Huang Gai | Wu

Name: Huang Gai

Age: 54 (Born 154 AD)

Appearance: Huang Gai is a super tall, buff man with an imposing stature and fierce expression. Despite his intimidating appearance, he has a friendly smile. He has long gray hair braided down his back, and a short, scruffy beard. He often wears red and gold armor, showing off his muscular arms and legs.

Personality: Huang Gai is a muscular veteran who never loses faith in his countrymen. With stamina that belies his age, he is a bold and confident general for Wu. A devoted vassal, he is considered to be an irreplaceable member of the Wu army, fully dedicated to his job and fellow generals. He is known to make quips regarding younger warriors, but he also encourages them to always act for the greater cause. He often gives tips to the stoic and silent Zhou Tai on what it means to be a loyal servant. Fond of explosions, he often mentions "booms" or "blasts" in his conversations, while also being a bit of a playful person who knows when to loosen up the mood. Despite his playful demeanor, he’s still a very smart and rather strict person, intolerant of disobedience. Every time he goes into battle, the men under him will compete fiercely to earn the top credit. Huang Gai is also known to be just and decisive when he handles cases in court and he never has any lapses.

While he respects each of his masters, he fondly calls Sun Jian "Great lord", even after his death. He acts as the more light-hearted and active foil to the stoic Cheng Pu and calmer (if anxious) Han Dang. Huang Gai serves as a mentor to the young lord Sun Quan. Huang Gai’s weapon of choice is a club, and a shield attached to his arm. He did dabble in using a small boat as a weapon at one point, though this was obviously impractical.

Background: Huang Gai was from Quanling County, Lingling Commandery. Huang Gai was orphaned at a young age and he experienced hardships in his early days. However, he had high ambitions and, despite being poor, he worked hard and read books and studied military arts on his own.

Huang Gai later became a minor official in the local commandery office before he was nominated as a xiaolian and employed as an assistant in the office of one of the Three Ducal Ministers. Around the 180s, when Sun Jian was raising a militia to help government forces suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Huang Gai responded to the call and became one of Sun Jian's subordinates. Huang Gai accompanied Sun Jian in attacking bandits in the region and also participated in the campaign against Dong Zhuo under Sun Jian's banner. After Sun Jian's death in 191, Huang Gai continued to serve under Sun Jian's eldest son, Sun Ce, and later under Sun Quan, after Sun Ce was assassinated. He was involved in Sun Ce's conquests in the Jiangdong region.

When Sun Quan was in control of the Wu territories, the Shanyue tribes in the region often raided counties and caused trouble. Huang Gai was sent to pacify the Shanyue. Huang Gai was assigned to oversee Shicheng County and he knew that the local officials did not follow the laws and were difficult to control. He chose two officers to be his assistants and ordered them to manage the office, and gave instructions for all the officers to abide by rules and regulations and perform their duties well. The two officers were afraid of Huang Gai so they put in full effort in their work. However, as time passed, they realised that Huang Gai did not inspect their work, so they became lax and reverted to their old ways. Huang Gai was actually aware of what was going on. He invited all the local officials to attend a banquet later and exposed the two officers' misdeeds in front of everyone. The officers were frightened and begged for their lives, but Huang Gai still executed them. The nine counties under his governorship were peaceful and stable. He helped the poor and earned the respect of the Shanyue.