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Huang Gai (birth and death dates unknown), courtesy name Gongfu, was a native of Quanling, Lingling (present-day Lingling District, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province). He was a famous general of the Wu Kingdom during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period.
He served under Sun Jian, Sun Ce, and Sun Quan. During the Battle of Red Cliffs, he feigned surrender to Cao Cao, which led to the burning of Red Cliffs and made a great contribution to the Sun-Liu alliance's victory over Cao Cao.

Huang Gai served as a county official in his early years, and later followed Sun Jian in raising an army to fight against Dong Zhuo, rising to the rank of Separate Commander. After Sun Jian's death, Huang Gai followed Sun Ce...

Sun Quan waged wars on all fronts, conquering cities and seizing territories. The Yue people rebelled, and Huang Gai was appointed magistrate to pacify them. Later, Huang Gai also served as the magistrate of Chungu County.

The magistrate of Xunyang County and others were promoted to the position of Commandant of Danyang for their meritorious service in governing the people.

In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208 AD), Cao Cao launched a southern expedition. Sun Quan and Liu Bei formed an alliance to resist Cao Cao, and the two armies were locked in a stalemate at Chibi (northwest of present-day Chibi City, Hubei Province).

Huang Gai suggested to Zhou Yu that Cao Cao's ships were densely packed and linked end to end, making them suitable for a fire attack. Zhou Yu adopted this suggestion and ordered Huang Gai to lead dozens of fire ships to feign surrender to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao fell into the trap, and Huang Gai led his fleet to burn Cao Cao's ships and camps on the shore. Taking advantage of the situation, the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei launched an attack and won the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Huang Gai was promoted to General of the Vanguard for his merits. He then led his troops to suppress rebellions by the Wuling barbarians and the mountain bandits of Changsha and Yiyang. Sun Quan appointed him as the Prefect of Wuling Commandery.

He was promoted to Lieutenant General, but soon died in office. After Sun Quan became emperor, he posthumously recognized Huang Gai's merits and enfeoffed his son Huang Bing as Marquis of Guannei.

Later generations regarded Huang Gai as a famous general. Chen Shou listed him as one of the "Twelve Tiger Generals of Jiangdong", praising him as dignified, resolute, and caring for his soldiers.
Cai Jingli, an official during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and Hao Jing, a scholar during the Yuan Dynasty, believed that Huang Gai was both brave and resourceful, praising his contribution in devising the plan to attack Cao Cao's army with fire during the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Huang Gai's ancestor, Huang Zilian, served as the governor of Nanyang Commandery during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Later, the family dispersed to various places, and Huang Gai's ancestors moved to Lingling Commandery.

He settled there. Huang Gai became an orphan at a young age and experienced many hardships during his youth, enduring the bitterness of life, but he harbored great ambitions.

Despite his humble origins, he refused to associate with mediocre people. In addition to earning a living, he devoted himself to studying and researching military affairs.

Huang Gai served as an official in the prefectural government in his early years. Later, he was recommended by the prefect as a candidate for the civil service examination and soon after was invited to serve as a staff member in the offices of the Three Dukes. In the first year of the Chuping era (190 AD), Sun Jian raised an army to attack Dong Zhuo.

Huang Gai went to join Sun Jian. Sun Jian defeated the rebellious bandits in the south and then led his troops north to repel Dong Zhuo's army, promoting Huang Gai to the position of Separate Commander.

In the second year of the Chuping era (191 AD), Sun Jian led troops to attack Huang Zu of Jiangxia, but was unfortunately killed by a hail of arrows. After Sun Jian's death, Huang Gai successively served Sun Ce and Sun Quan.
Clad in armor and wielding weapons, he fought on all fronts, leading his troops into battle and conquering cities and territories. At that time, the Yue people in Jiangdong were not obedient to Sun Ce. Whenever they rose up in rebellion against the counties, Huang Gai was always appointed as acting county magistrate to suppress and appease the Yue people and govern the people.

The officials in Shicheng County (present-day Zhongxiang City, Hubei Province) were particularly difficult to control. When Huang Gai became the county magistrate, he appointed two clerks to his office.

They were each in charge of various affairs within the county government. Huang Gai had given prior orders; he had been appointed County Magistrate Wen because of his military achievements, and was not adept at handling administrative affairs.

With the bandits still at large and military duties still unresolved, all paperwork has been entrusted to the two county clerks. If they deceive me,

They are to be sentenced to death immediately. I hope you two will do your best in your duties and not be the first to break the law.
Initially, all the officials feared Huang Gai's authority and were diligent in their duties; however, as time went on, the officials became increasingly wary of Huang Gai's lack of attention to official documents.
Gradually, they began to abuse their power and bend the law for personal gain. Huang Gai was also dissatisfied with the officials' laxity and would occasionally review some official documents, discovering several instances of illegal and disorderly conduct by two county clerks.

Huang Gai then invited all his subordinate officials, provided them with food and drink, and took the opportunity to question them about the problematic official documents. The two county clerks were at a loss for words.
They hurriedly kowtowed and begged for forgiveness. Huang Gai publicly stated that he had given prior orders, and then ordered the two men to be executed. From then on, all the officials in the county government were terrified.

Later, Huang Gai was transferred to serve as the magistrate of Chungu County and the county magistrate of Xunyang County. He served as the chief administrator in nine counties in succession, and wherever he went, social order was quickly stabilized.

For his meritorious governance of the people, Huang Gai was promoted to Commandant of Danyang County. He suppressed the strong and helped the weak, and all the Yue people in the area under his jurisdiction submitted to him with peace of mind.

In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208 AD), Cao Cao launched a southern expedition. Sun Quan and Liu Bei formed an alliance to resist Cao Cao and held their positions against Cao Cao's army at Chibi (northwest of present-day Chibi City, Hubei Province).

At that time, Cao Cao's army was already suffering from a disease outbreak. As soon as the two armies clashed, Cao Cao's army was defeated and retreated all the way to the north of the Yangtze River to set up camp, while Zhou Yu and others led their troops to set up camp on the south side of the Yangtze River.

Huang Gai then suggested to Zhou Yu that since the enemy outnumbered them, a prolonged battle was unsustainable. Cao Cao's ships were densely packed together, end to end, and they could be repelled by fire. Zhou Yu adopted Huang Gai's plan.

Huang Gai wrote a letter to Cao Cao beforehand, stating that the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei could not resist Cao Cao's large army, and also expressed his dissatisfaction with Zhou Yu and Lu Su.
He was willing to lead his troops to surrender to Cao Cao. After receiving the letter, Cao Cao secretly questioned the messenger, saying that if Huang Gai's words were true, he would surely reward him with higher rank and titles.

On the day of battle, Huang Gai selected dozens of warships, filled them with firewood and straw, then filled them with oil and fish paste, covered them with curtains, and planted military flags on them.

Escape boats were also tied to the stern of the warships, and they were launched one after another towards Cao Cao's camp on the north bank of the Yangtze River. At that time, a strong southeast wind was blowing.
Dozens of warships quickly reached the middle of the river. Huang Gai ordered his soldiers to shout that they were surrendering. Cao Cao's army heard the commotion and came out of their camp to watch.

When the fleet was still two miles from Cao Cao's camp, Huang Gai ordered all the warships to light firewood. The river wind was strong, and it fanned the flames.
The flames quickly spread to Cao Cao's warships, and the fire reached their camp on the shore. Before long, the sky was ablaze with fire.
Countless soldiers of Cao Cao's army were burned or drowned. Cao Cao's army suffered a crushing defeat and retreated to Nan Commandery to hold their ground. Liu Bei and Zhou Yu then led their troops in pursuit.

Cao Cao left Cao Ren and other generals in Jiangling City (present-day Jiangling, Jingzhou, Hubei) to continue the resistance, while he himself led the main army back to the north.

During the Battle of Red Cliffs, Huang Gai led from the front, was struck by a stray arrow, and, exhausted, fell into the water. He was rescued by Wu soldiers, but no one knew it was Huang Gai.

They settled him on the latrine bed. Huang Gai struggled to call out Han Dang's name, and Han Dang, hearing the call, recognized Huang Gai. Seeing Huang Gai's disheveled state,
Han Dang, with tears in his eyes, undressed Huang Gai, allowing him to survive. After recovering, Huang Gai was promoted to General of the Vanguard for his meritorious service.

A rebellion broke out among the barbarians in Wuling Commandery, and the rebel army attacked the city. Huang Gai was appointed as the governor of Wuling Commandery. At that time, the commandery only had five hundred soldiers.
Huang Gai believed that the disparity in troop strength was too great and victory would be difficult, so he opened the city gates and waited until half of the rebel army had poured in before launching a sudden attack.

After killing hundreds, the remaining rebels fled back to their villages. Huang Gai then executed the leader of the rebellion, but pardoned all his followers.

From spring to summer, all local bandit rebellions were quelled. The minority leaders and chieftains in the deep mountains along the Ba River, Li River, You River, and Dan River basins...

They all changed their usual practices, offering gifts and requesting an audience with Huang Gai, and the territory of Wuling Commandery was thus stabilized. Later, Yiyang County of Changsha Commandery (east of present-day Yiyang City, Hunan Province) was attacked by mountain bandits.
Huang Gai then led troops to quell a rebellion and was promoted to Lieutenant General for his meritorious service. Not long after, Huang Gai died in office. During his time in office, Huang Gai never delayed in handling official duties. After his death, the people of Wu deeply missed him, and some painted his portrait to commemorate him in all four seasons. After Sun Quan became emperor, he posthumously recognized Huang Gai's achievements and enfeoffed his son, Huang Bing, as Marquis of Guannei.

Wei Yao, a historian from the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period, commented: Huang Gai became an orphan at a young age and experienced many hardships during his youth. He tasted the bitterness of life, but he had lofty ambitions and, despite his humble origins, refused to associate with mediocre people.

The Jin Dynasty historian Chen Shou described Huang Gai as having a dignified and resolute appearance, treating his subordinates well, and inspiring his soldiers to fight bravely whenever the army went on campaign.

Huang Gai was a decisive and efficient official who never procrastinated. After his death, the people of Wu missed him dearly.

In his *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, Chen Shou places Huang Gai alongside Cheng Pu, Zhou Tai, Han Dang, Jiang Qin, Chen Wu, Dong Xi, Gan Ning, Ling Tong, and Xu Sheng.

Pan Zhang, Ding Feng, and twelve other Wu generals were listed in the first biography, and they were praised as tiger generals of Jiangdong, subordinates and generals who should be treated well by the Sun family.

Cai Jingli, an official during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, commented: "A military general should be brave and valiant, possessing the ambition to conquer all directions, expanding territory like a dragon cutting through water."

They can draw a bow with a force of six jun (approximately 1000 kg) and shoot arrows left and right; they can wield a sword capable of striking ten thousand men; they can engage in close combat, conquer cities and seize territory like Wen Yang, and burn enemy warships like Huang Gai. They are victorious in every battle and gather together like fierce beasts.

Southern Song scholar Zhang Ruyu commented: "Such as Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Gan Ning, Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, Zhu Ran, Zhu Huan, He Qi, Ling Tong, and Quan Cong."

Lü Fan and others were all wise enough to command an army and brave enough to resist powerful enemies; none of them were incompetent.

Hao Jing, a scholar from the Yuan Dynasty, commented: Huang Gai, along with Cheng Pu and twelve other military generals, were all ranked among the Tiger Generals of Jiangdong, protecting their monarch in fierce battles and conquering cities and territories.
The victory over the enemy and the restoration of the kingdom of Wu, established by the brothers Sun Ce and Sun Quan, were all thanks to the efforts of their generals. For example, Huang Gai's use of fire in naval battles was a brilliant strategy.

In an ancient era, the Three Kingdoms stood in a tripartite balance of power, producing many heroes. Among them, the Eastern Wu had a general named Huang Gai, known for both his wisdom and courage. He was tall and strong, with a ruddy complexion and piercing, tiger-like eyes. Huang Gai was not only highly skilled in martial arts but also resourceful and wise, earning him the deep trust of Sun Quan.

One day, Sun Quan summoned his generals to discuss how to counter the powerful Cao Wei. Huang Gai devised a plan and proposed using fire to defeat the enemy. He suggested this strategy during the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Taking advantage of a strong east wind, they used fire ships to ram the enemy fleet and burn Cao Cao's navy in one fell swoop. Sun Quan was greatly impressed by this and decided to adopt Huang Gai's plan.

Huang Gai immediately sprang into action, selecting strong soldiers and secretly constructing fire ships. They tied oil-soaked firewood to the bows of the ships; once ignited,
The fire would spread rapidly. Meanwhile, Huang Gai also used his wisdom to devise a clever plan to feign surrender.

On the appointed day, Huang Gai led his fire ships in an attack on Cao Cao's navy. Cao Cao's generals, seeing Huang Gai surrender, were completely unprepared. Just as Huang Gai's fire ships were about to approach the enemy vessels...
He suddenly lit the firewood, and the fire quickly spread to the entire boat. Huang Gai shouted, "Those who surrender to Cao shall die!" and then jumped into the river.

The fire ships rushed towards Cao Cao's navy like fiery dragons, instantly igniting the entire river surface. Cao Cao's navy was thrown into chaos; the soldiers panicked and were unable to withstand the flames. Huang Gai seized the opportunity to lead the Eastern Wu navy in a fierce attack, annihilating Cao Cao's navy in one fell swoop.

After the battle, Sun Quan was overjoyed and praised Huang Gai for his outstanding military achievements. Huang Gai became famous throughout the land because of this battle and became a renowned general of Eastern Wu.

As a boy, Huang Gai was withdrawn and lived a difficult life. Even so, his behavior was unlike that of his peers; he often studied military strategy on his way home from chopping wood. His efforts eventually paid off. Upon reaching adulthood, he was recommended as a candidate for the civil service examination.

Later, when Sun Jian raised an army to fight against Dong Zhuo, Huang Gai began to follow him. Unfortunately, Sun Jian met with misfortune and died soon after. Huang Gai then followed Sun Ce and Sun Quan, conquering cities and capturing strongholds, repeatedly achieving military exploits.

In 208 AD, the second of the three major battles in the history of the Three Kingdoms broke out—the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Huang Gai followed Zhou Yu in the battle against Cao Cao's army at Red Cliffs, where the two sides were vastly outnumbered. Huang Gai then suggested to Zhou Yu, "Cao Cao's warships are all lined up end to end; we can use fire to burn them down."

Zhou Yu thought it was feasible, so he gave Huang Gai some straw boats, which were covered with oil and disguised with curtains.

The crucial step arrived: Huang Gai began writing a letter of feigned surrender to Cao Cao, the gist of which was: Although Huang Gai had received preferential treatment from the Sun family of Jiangdong, he had observed the general trend of the world...

The small force of Jiangdong was no match for Cao Cao's million-strong army. Most people in Jiangdong believed they were invincible, except for Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and others who were utterly foolish.

These are my honest thoughts; Zhou Yu's warships can easily break through them. When the battle begins, I will act as the vanguard. I hope Cao Cao will act according to the circumstances and not miss this opportunity.

Cao Cao was overjoyed upon reading Huang Gai's letter. "If Huang Gai surrenders," he declared, "I will surely bestow upon him a high position and generous rewards." On the day of the battle, the soldiers at the front indeed witnessed this.

Huang Gai charged forward as the vanguard, and the soldiers cheered, "They've surrendered! They've surrendered!" Just as they were preparing to provide support, Huang Gai set fire to the boats and, taking advantage of the wind, rushed towards Cao Cao's warships. The fire spread all the way to Cao Cao's camp.

This battle was also a highlight of Huang Gai's life. Afterwards, while serving in local positions, he quelled several rebellions. He ultimately died of illness while on duty.
After Sun Quan became emperor, he reviewed Huang Bing's life achievements and bestowed upon his son Huang Bing the title of Marquis of Guannei.

To ensure the success of the fire attack plan, Huang Gai personally disguised himself as a surrendered general and lured the small boats sent by Cao Cao to provide support. He painfully pulled the arrows from his body.
He rubbed salt into the wound, enduring excruciating pain without uttering a sound to avoid arousing suspicion from Cao Cao's army. After the fire attack plan succeeded, Huang Gai returned wounded, and Sun Quan personally greeted him and treated his wounds.

Huang Gai was loyal and brave throughout his life, and his fire attack plan won the Battle of Red Cliffs for Eastern Wu. Although this valiant general's fame is not as great as Guan Yu's...

Zhang Fei and others, but his outstanding military achievements for Eastern Wu have left us with a model of loyalty and bravery.

Here, we pay tribute to the outstanding general Huang Gai, and may we forever remember this brave and skilled reclusive hero.

After the Battle of Red Cliffs, Huang Gai recovered slowly from his injuries, but he still persisted in fighting. In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219 AD), Liu Bei conquered Jingzhou. (End of Chapter)