Huang Zu

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Huang Zu (黃祖; ? - 208) was a highly-ranked naval officer and Prefect of Jiangxia under the later Han Dynasty governor of Jingzhou, Liu Biao. After the allied forces against Dong Zhuo split up following their defeat, the former alliance polarized greatly; Yuan Shao, the leader of the alliance, feuded against his relative, Yuan Shu. Yuan Shao obtained the alliance of Liu Biao, and in turn, Yuan Shu ordered Sun Jian of Changsha to attack Liu Biao's territories.

Sun Jian led an attack on Jiangxia first, and partially due to the leadership of his young son, Sun Ce, easily defeated Huang Zu. Huang Zu fled to Xiangyang, Liu Biao's capital, for a final defense. The battle went in Sun Jian's favor until, during the night, Huang Zu sent a contingent of soldiers to Sun Jian's camp, and Sun Jian was slain. (In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel, it is said that Sun Jian was slain due to a ploy by Kuai Liang and Lü Gong, two of Liu Biao's generals. In addition, Huang Zu was captured by Sun Ce, but released so that Sun Ce could retrieve his father's body in exchange. The historical accuracy of this account is unknown.)

With that, the war between Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao died down, and Liu Biao went about expanding his power as Huang Zu returned to Jiangxia. Meanwhile, Sun Ce built an army in Yangzhou to the east with the intent of fulfilling his father's legacy. Liu Biao feared Sun Ce, and while Sun Ce was attacking the Prefect of Lujiang, Liu Xun, Huang Zu was sent to attack Sun Ce at Shaxian.

Sun Ce quickly defeated Liu Xun and turned his attention to his nemesis, bringing with him his cousins, Sun Ben and Sun Fu, as well as his chief lieutenant, Zhou Yu, and his trusted warrior, Taishi Ci. Huang Zu, on the other hand, sent his son, Huang She and the nephew of Liu Biao, Liu Pan, to do battle. Sun Ce's navy destroyed Huang Zu's in a massive victory, taking the heads of tens of thousands, including almost all of Huang Zu's family. Huang Zu fell back to Jiangxia, and Sun Ce expanded a bit of his power into the outskirts of Jingzhou during the counterattack.

In the year AD 200, the Imperial Protector Cao Cao sent a talented scholar, Mi Heng, to Liu Biao in order to be rid of Mi Heng, who was intolerably rude. Liu Biao was insulted by Mi Heng's lack of respect, and thus he sent Mi Heng to the short-tempered Huang Zu. Huang Zu at first was eager to be in the presence of Mi Heng, but soon after being insulted, he grew tired of him and had him beheaded.

Sun Ce of Yangzhou died, and his younger brother, Sun Quan, rose to power. Sun Quan launched an attack on Xiakou, just outside of Jiangxia, during which his trusted general, Ling Cao, was slain by Gan Ning, a former pirate who had been forcibly drafted by Huang Zu some time previous. Huang Zu, however, did not care much for Gan Ning, and even after this event, he blamed his loss on Gan Ning's past. Su Fei, one of Huang Zu's subordinates, noticed that Gan Ning was unhappy, and thus he enabled Gan Ning to defect to Sun Quan. When Huang Zu mounted his attack to retake Xiakou, his generals Deng Long and Chen Jiu were quickly defeated, and his son, Huang She, was defeated by Xu Sheng of Sun Quan's forces. Huang Zu found himself facing Gan Ning, who was now one of Sun Quan's most trusted subordinates, as well as Cheng Pu, a veteran general under Sun Jian, Sun Ce, and Sun Quan. He was quickly captured along with Su Fei. Gan Ning beheaded him, and his body was sent along with the still living Su Fei to Sun Quan.

Su Fei would be spared by Sun Quan and hired on account of his relationship with Gan Ning. Huang Zu was survived by his son, She, who had fled the battle at Xiakou after his defeat, turning to banditry and dying in obscurity. Jiangxia fell into the hands of Sun Quan, thus setting the stage for further battles of what would become known as the Three Kingdoms era.