Ren Ao rushed to Cao Shen's house and told Cao Shen the situation. Cao Shen was shocked and made a decisive decision to Ren Ao: "You go to the prison to rescue Liu Zhong, and then kill towards the west gate. My brother Cao Shang is guarding the west gate, and he will definitely be able to get out. I will go rescue Mr. Xiao now!" Ren Ao turned and left. Cao Shen hurried into the back garden and took out the Kaitian sword that had been hidden for a long time. I saw the sword chirping when it saw the light, and a white light shot straight into the sky. Cao Shen wondered: Why is this treasure singing to itself now? Could it be that he really wants to make a great contribution? He hurriedly led the horse out of the garden, then jumped on the horse, raised the sword, and went straight to Xiao He's house.
Xiao He was at home thinking about raising an army. Suddenly a strong wind blew out the lamps. Cao Shen had already jumped in the door. Xiao He was startled and asked why he was so panicked. Cao Shen said: "Magistrate Zhao has changed his mind and sent his sergeants to arrest you. Now I will protect you and your family and get out of the city quickly!" Xiao He was shocked and asked: "Where is your family? "Cao Shen said: "The county magistrate wants to arrest you. It has nothing to do with me. They will not harm my family!" Xiao He said: "Since they are coming to arrest people, there must be many people. How can you resist it alone? You should go first. Go out and report to Chief Liu Ting and ask him to send troops overnight!" Cao Shen shouted: "If we want to raise troops to fight against Qin, we can't do without you! Sir, please don't refuse, please gather your family and leave the city quickly." Xiao He immediately called him The monks gathered together in the middle of the courtyard.
While everyone was busy, the sound of people shouting and horses could be heard outside. It turned out that Wei Cai had already arrived with his troops, and they surrounded Xiao He's house. After a while, Wei Cai was heard shouting: "Capture Xiao He alive! Anyone who lets Xiao He go will be punished with treason!" Cao Shen got on his horse and shouted: "Don't panic, wait for me to open the courtyard door and kill him first, and you will follow me." Behind!" After saying that, he ordered someone to remove the door latch and opened the courtyard door. Cao Shen shouted, jumped out on his horse, swung his Sky-opening Sword, and immediately cut down a large piece. Wei Cai didn't expect that Cao Shen was here, so he just stabbed Cao Shen with his sword. He was no match for Cao Shen, so he just waved it twice and ran away. When the other sergeants saw that it was their superior, Cao Shen, they did not dare to fight, so they ran away with Wei Cai. Cao Shen protected Xiao He's family and ran towards the west gate.
When Ren Ao came to the county government office, he saw a lot of people and horses at the door. He was afraid that others would recognize him, so he climbed over the side wall into the county government office and went straight to the prison. He came to the prison, found Liu Zhong, cut down the guards, rescued Liu Zhong, told him what happened, and then immediately took him out of the city. Liu Zhong picked up the weapons of the servants and went out to kill the generals together with Ren Ao. Officials poured out from the two corridors. Ren Ao and Liu Zhong slashed with their swords, and then rushed out of the county government gate and headed straight for the west city gate. When they came to the city, they saw that Cao Shen was protecting Xiao He and his family had also arrived, so everyone gathered together. Cao Shen said to Liu Zhong and Ren Ao: "You two must protect Mr. Xiao, I will call the door!" Cao Shen jumped on his horse and came to the city gate, only to see that the city gate was closed and already guarded.
The gatekeeper is Cao Shen's cousin Cao Shang. Cao Shen reined in his horse, raised his sword horizontally, bowed to Cao Shang and said, "Brother, the county magistrate wants to kill Mr. Xiao and me. Please let us out of the city quickly!" Cao Shang sneered and said, "You are an official of the Qin State, Pei. The county magistrate, why did you run away?" Cao Shen said: "It's just because Mr. Zhao raised troops to rebel against Qin, but he suddenly changed his mind and wanted to arrest Mr. Xiao He and me." Cao Shang said: "Master Zhao treats you well, why did you have an affair? Strong thieves?" Cao Shen said: "County Magistrate Zhao promised to let Liu Ji come back to raise troops together, but someone is sowing discord. Now Magistrate Zhao has ordered to arrest Mr. Xiao and I. The situation is urgent and we can't distinguish right from wrong. Please let me go. On the one hand, let us out of the city!" Cao Shang said: "Liu Ji is a strong thief and a key criminal of the country, but you secretly collude with the thief. Your future will be ruined from now on! Now, as a brother, please rein in your horse and submit to the imperial court. With you With his ability, he will be able to atone for his sins and have a bright future. Success or failure can be determined by a single thought. Please think twice, brother?" Cao Shen said: "The county magistrate is jealous of talents and talents, and does not know how to employ people. Besides, the Qin Dynasty is ruthless and its destruction is only a matter of time. Why should we? Helping Zhou to commit evil? Should my brother abandon the dark side and join the army?" Cao Shang said angrily: "You betrayed the country, and you still want me to suffer the disaster of annihilation?" Cao Shen said anxiously: "Since my brother doesn't want to betray Qin, I don't Reluctantly, it’s just that the county magistrate wants to kill Master Xiao and I now. We have to leave the city first, otherwise we will definitely die!" Cao Shang sneered and said: "I know you will not repent. The county magistrate has ordered me to guard the west gate and cannot let him go. You are a traitor. If I let you go today, it would be disloyal to Mr. Zhao, and even more disloyal to the imperial court. We are each our own masters, please go another way!" Cao Shen begged: "The situation is urgent, please brother. For the sake of our fellow clansmen, will you let us out of the city?" Cao Shang was not willing to let me go. He immediately stood up in the road and ordered all the officers and soldiers to guard the city gate.
At this time, someone was chasing after him, shouting: "Master Zhao has an order to guard the city gate. Anyone who lets Xiao He and Cao Shen go will be punished for treason!" Cao Shen panicked, clasped his hands, and prayed to God: "Heaven!" Ah, please forgive me! It’s not that I, Cao Shen, am ruthless and ruthless, killing my brother of the same clan is really a last resort!" After that, he went straight in and attacked Cao Shang. Cao Shang never thought that Cao Shen would come to kill him, so he was unprepared. Cao Shen raised the knife and dropped it, and Cao Shang's head rolled to the ground. When Cao Shen was born, it happened to be the time when the Shen star appeared, so his mother named her Shen. The cousin's name was Shang. At that time, some people said that the stars Shen and Shang did not appear in the sky at the same time, and they were afraid that the brothers would not get along for long. Now Cao Shen has indeed killed Cao Shang, fulfilling the prophet's words. Cao Shen killed the soldiers guarding the gate again, broke open the city gate, and stood under the gate to cut off the back. Everyone rushed out of the door.
Cao Jian saw that all the people he followed had left the city, so he rode out of the city. At this time, the pursuers had already arrived. Cao Shen turned around and saw Wei Cai again. It turned out that after Wei Cai was killed by Cao Shen and retreated, he hurried back to the county, changed his armor, took a spear and chased after him again. When Wei Cai came to the city gate, Xiao He had already left the city. Wei Cai shouted at the officers and soldiers to rush forward and intercept Cao Shen. He also cursed: "Thieves who rebel against the country, please dismount and die!" Cao Shen was furious and returned to fight Wei Cai. . Wei Cai was a newly promoted warden, and he didn't know how good Cao Shen was in martial arts, so he only used his spear to stab Cao Shen. Cao Shen roared and chopped Wei Cai to death with just one blow. The other officers and soldiers did not dare to step forward. Cao Shen turned his horse and chased Xiao He. There is a poem praising Cao Shendao:
A generation of famous generals stood out and jumped over the feudal vassal with a decisive decision.
He cherished the good governance of Yao and Shun, and tempered his sword to save the world.
How can you look at the sea without scolding the turtle? The hero will revitalize the rivers and mountains from now on.
Who is better at siege and field battle? The dripping calligraphy and ink belong to corruption.
Cao Shen caught up with Xiao He and said: "Wei Cai has been killed by me. I'm afraid the county magistrate will come after him. You lead your family and leave quickly, and I will cut off the queen alone!" Xiao He said: "Zhao Feng is useless and will not come after him." . I am only worried about your family!" Cao Shen said: "Although something happened, my friends are all in the city, and they will not sit back and watch. It's just that I killed my brother, and I'm afraid I will get retribution!" Xiao He said: "Everyone has his own. If you have ambitions, you will have a purpose. I have no choice but to kill him today, and it is his fate. Please don't blame yourself too much, brother. I heard that Liu Ji has captured Fengyi, let's go and join him as soon as possible." Say it, and urge him. Everyone leaves. But they hadn't gone far when suddenly there were torches in front of them, people shouting and horses neighing, as if there were men and horses coming to kill them. Xiao He was overjoyed and said, "This must be Liu Ting who has arrived!" When they got closer, they saw the leader holding a big ax in his hand, shouting to them: "Who is in front of you? Tell me your name quickly?" Cao Shen listened. Fan Kuai came out and shouted, "Master Xiao He is here!" Fan Kuai got off his horse and stepped forward to meet him. Cao Shen asked: "Where is Chief Liu Ting?" Fan Kuai responded: "Just behind." After a while, Liu Ji led the team to catch up. Fan Kuai called out: "Brother, Xiao and Cao are here." Liu Ji dismounted and met him. Seeing that his second brother and Ren Ao were there, Liu Ji happily asked, "Why did you leave the city in the middle of the night?" Liu Zhong told him how the county magistrate changed his mind and wanted to kill Xiao He and Cao Shen. Fan Kuai shouted on the side: "Okay, okay! Now, great! We can do it by ourselves! Quickly go into the city and chop up the dog official!"
When Liu Ji saw Xiao He and Cao Shen coming to vote overnight, he excitedly said, "How can I, Liu Ji, be so worthy of being so valued by these two adults? I'm afraid I'm betraying their trust!" Xiao He said, "Mr. Liu Ting, you are so generous. Kind and daring, kindness has spread throughout the countryside. Now the world is in chaos, and heroes have risen together. It is the time for heroes to use force. As the saying goes, 'times create heroes.' Now is a troubled time, and heroes are bound to emerge in troubled times. We have killed You have lost your officers and soldiers and broke with Bao Qin. Now I can only rely on your reputation to raise troops. I wonder if Liu Tingzhang has such ambitions?" Liu Ji said with emotion: "I hate Bao Qin deeply and have long wanted to raise troops. But How dare you back down now that I haven't received your request?" Xiao and Cao were overjoyed and said at the same time: "When we get a hero like you, we have met the Ming Lord! Please accept our worship!" Seeing this, Liu Ji said, He also hurriedly bowed down. The three of them looked up, laughed dumbly, and stood up together. Liu Ji asked: "What should we do now?" Xiao He asked back: "How many troops have you brought?" Liu Jidao: "We have obtained three hundred strong men and two thousand more soldiers." Xiao He said happily: "First attack Pei County and save Lord Cao's family. Xiao, call the whole county to raise troops!" Everyone shouted in unison: "Attack Peixian! Kill! Kill! Kill!" The thunderous roar had already disturbed Peixian and made it uneasy, so Liu Ji led everyone to attack Peixian.
