Gan Ning
Ling Tong was reputed to have a strong sense of righteousness. During the battle at Nan Commandery, Zhou Yu ordered Gan Ning to attack Yiling (夷陵; around present-day Yichang, Hubei). Cao Ren sent an army to attack Gan Ning and had him surrounded. Gan Ning hurriedly requested for reinforcements, but the generals did not have enough men to spare to save him and believed it was not sagacious to send reinforcements because that would dilute the main army. Lü Meng spoke up, saying that they should help Gan Ning. He proposed to Zhou Yu that Ling Tong stay behind to keep Cao Ren in check while the rest of the generals go to reinforce Gan Ning. Lü Meng boldly asserted that he had confidence that Ling Tong could hold on for ten days. Ling Tong then took up his duties with responsibility. He countered Cao Ren's attacks alone, and bought time for the other generals to rescue Gan Ning.