Xu Huang () (died 227), courtesy name Gongming, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He later served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period under the first two rulers, Cao Pi and Cao Rui, before his death at the start of Cao Rui's reign. Xu Huang is best noted for breaking the siege at the Battle of Fancheng in 219 by routing the enemy commander Guan Yu on the field. Chen Shou, who wrote the third-century historical text Sanguozhi, named Xu Huang as one of the Five Elite Generals of his time, alongside Yu Jin, Zhang He, Yue Jin and Zhang Liao. Early life and service under Yang Feng Xu Huang was born in Yang County (楊縣), Hedong Commandery, which is located southeast of present-day Hongtong County, Shanxi, in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He served as a minor official in the commandery office in his youth. Later, he became a subordinate of Yang Feng, a former White Wave Bandit who later became a general under the Han central government. Xu Huang later followed Yang Feng to attack rebels and was commissioned as a Cavalry Commandant (騎都尉) as a reward for his efforts. Between 192 and 195, Li Jue and Guo Si controlled the Han central government and held the figurehead Emperor Xian hostage in the imperial capital, Chang'an (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi). In 195, internal conflict broke out between Li Jue and Guo Si, whose respective factions started warring with each other in the streets of Chang'an. Yang Feng and Xu Huang were Li Jue's subordinates at the time. In the same year, Xu Huang managed to convince Yang Feng to escort Emperor Xian from Chang'an back to the old Han imperial capital, Luoyang. After Emperor Xian made it safely to Anyi County (安邑縣; west of present-day Xia County, Shanxi), he rewarded Xu Huang by granting him the peerage of a Marquis of a Chief Village (都亭侯). After they returned to Luoyang with Emperor Xian, internal conflict broke out between the generals Han Xian and Dong Cheng, who were among those who escorted the emperor back to Luoyang. During this time, Xu Huang persuaded Yang Feng to summon the warlord Cao Cao to Luoyang to help them deal with the crisis and protect the emperor. In early 196, Cao Cao and his troops