黃蓋

Profile

Veteran of three generations of Sun lords — and the man who pulled the trigger at Red Cliffs. Volunteering the fake surrender, he drove the oil-laden ships into Cao Cao’s fleet and ignited the great fire, taking an arrow and a plunge into the river along the way. He was equally formidable as an administrator: rebellions, the record says, subsided at the mere news of his appointment. His name lives on in the idiom of the self-inflicted ruse.

Key events

1. 195

   Sun Ce Conquers the Southland

   Sun Ce sets out to conquer the Southland with his father’s veterans. After their famous duel at Shenting, he captured Taishi Ci and won him over.

   Sun CeTaishi CiZhou YuCheng Pu

2. 208

   Battle of Red Cliffs

   Zhou Yu’s Sun–Liu alliance burns Cao Cao’s armada with fire ships, halting his southern conquest. The three-way division of the realm was sealed here.

   Zhou YuCao CaoSun QuanLiu BeiZhuge LiangLu SuCheng PuGan Ning

History vs. the novelHistoryvsNovel

The beating by Zhou Yu is the novel’s addition — the histories record only the feigned surrender itself. Either way, the hand that lit Red Cliffs was Huang Gai’s.