong not longer took to the frontlines, but instead became a successful strategist and advisor to Sun Quan.

An interesting side story is his grudge against Gan Ning. When Ling Tong was 15 years old, his father was killed by Gan Ning. At that time, Gan Ning had yet to cross over to Sun Ce's side and in an odd-twist of fate, Gan Ning fired a stray arrow that struck down Ling Tong's father. That grudge nearly boiled over later on as Ling Tong and Gan Ning took to swords to settle the score, but was mediated quickly by onlookers.

[2011 Old version]
Character ability: Tempest 旋风 (xuán fēng)
Whenever a card is removed from your equipped items area, you can carry out either 1 of the following 2 options:

1. Viewed as having used an ATTACK 杀 on any player (this ATTACK will not be considered in calculating the number of ATTACK card used per turn).

2. Cause 1 unit of damage to a player within physical range of 1.

[2012 New version]
Character ability: Tempest 旋风 (xuán fēng)
Each instance that you lose equipped cards, or you discard 2 or more cards in your discard phase, you can discard a total of 2 cards (one card at a time) from up to maximum of 2 players. 


(Note: Total of 2 cards means either discard 2 cards from 1 player, or 1 card each from 2 players.)

Ability's relation to story:
I'm going out on a limb on this one. Ling Tong's rescue of Sun Quan can be read in more detail under Additional Information, where the insanely heroic act of Ling Tong's forces was like a wild storm or hurricane that wreaked havoc on Zhang Liao 张辽's forces. However, that is a circumstantial link indeed, and does not make for a very good relation to the story.

On the other hand, the mechanics of this ability seems to be a wonderful link with Gan Ning's ability. Imagine Ling Tong paired in the same team with Gan Ning; it would be a nightmare for any opponent within distance of 1 from Ling Tong! However i'm not sure if the creator of this ability took the storyline between these two into consideration when creating it.

Additional Info based on story:
1. Most famous achievement - Saving Sun Quan from certain death at Xiao Yao ford 逍遥津. Under a sudden attack by Zhang Liao 张辽, who had brilliantly cut off Sun Quan's escape route, Sun Quan was left with few troops to defend himself. Ling Tong rushed to the rescue with 300 of his closest soldiers and bought enough time for Sun Quan to escape. Ling Tong paid a very high price though. All 300 of his troops, which he regarded as close as family, were killed. Ling Tong himself suffered serious wounds but managed to escape by jumping into the water. He was later rescued by Sun Quan's boat, but Ling Tong was grief-stricken nonetheless.

2. Cause of death - His age when he died is unclear. It was either 48 or 28 years old. Strange. The way in which he died is confirmed. He died of illness on his way back to Sun Quan's side after returning from a trip home. It was during that trip back to his hometown that he gained fame for his humility and respect for the everyday people, despite his great stature as a highly regarded statesperson.

Wiki Link:
Ling Tong Wiki