Huang Zu (, ) (died 208) was Chinese military general and politician during the Eastern Han dynasty. . He served as the Administrator of Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei) under Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan). He is best known for killing the warlord Sun Jian in an ambush during the Battle of Xiangyang (191) and resisting an invasion by the warlord Sun Quan (Sun Jian's son) at the Battle of Xiakou (203). He was defeated and killed at the Battle of Jiangxia in 208 against Sun Quan's forces. Background There are plenty of historical records concerning Huang Zu, but they are scattered over different texts while Huang Zu never had a biography in any official record. Since Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei) is known for being the cradle of the Huang family, Huang Zu, as the commandery's Administrator, probably came from an influential family based there. After Liu Biao arrived in Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan) to assume his governorship of the region, he sought to form alliances with the local elites, particularly the Huang family who had been defending Jiangxia Commandery in eastern Jing Province from aggression by a neighbouring warlord, Yuan Shu. In return, Liu Biao provided financial aid to Huang Zu in peacetime and military support for his naval forces during wartime. Under such arrangements, even though Huang Zu was nominally a subordinate of Liu Biao, he maintained much autonomy over Jiangxia Commandery. Battle of Xiangyang In 191, war broke out between the warlords Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, who were half-brothers. Yuan Shao formed an alliance with Liu Biao while Yuan Shu gained support from Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao's territories in Jing Province. Liu Biao assigned Huang Zu to defend Fancheng (樊城; in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei) and Dengzhou (鄧州; in present-day Nanyang, Henan) from Sun Jian's attacks. However, Huang Zu lost to Sun Jian in battle and realised that he could not defeat the enemy on flat and open terrain, so he retreated to Xiangyang Commandery, the capital of Jing Province, and holed up behind the city walls. One night, Huang Zu led a group of soldiers to launch a sneak attack on Sun Jian's camp but failed to catch the enemy by surprise. Nevertheless, Sun Jian died after being hit by a stray arrow while pursuing