[3] After the 1911 Revolution he attended Guangxi Military Cadre Training School in Guilin along with Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren.

In the confused power struggles following the Ao-Gui Wars, local military figures began to carve out territory in Guangxi and dominate it.

During the Ao-Gui wars Huang, then the commander of the Model Battalion, attempted to stay neutral and relocated to Baise in the far northwest.

By August they had defeated and driven former ruler Lu Rongting and other contenders out of the province and Huang became the civil governor of Guangxi from 1924-29.

During the Kumul Rebellion Chiang Kai-shek was ready to send Huang and his expeditionary force, which he assembled to assist Muslim Gen. Ma Zhongying against Sheng Shicai, but when Chiang heard about the Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang, he decided to withdraw to avoid an international incident if his troops directly engaged the Soviets, leaving Ma alone without reinforcements to fight the Red Army.