Jizhou, Zhen's family.

Cao Xiu, who was recovering from his injuries, rubbed his sore eyes and turned off the oil lamp. Staying up late for several days in a row made this 'Cao's Qianli Horse' with a face like a warm jade also look haggard, and the green whiskers that quietly grew under his chin at some point had made Cao Xiu look a little sloppy, and the occasional yawn that he couldn't help but yawn made Cao Xiu look a little juvenile and declining.

However, even so, Cao Xiu still had the intention of sleeping and resting: since the last time he followed Xiahou Yuan to be defeated by Ma Chao, Cao Xiu made up his mind to die with the great ambition of 'surpassing Ma Chao and assisting Cao Cao' as his lifelong wish. At the difficult moment when the Cao family was walking on thin ice at this time, Cao Cao entrusted him with the responsibility of protecting the grain that affected the survival of the entire Cao family. Cao Xiu felt that even if he died, he would not be able to live up to Cao Cao's trust in him.

Therefore, after stirring up noodles with cold water, Cao Xiu made himself sober up a little more. He sat back at the desk, rubbed his hands, reached out and took a roll of documents, and skillfully ripped open the silk rope on the outer bundle: these days, the grain and grass supplied by the Zhen family are intermittent, and the amount is also counted every day, Cao Xiu wants to check it again, so as not to make any mistakes in the final number.

However, at this moment, a faint shout came from outside the window. Cao Xiu's face, which was still a little tired before, suddenly turned cold, and he listened attentively.

"It's out of the water!"

Just with this sound, Cao Xiu's entire body rushed out like an arrow from the string.

A clearer shout came from outside, and Cao Xiu's heart trembled with the shout: July was hot and dry, and the Zhen family's granary was mostly made of wood and fur, and he was most afraid of fire. If it burns, it will be continuous and endless.

What's more, at this time, for the Cao family, who is short of food. What was burned was not just tens of thousands of stone grain, but the entire Cao family's foundation!

But Cao Xiu was still a step late, and the fire of the burning grain and grass was blowing over, and he was shocked to see that the Zhen family's granary in front of him was burning a sky-high fire under the howling south wind, and the firelight illuminated half of the sky.

The granary of the Zhen family was already in a mess at this time, and the guards and guards were running around, shouting and shouting, shouting everywhere, some running towards the outside of the granary, and some running towards the inside of the granary, like a swarm of headless flies. Most of them were township soldiers and villagers hired by the Zhen family, and they had no training at all, so they were completely at a loss when they encountered this kind of thing.

Of course, there were also some Cao soldiers who stood on high places, shouting, trying to control the chaos, but unfortunately no one listened to them at all.

Looking at this scene, in the sweltering heat of July, Cao Xiu suddenly felt that his bones began to freeze. However, at this time, it was not the time to regret it, after his heart "suddenly" jumped. As if he suddenly came to his senses, he drew the sword at his waist, slashed to death a villager who fled from him, and shouted: "Where are the tigers and leopards?!" ”

"The tiger and the leopard ride here!"

As soon as Cao Xiu's words fell, the tiger and leopard cavalry soldiers who had never disappointed him immediately rushed out of the firelight and stood neatly in front of Cao Xiu: at this time, they were all wearing helmets and armor, and their clothes were not messy, and it was obvious that none of these tiger and leopard riders of the guards were lazy or derelict in their duties.

It's just that the more this is the case, the more frightened Cao Xiu's heart becomes: none of the three hundred tigers and leopards slackened, so how did this fire burn?

Cao Xiu shook his head suddenly, hurriedly expelled this doubt from his mind that he didn't need to consider for the time being, and shouted: "In a group of five, quickly go and gather the soldiers of the Cao family and get water to put out the fire." For those strong men who take the opportunity to make trouble and escape, kill them! ”

"No!" When the tiger and leopard cavalry heard the order, according to the grouping that had already been set, they dispatched in five or five, shuttling through the entire fire site like a swimming dragon, shouting Cao Xiu's order loudly, and organizing the soldiers of the Cao family and the villagers to fight the fire.

Looking at the performance of the tiger and leopard riding, Cao Xiu's heart temporarily settled down a little. However, at this time, he did not dare to relax at all, but instead called a person around him and shouted: "Who is on duty today?" ”

"Lord Lu Xiang."

After Cao Xiu heard this, he couldn't help frowning: This Lu Xiang is a general of the Yuan family, and the Zhen family's granary is under the joint care of the Cao family and the Yuan family. If something happened at this time, even though Lu Xiang couldn't get out of it, as a member of the Cao family, he didn't have the power to reprimand the generals of the Yuan family at this time.

After all, Cao's words are good, and he accepts Yuan's care; To be realistic, Cao's is a beggar for food, and for begging, how can there be a reason to bully the master?

However, even so, Cao Xiu pondered for a moment, and still shouted again: "Where is he? ”

Before the man could answer, a general in armor ran over in a panic, and Cao Xiu recognized him as Lu Xiang and asked coldly, "Where are your people?" ”

Lu Xiang seemed to have just been woken up from his sleep, and his mind was still a little confused, and when he heard Cao Xiu ask, he grabbed the crown tassel of the helmet and gasped: "They are all outside......... Hum? Why are you kid drinking me?! ”

Lu Xiang finally reversed, but he chose the wrong time. At this time, Cao Xiu had already smelled the smell of wine and the smell of rouge from Lu Xiang, obviously Lu Xiang didn't take the big matter of taking care of the granary to heart at all, and actually drank and stayed at night with a prostitute!

At the thought that Cao's foundation would be destroyed at the hands of such fools, Cao Xiu was furious. However, after trying to catch his breath and calm down, Cao Xiu still handled it a little too much.

I saw Cao Xiu kick out suddenly, kicked Lu Xiang to the ground, stepped forward and stepped on Lu Xiang, pointed his sword at Lu Xiang's throat and shouted: "Lu Xiang! Although our Cao family accepts the grain and grass from your lord, you must also understand that this is because our Cao family is useful to the Yuan family! And your dereliction of duty caused the Zhen family's 30,000 stone grain and grass to catch fire, I want to see how your family master's guild will deal with you! ”

"You, you ........." Lu Xiang was excited, and the wine immediately woke up. The struggling body began to tremble, and he couldn't help but ask Cao Xiu: "Little general, .........what is in front of you?"

"Quickly hold your talisman and summon the soldiers of the Yuan clan to put out the fire! Now that the fire has just started, if you can save the food and grass, you can save your dog's life!! ”

"Yes Yes ........"

After all, this is Jizhou, and Lu Xiang's subordinates are also several times that of Cao Xiu's subordinates. Therefore, although Cao Xiu was angry, he also had to rely on Lu Xiang. And after Lu Xiang was drunk by Cao Xiu, he also had scruples about Cao Xiu's 'yellow-mouthed child', and hurriedly got up and took the order.

Subsequently, Cao Xiu caught a few more housekeepers of the Zhen family and asked them to quickly gather their subordinates and gather in front of the granary to put out the fire. With Cao Xiu in charge, with the influx of tiger and leopard cavalry and Lu Xiang's soldiers, the panicked crowd gradually restored order.

After dealing with these, Cao Xiu was a little exhausted. But at this time, he could not fall down, three steps and two steps to catch up, watching the fire in the granary grow bigger and bigger, his heart became more and more doubtful and tired, and he felt that he could feel the heat wave from a hundred paces away.

Cao Xiu was anxious, and saw that a group of people in front of him were already carrying grain and grass regardless of their lives. Looking at his clothes, he was not a member of the Cao family, so he couldn't help but raise his head and shouted: "I am Cao Xiu, who is in front of me when I join the Cao family?" ”

One person was dressed in a Confucian robe, but Ma Li tied it around his waist and rushed up: "Is it General Cao?" ”

"It's Cao Xiu!" Cao Xiu didn't see the person's face clearly, but he already knew that this person was from Hebei after listening to the accent, so he hurriedly bowed down and saluted: "Thank you for the righteous man for saving food.........

"General Cao Xiao doesn't have to be polite, at this moment, it is more important to quickly put out fires and transfer grain and grass!" The man hurriedly helped Cao Xiu up and spoke.

At this time, Cao Xiu saw clearly that this person was no one else. It is the current head of the Zhen family, the general Peng and Qu Liang Chang Zhen Yan. After the death of his father and eldest brother, Zhen Yan took over the Zhen family. And the Zhen family in the hands of this person, instead of falling, has become more and more prosperous. What's more, he is a Pengshu under Yuan's account, and he is deeply valued by Yuan Shao, so it can be seen that this person is not like Lu Xiang's wine bag and rice bag.

However, at this time, Cao Xiu also knew that it was not the time to talk nonsense. After hurriedly ordering his subordinates to go to fight the fire, he himself also picked up a bucket and wanted to go to the scene to fight the fire himself.

However, Zhen Yan grabbed Cao Xiu and whispered: "General Cao Xiao, this fire is very strange........