| NAME | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 吕通, 呂通, Lǚ Tōng |
| Nickname | White Flag right navy (Chapter 48); possible Li Tong slip |
| Other name | Lã Thông |
| INFORMATION | |
| Birth Place | Unknown |
| Death Reason | Unrecorded; last seen as a wing commander of the chained fleet that burns at Red Cliffs |
| CAREER | |
| Allegiance | Cao Cao (northern army at Red Cliffs) |
| Battles | Chapter 48 naval review on the Yangtze (right, white flag). The Chapter 49–50 fire attack destroys that fleet; he is not named in the rout. |
Biography & Historical Record
Lü Tong (吕通, Lã Thông) is a one-line officer in Romance of the Three Kingdoms Chapter 48: the White Flag commander of Cao Cao’s right naval wing when the northern fleet, already chained together on the advice of Pang Tong (庞统, Bàng Thống), holds its dress review on the Yangtze. He stands in a five-colour water order beside Mao Jie (毛玠, Mao Giới) and Yu Jin (于禁, Vu Cấm) (centre, yellow), Zhang He (张郃, Trương Cáp) (van, red), Lü Qian (吕虔, Lã Kiền) (rear, black), and Wen Pin (文聘, Văn Sính) (left, green). The land wings under Xu Huang (徐晃, Từ Hoảng), Li Dian (李典, Lý Điển), Yue Jin (乐进, Nhạc Tiến), and Xiahou Yuan (夏侯渊, Hạ Hầu Uyên) complete the same colour scheme. After that parade Lü Tong is never named again — not at the fire attack, not in the Huarong flight, not in any later Cao roster.
He has no Sanguozhi biography. Some later readers (and the Huang Zhengfu Sanguozhi zhuan) suspect the name is a slip for the real Cao officer Li Tong (李通, Lý Thông), whom Brewitt-Taylor’s English version quietly restores. This site keeps the received novel name Lü Tong and states the variant honestly. He is not the Western Han Lü Tong of the Lü-clan rebellion, not Lü Fan’s son, and not a Wu clansman of Lü Meng.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 48 (Cao Cao Sings on the River; the Northern Navy Locks Its Ships): The day after the chains are finished, Mao Jie and Yu Jin report that flags and weapons are ready and ask for the order to advance. Cao Cao sits on the central warship and assigns the two services by five colours. On the water: centre yellow — Mao Jie and Yu Jin; front red — Zhang He; rear black — Lü Qian; left green — Wen Pin; right white — Lü Tong. On land: Xu Huang, Li Dian, Yue Jin, Xiahou Yuan; overall supports Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong; inspectors Xu Chu and Zhang Liao. Drums sound three times; the chained fleet stands out, a northwest wind fills the sails, and the northern soldiers fence on decks as if on level ground. Cao Cao is delighted and takes it for a sure plan. Later in the same chapter Jiao Chu (焦触, Tiêu Xúc) and Zhang Nan (张南, Trương Nam) boast they can raid the southern shore in small boats; Wen Pin is sent to cover them; Zhou Yu watches from the hill, laughs when the central yellow flag blows into the river, and then collapses as the wind reminds him he has no fire without an east wind. Lü Tong is not singled out in the raid or the omen. Chapter 49–50 burn the fleet he was assigned to command a wing of; the novel never says whether he died in the fire or escaped.
Lü Tong (吕通) — Historical & Literary Timeline
White Flag, right navy
Named once in Cao Cao’s five-colour water order after Pang Tong’s chain plan is in place. Review succeeds in a northwest wind; Cao Cao believes the river is solved.
Jiao Chu–Zhang Nan raid; yellow-flag omen
The chapter’s action moves to the small-boat challenge and Zhou Yu’s shock at the wind. Lü Tong is not mentioned again. His wing is part of the locked host Zhou Yu is staring at.
Fire attack; no further name
East wind, chained ships, the northern navy burns. Lü Tong is not listed among the dead or the fugitives. History has no separate Lü Tong at Chibi; some editions read Li Tong.
The review order is in the novel only; Cao Cao’s historical Chibi commanders are discussed with the Battle of Red Cliffs.
Key Relationships
Family
- None recorded. Fictional (or a miswritten Li Tong). Not a son of Lü Meng, Lü Fan, or the Western Han Lü clan.
Friends
- Mao Jie (毛玠, Mao Giới) and Yu Jin (于禁, Vu Cấm): Fellow water-army directors who request the review and hold the yellow centre. Comrades of the same parade, not sworn brothers.
- Wen Pin (文聘, Văn Sính) and Lü Qian (吕虔, Lã Kiền): Left green and rear black of the same naval colour order.
Enemies
- Zhou Yu (周瑜, Chu Du) and the Sun–Liu river alliance: the command watching the locked fleet Lü Tong was assigned to. They never duel him by name.
Other
- Cao Cao (曹操, Tào Tháo): The lord who names him White Flag right navy in Chapter 48.
- Pang Tong (庞统, Bàng Thống): Author of the chain plan that makes the five-colour review look invincible — and makes the later fire unstoppable.
- Zhang He (张郃, Trương Cáp), Xu Huang (徐晃, Từ Hoảng), Xiahou Yuan (夏侯渊, Hạ Hầu Uyên): Other colour commanders of the same order.
- Li Tong (李通, Lý Thông) (historical Cao officer): The plausible intended name in some editions. Keep as a textual note, not a merge of pages.
In Novel
Chapter 48
- Lü Tong (吕通, Lã Thông): After Mao Jie (毛玠, Mao Giới) and Yu Jin (于禁, Vu Cấm) report the ships chained and ready, Cao Cao (曹操, Tào Tháo) assigns the water army by five colours. Lü Tong receives the right wing, white flag, opposite Wen Pin’s (文聘, Văn Sính) green left, with Zhang He (张郃, Trương Cáp) in red at the front and Lü Qian (吕虔, Lã Kiền) in black at the rear. The fleet stands out in a northwest wind; northern troops fence on the locked decks; Cao Cao believes he has solved the river. Lü Tong is not named in the later Jiao Chu–Zhang Nan boat raid or in Zhou Yu’s (周瑜, Chu Du) yellow-flag omen, and he does not reappear when the east wind and the fire of Chapters 49–50 destroy that same locked navy.
In History
Summary
- Lü Tong (吕通, Lã Thông) as Cao Cao’s White Flag admiral is a novel-only name. Chen Shou gives no Chibi officer of this 汉字. Some Ming editions print Li Tong (李通); Brewitt-Taylor follows that emendation. The historical Li Tong was a real Cao general but is not securely placed on the 208 river wing.
Year: 208 AD
- Battle of Red Cliffs. Historical Cao water command after the deaths of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun is debated; the five-colour parade with a Lü Tong right wing is Luo Guanzhong’s blocking.
Historical Record
- No Sanguozhi biography under 吕通 for this man. Do not use the Western Han Lü Tong (nephew of Empress Lü). Novel evidence: Chapter 48 order of battle only.
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