Huang Gai, courtesy name Gongfu, is a veteran commander of Eastern Wu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He serves the Sun family across the generations of Sun Jian, Sun Ce, and Sun Quan and belongs to the older military core of Jiangdong.
His most famous role comes before the Battle of Red Cliffs. As part of the plan to destroy Cao Cao’s fleet by fire, Huang Gai and Zhou Yu stage a “self-injury scheme.” Zhou Yu publicly has Huang Gai beaten so that Cao Cao’s side will believe the veteran commander has been humiliated and is ready to defect.
Huang Gai then secretly sends a false surrender message to Cao Cao and approaches the Wei fleet with ships loaded with flammable material. Once close enough, the vessels are set ablaze, allowing the fire attack to spread through Cao Cao’s naval camp.
Huang Gai is therefore remembered not only as a veteran warrior but as one of the essential executors of the Red Cliffs strategy. The famous story of “Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai” makes him one of the most recognizable loyal old commanders in the Three Kingdoms tradition.