Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Everyone was shocked and looked at Ma Chao in disbelief, asking: "The bandits are vicious. We are just common people and may find it difficult to deal with them." Ma Chao said: "They are just a bunch of bandits. I will make some arrangements and eliminate this scourge for the villagers." The village chief said: "Since Liu San has revealed the whereabouts of the bandits, why not report it to the authorities?" Ma Chao said: "Since Liu San can tip off the bandits, there may be people elsewhere who will tip off for them. It is definitely not possible to gather the army and set off quietly. If the news leaks out, , we have come up empty-handed again. When will we be able to annihilate the enemy? Bandits are rampant in Xiliang. The government troops have come to suppress them once and failed. If they fail again, when will we be able to ask the government troops to suppress the bandits again? "The villagers also thought this made sense. After all, when the government troops came to suppress the bandits, even if they had strict discipline, the villagers would still have to prepare food and drinks to entertain them. If they came with lax discipline, they would be plundered and the women might even be molested. In fact, both the government troops and the bandits were feared by the villagers. Everyone agreed and was willing to follow Ma Chao's arrangements.

Here, Ma Chao let Yang Xiaoer go, and said earnestly: "It is nothing for a young man not to want to work in the fields all day, but he cannot hang around all day and be idle. Since he has the heart of a knight, he should learn the behavior of a knight and benefit his hometown. Everyone agrees that he should not neglect good deeds for small reasons, and he should not do bad deeds for small reasons. Only when he is upright can he be respected. You see, what you did today almost led to a big mistake. If you attract bandits and cholera in the village, you will be completely on the road of no return. It will be too late to regret it then. Even after death, how can you face your parents?" Yang Xiaoer burst into tears, "I really didn't know it would be like this. I just envied your BMW style and wanted to ride it. A single rider, imposing and majestic, without giving it much thought, coupled with a few drinks, Liu San bewitched him and conspired to steal the BMW. But I would never dare to engage in the banditry he described. Ma Chao said, "I see you're not of the same ilk as Liu San, and you still have remorse. I'll give you a chance to atone for your sins, but it's dangerous. Do you dare?" Yang Xiaoer, seemingly drunk, held his head high and puffed out his chest, patting it, "Why not? I'm mortified by such a shameful act. Any chance to reform would be exactly what I need." Ma Chao arranged for Yang Xiaoer to pretend to be Liu San's accomplice that day and contact Huang Bing and the other bandits to come and plunder. Ma Chao then arranged for everyone to return to rest and regroup the next morning.

The next morning, Ma Chao again instructed Yang Xiaoer not to rush but to wait until the afternoon, dragging his feet until dusk to lure the bandits over and not to panic. He informed Yang Xiaoer that a wealthy young man had come to the village to rest the previous day, riding alone, dressed in finery, on a tall horse, and carrying a large bag. The young and strong men from the village had been conscripted by the county government to work on the city wall, leaving only the women, children, and the elderly in the village. Liu San, watching closely, fearing the young man had escaped, sent Yang Xiaoer to report the news, and told the others to remain silent and submissive. Yang Xiaoer memorized all the information, along with the secret code, and headed for the bandits' stronghold.

After Yang Xiao'er left, Ma Chao gathered the people. They first cut bamboo and wove it into a square fence. They then woven sharp blades of shaved bamboo into the fence. These fences were then placed on the ground, like sharp knives. Anyone who stepped on them would be pricked, unable to move. They planned to weave enough to encircle the village, which they then hid for future use. He also ordered everyone to borrow as many gongs as possible and to make numerous torches. They also dug traps in the village, lining them with sharp bamboo blades. They also prepared ropes to tie up prisoners after the battle.

The young men were in charge of hiding. Once the bandits entered the village, they would build a bamboo fence around the entrance. Women and children would each light two torches. After surrounding the village, they would light and wave their torches, bang gongs, and shout, "Catch the thieves!" Ma Chao was in charge of dealing with the bandit leader and his vicious and fearless followers. With the leader and his core members dead, the ragtag bandits would become disorganized and unable to break out. Intimidated by the surrounding situation, they would lose the courage to fight and would inevitably surrender.

After hearing the arrangements, everyone felt a surge of confidence and started working eagerly.

By noon, everything was ready. All the men were hiding outside the village, and the women and children were still working as if nothing had happened.

~~~~

After setting out that morning, Yang Xiaoer slowly wandered the roads. The bandits were actually resting in Heifengao, twenty miles away. If they hurried, they could reach them before noon. So, he stopped and started, pretending to search for them, and only arrived at Heifengao in the afternoon. Climbing the hilltop, he stood there and looked down. He saw a dozen or so tents haphazardly pitched in the area, with a large pot beside them. A recently extinguished fire still emitted smoke. If nothing else, the place the bandits had chosen was quite remote. Huang Bing, a former follower of the Yellow Turban leader Huang Long, was a trusted leader and had learned a few basic techniques, including posting sentries and using secret codes. While the tents appeared disorganized, his was the largest, in the center, surrounded by those of his trusted followers. Although there were only a few hundred people, he managed the area with some degree of control.

The midday sun was warm. Two guards were leaning against a tree, dozing off. Suddenly, they saw someone approaching their post. The guards approached and held Yang Xiaoer down, demanding, "What are you doing?" Yang Xiaoer replied, "The sky has changed, the sky has changed." Seeing they had understood the code, the guards asked, "What color has the sky changed to?" Yang Xiaoer replied, "The sky has turned yellow. Yellow sky, yellow sky."

The minions saw that the code was correct and released Yang Xiaoer. Yang Xiaoer quickly explained his purpose: Liu San had sent him to find the boss. A minion trotted over to report that Huang Bing had finished lunch in the largest tent and was resting with his young wife from Liujia Village when he heard the minion running to the tent door and shouting, "Boss, boss, Liu San from Liujia Village has sent someone to deliver a message!" Huang Bing was shocked when he heard this and sat up. The young wife beside him was so scared that she hid at the foot of the bed and trembled. Hearing the news from Liu San, she gritted her teeth in anger. Huang Bing thought to himself: The last time I ran into Liu San, I was an insider and plundered his village severely, and even got a woman to play with. I haven't even finished eating and drinking here yet, and there's good news again. Hey, this damn Liu San is really a damn talent. He asked the minions to bring the person in for questioning.

Yang Xiaoer was brought in. The tent was filled with Huang Bing's henchmen who had rushed over after hearing the news. Huang Bing sat on the bed with his arms and legs open, and asked in a loud voice, "Who are you? What letter did Liu San ask you to bring?" Yang Xiaoer was frightened by the shout and said in a trembling voice, "I am Yang Xiaoer from Yangjia Village. I have always been hanging out with Liu Sange. Yesterday, a rich young man came to my village. He was dressed in brocade and rode a tall horse. He was very generous. His bag looked heavy. When he was giving me a reward, I saw a corner of it. It was shining with gold. It must be gold. There happened to be corvée labor by the government these two days, and all the young men in the village were conscripted to repair the city wall. Liu Sange said that now is a good time to make a move, so he asked me to deliver the letter while he went to coax the rich young man to stay for another day."