The villagers of Hongshu Village were settled into two villages in the outskirts of Fengcheng after arriving there, Taohua Village and Niujia Village, with each household allocated land according to the number of people.
Bai Sheng also dispatched hundreds of laborers and soldiers to help them build houses.
While settling into their new homes, the villagers worked diligently to clear land and cultivate crops.
As new citizens of the Qinghuang Kingdom who had migrated from the Great Xia, they all wished to contribute their utmost to assist the Princess, to grow more grain so that the soldiers and civilians of the Great Xia could eat their fill.
They were very fond of their current village. The land was fertile, and the rainfall was abundant; anything planted would grow, with all plants flourishing luxuriantly, a stark contrast to the desolate and barren Tashajun.
Such good land demanded more grain cultivation! Letting it lie fallow would simply make their hands itch.
In the meantime, Bai Sheng had sent considerable amounts of weapons, provisions, and warhorses to various border camps.
Perhaps due to the influence of the spatial dimension and spiritual spring water, the horses in the stable bred at an exceptionally high rate, and the foals were all robust. Combined with the warhorses acquired from elsewhere, strong cavalry teams were now established along the Qinghuang border.
Bai Sheng was also incredibly busy, practically collapsing into bed as soon as night fell, and had not visited her husband in the Western Territory for several days.
In the Western Territory, Zuo Ye missed his wife dearly, and he busied himself to numb the longing each day.
An hour after dinner, he would head to the training grounds to exercise, practice swordplay, lift stones, do squats, push-ups, and run until he was utterly exhausted.
Since his wife liked a toned, well-proportioned, and attractive physique, he would also stretch for a long time after his workouts.
The set of yoga poses his wife had taught him, he practiced several times daily.
The soldiers marveled at the energy of this new handsome Great General.
Despite being so busy during the day, he still exercised for so long at night.
Tsk tsk, just look at that physique, even they, grown men, couldn't help but drool, let alone the Princess. No wonder she gave birth to four children at once.
Influenced by Zuo Ye, Shi Sheng and Dali also began to train with him.
These two now regarded the Great General as their idol and sought his advice on martial arts techniques daily.
When Dali and Shi Sheng sparred, and Dali couldn't win, he would unleash his ultimate move: he'd take off his socks, which were soaked with his foot sweat. Shi Sheng would immediately cover his nose and flee, utterly defeated.
Ultimately, the ones to suffer were the mosquitoes within a ten-meter radius; they would drop dead with a splat, showing no respect for Dali at all.
Initially, the Left Cloud and his siblings did not understand Dali. Once, after accidentally experiencing the scent of his feet, even the gluttonous Left Rain almost couldn't eat for three meals.
Henceforth, whenever the Left Cloud and his siblings went to the training grounds, they would all stay far away from Dali.
Ever since the incident where Zuo An was captured, Left Cloud and the others finally recognized a fact: they were still very weak.
Therefore, the five children practically poured all their energy into martial arts practice and physical training every day.
Left Cloud was nearly eleven years old, gradually exuding the aura of a young man, and his appearance was exceptionally handsome.
Left Rain, at nine years old, due to being a little glutton, still had two stubborn rounds of baby fat on his cheeks, giving him more of a cherubic look than a handsome one.
Tian Ya, also nine, was a delicate and handsome young boy. Some soldiers noticed he bore a resemblance to the former Great General who protected the nation.
Especially when bathing, they saw a crescent moon-shaped birthmark on his body, which was said to be present on General Shen's body as well.
Tian Dou and Tie Zhu, the two boys, though not as handsome as the other three, were also very good-looking, with well-defined features and youthful vigor.
Zuo An, at twelve years old, was the eldest among the children. He inherited the unique refined appearance of the Zuo family and had now become a handsome young boy.
Due to multiple injuries, he needed several months of rest and could not train on the field.
Watching his companions energetically training on the field, he was frantic with impatience.
Zuo Ye, fearing he would move around too much, taught him internal cultivation methods, instructing him to focus on internal energy first. Once his internal energy was formidable, practicing martial techniques would advance by leaps and bounds.
Only then did Zuo An calm down.
The soldiers in the military camp were also inspired by the new Great General.
Their faces might not be as handsome and striking as the Great General's, but their physiques could be improved.
Moreover, as soldiers, who wouldn't want to become mighty and strong?
If they were to go into battle, the higher their martial arts skill and the stronger their bodies, the greater their chances of survival.
Thus, a wave of martial arts practice and physical strengthening swept through the entire Western Territory military camp. Soldiers not on guard duty or patrol all ran to the training grounds to practice.
Even the daily fixed drills were voluntarily extended by an hour by the soldiers.
When Bai Sheng arrived at the military camp, she couldn't find Zuo Ye in his tent.
The guards informed her that the Great General was on the training grounds, so Bai Sheng went to look for him there.
To her surprise, the training grounds were teeming with muscular men, lifting stones, doing push-ups, sparring… it was a lively scene.
A guard accompanying Bai Sheng ran forward and shouted, "Great General, Princess Dianxia is here to see you!"
Princess Dianxia?!
All the muscular men immediately stopped what they were doing, their gazes uniformly turning towards the entrance of the training grounds. Indeed, they saw their beautiful Princess.
"Greetings, Princess Dianxia!" The muscular men, flustered, all turned towards Bai Sheng and knelt.
Those who were shirtless, wearing only large shorts, hastily covered their chests, feeling so embarrassed they wished they could dig a hole and disappear on the spot.
Bai Sheng laughed heartily, "No need for formalities, everyone please rise. I'm looking for your—"
Before she could finish the word "General," Zuo Ye rushed towards her, took her hand, and turned to run.
Oh my, so eager! Watching their retreating figures, all the soldiers burst into knowing laughter.
"Some people are always overly concerned."
"Ah, with the Great General's physique and strength, I wonder if our Princess can handle it."
"It's true, a delicate flower is about to be ravaged by a hungry wolf!"
"They should be well-matched. I heard Princess Dianxia also knows martial arts and exercises daily."
"That's even more like dry tinder meeting a raging fire!"
All the soldiers were young men full of vigor, and hearing such remarks, they all laughed meaningfully.
Someone winked and teased, "Wugua, you have to stand guard outside the General's tent in the latter half of the night. Wouldn't it be difficult to endure hearing the commotion from inside?"
The soldier named Wugua scratched the back of his head, looking puzzled, and said, "No, every time the Princess comes to see the General, I haven't heard any noise from the tent."
"How is that possible! With our General's build, what woman could withstand it? Wouldn't there be a lot of noise!"
Wugua said earnestly, "Really, there's no sound from the tent at all, only the chirping of crickets."
He was telling the truth, as he also found it very strange.
The soldiers were perplexed. How could there be no sound at all? How did those two manage it? How much they must have held back... how painful!