<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > Ling Cao and Ling Tong</h1>
Jiangdong's children are versatile. Although they were born in a gentle water town and a rich land, they had a warrior spirit of chivalry and righteousness. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Lord of Kaiji and the fierce general Hu Chen jointly left a series of resounding names in history. A pair of Ling father and son appeared in this list of Eastern Wu heroes.
Father Ling Cao, known in history as "light heroes have courage", for people to do chivalrous righteousness, courage and courage. At the beginning of the "little overlord" Sun Ce's army, Ling Cao followed the Sun family to compete for the world. He was the vanguard of Sun Ce in marching and fighting, and he made many military achievements in charging into the battlefield; in governing the localities, he quelled rebellions, punished adultery and evil, and maintained the stability of one side. While Sun Quan was running Eastern Wu, Ling Cao followed Sun Quan on a campaign against Jiangxia. This time, he still served as the vanguard, taking a light boat alone to attack the enemy army, but unexpectedly encountered Gan Ning, a sharpshooter who was still serving in the enemy camp, and was shot by an arrow and killed on the battlefield.
After Ling Cao's death, only a fifteen-year-old son was left, namely Ling Tong. Because Ling's father died in state affairs, Sun Quan promoted Ling Tong to be sima of other departments and lieutenant of the thieves, and commanded Ling Cao's old department. Our heir, Ling Tong, at such an underage age, passed on his father's ambitions and took charge of the family business, and was quickly pushed by fate to the peak of the Three Kingdoms struggle for hegemony.
On the left is the statue of Sun Quan, from the "Map of the Emperors of The Past Dynasties"; on the right is the statue of Ling Tong.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" > young and vigorous, filial piety first</h1>
Although the young lord of the Ling clan was only fifteen years old, his prestige in the military camp was very high, and the generals praised him when they mentioned him. Therefore, Ling Tong's succession to the position of commander of the "Ling Family Army" can also be regarded as the expectation of the people. Ling Tong, who had just ventured into the battlefield, first followed a large army to pacify the Thieves of Mount Yue in Eastern Wu. In a place called Matun, where the thieves gathered more than 10,000 people, they should not be underestimated, and the governor and Ling Tong agreed on a time limit to besiege.
"Portrait of the Three Kingdoms" "Sun Quan Crosses the River to Fight Huang Zu"
Before the army set out, a banquet was held to boost morale. The atmosphere that should have been warm was ruined by Chen Qin, who was in charge of the sake offering. Chen Qin was arrogant and willful, bullying the soldiers in his position, and did not follow the rules for toasting and punishing wine. Ling Tong couldn't look at it anymore, reprimanded him in person, and disobeyed his orders. When a teenager wins, some people will inevitably be red-eyed. Chen Qin saw that it was Ling Tong, and a wave of wine surged upwards, wantonly insulting him and the deceased Ling Cao.
Before the matter was over, Ling Tong and Chen Qin met again on the narrow road outside the barracks. Chen Qin, who was drunk and strong, looked at this teenager again, and he didn't get angry, and he took advantage of the wine to go crazy, which was another insult. Ling Tong couldn't bear it any longer, and immediately pulled out his saber and slashed at Chen Qin. The blade flashed, blood splashed on the spot, and Chen Qin was seriously injured. A few days later, the news of Chen Qin's death came out of the barracks. Killing officers has become a felony. Now, there is only one way out for him, and that is to make meritorious deeds on the battlefield.
Therefore, Ling Tong summoned ling jiajun and said, "We have no other way to atone for our sins except to fight to the death." The generals all knew that Ling Tong had violated the military law for the sake of the old leader, and instead of blaming him, they were shaking their fists and morale, waiting for a big battle. On the battlefield of Matun, the Eastern Wu army attacked, and Ling Tong, like Ling Cao's reincarnation, led his men and horses to take the lead. He and his Ling family army, ignoring the arrows and flying stones, attacked the enemy army in a fierce attack. Where Ling Tongfeng pointed out, he quickly attacked a gap, and the other generals took advantage of the victory to attack and break the mountain thief.
Ling Tong, who had made the first contribution, returned to the military camp and took the initiative to go to the magistrate to plead guilty. The fate of the Ling family seems to be very similar to that of the Sun family as monarchs. The fathers of both families died of hatred in their prime, leaving behind their underage sons, and Ling Tong took over the Ling family army at an age that was even two years younger than when Sun Ce led the army to open up Jiangdong. If Ling Tong was really questioned, it would really be a big regret for the Ling family.
Sun Quan faced Ling Tong, who had such a similar encounter, in addition to the morality of the monarch, perhaps also had a sense of mutual understanding and pity. Therefore, when he found out the ins and outs of the matter, Sun Quan not only did not blame Ling for killing people before the United Front, but admired his courage and fortitude and allowed him to fold his merits. Not only that, Sun Quan also attached great importance to the characteristics of Ling Tong's unparalleled filial piety and bravery, and transferred him to his side to fight together.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="16" > Linggan to relieve his grievances and move filial piety to loyalty</h1>
In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), Sun Quan rebelled against Jiangxia Huangzu, and Ling Tong once again served as a pioneer. Jiangxia was a common pain of the Sun family and the Ling family, and Sun Jian and Ling Cao died here one after another. Therefore, the Battle of Jiangxia also became a common revenge battle between Sun Quan and Ling Tong. This march took a waterway, and what was more peculiar was that Ling Tong alone led dozens of highly skilled loyalists in the same boat, often tens of miles beyond the large troops. Originally, he was the first to rush to the Right River and attack the enemy army as a surprise soldier. In one fell swoop, he beheaded Huang Zu's general Zhang Jaw and captured a large number of enemy troops.
"Portrait of the Three Kingdoms" "Sun Zhongmou Hefei Battle"
Only then did he return to Sun Quan's main force and report that the enemy army was empty in the defense of the Right River and could drive straight in. After that, the army traveled day and night, and arrived at the same time by water and land. The general Lü Meng defeated Huang Zu's vanguard of the water army, while Ling Tong and the general Dong Xun captured the city of Jiangxia County. In the end, Huang Zubing fled in defeat and ended up with the fate of a dead owl. After Sun Quan took his first rank, he sacrificed his deceased father Sun Jian, and finally avenged his father's murder.
Ling Tong's cold eyes had also been staring at Gan Ning's every move. Gan Ning did not give in, and picked up the double halberd and said, "I can also use the double halberd to dance for everyone!" At the moment when the swords and halberds collided, a knife and a shield split in the air, respectively, to receive the attacks of Ling Tong's single knife and Gan Ning's double halberd. After the stirring sound of the golden stone, a majestic voice said to Gan Ning, "Although you can, you are not as good as me!" Everyone fixed their eyes on it, and it turned out that it was Lu Meng who forcibly separated the two and defused a vicious battle.
From then on, Sun Quan sent Gan Ning to Jingzhou to garrison, and also warned Ling Tong not to seek revenge on Gan Ning again. I don't know what Ling Tong's mental journey was at that time, but there is no longer any record of Ling and Gan's hostility in the history books afterwards. Perhaps Ling Tong still had the idea of revenge, but for the sake of the king's life, he had to bury it deep in his heart, and turn a piece of filial piety to his father into a loyal spirit for the king and the country.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="23" > dead war protector, so the old withered</h1>
In the twentieth year of Jian'an (215), Sun Quan gathered an army of 100,000 to launch the Second Battle of Hefei, and Ling Tong also went out with the army. Historically, Eastern Wu and Cao Wei clashed six times in Hefei, most of the time when the Eastern Wu army returned in vain. In particular, in the second battle, Sun Quan's opponent was the famous Cao Wei general Zhang Liao, who suffered a major defeat in his life. However, this war was also the most tragic one, it was the last big battle between Ling Tong and the Ling Family Army, and it was also a rare witness of Ling Tong and Gan Ning fighting together.
"Portrait of the Three Kingdoms" "Zhang Liao Vs Xiao Yaojin"
The Eastern Wu generals died in hundreds of battles, and there were always teenagers who made a comeback. After Ling Tong's death, he left behind two young sons. When Sun Quan saw them, he seemed to see the hope of reviving the Ling Family Army. He adopted the children in the palace and treated them as if they were his own. Whenever a guest came to see him, he would take the two children with him and say, "This is my tiger." As the second son grew older, Sun Quan carefully cultivated them and let them learn martial arts diligently in order to inherit Ling Tong's title and military power.
From a fifteen-year-old teenager to a twenty-nine-year-old general, Ling Tong's untimely death is really regrettable. There is also a saying in the history books that Ling Tong died at the age of forty-nine, but that would contradict other historical facts. Despite the short life, Ling Tong and his Ling family army were loyal and filial, heroic and fearless in one war after another, and sacrificed their lives for the king and the country. In the end, Ling Tong became one of the famous "Tiger Ministers" of Eastern Wu; the prestige of the Ling Family Army will always be engraved in the hearts of future generations.