Most others had grown accustomed to Xi Zhicai’s teasing style.

They chuckled at his message, but Guo Jia, who was only fifteen, couldn’t bear it.

Immediately, he wrote a letter in response to Xi Zhicai.

“The joy is great, but you’re not missing the scent of mountain peach blossoms because you’re tired from exercise. It’s more likely you’re just so pleased with yourself that you’ve become oblivious to everything around you.”

Upon receiving Guo Jia’s letter, Xi Zhicai muttered to himself, “This kid isn’t cute at all.”

Of course, Qiao Yan had no intention of pushing Xi Zhicai to become a warrior, nor did she plan to let physical training for preventing future outbreaks dominate the time of county officials in Leping.

The so-called “ten trips up and down the hill in a day” were actually just a long hillside, a round trip of which amounted to no more than half an hour of brisk walking even when one was tired.

For scholars like Xi Zhicai, this amount of outdoor activity was sufficient, and it served as a good starting point for exercise for Lu Yuan, Qin Yu, and Xu Fu.

However, Qiao Yan aimed to wield the two halves of the spear proficiently, making use of the “Deadly Spear of Remaining Mountains and Streams.”

The hillside exercise alone was clearly insufficient.

Luckily, with her constitution already at 62, equivalent to that of an average adult male, and considering her young age, she needed a gradual approach, significantly higher than that of ordinary people.

Though hesitant to establish a master-apprentice relationship with her subordinates, consulting them was acceptable.

Before Zhao Yun departed for Changshan, Qiao Yan had already confirmed many details of warrior training with him and later inquired with Zhang Yang, developing a specialized training program that included stamina, endurance, core strength, visual acuity, arm strength, and balance.

As for why she didn’t consult with Dian Wei?

The man known as “Ancient Evil” had a logical explanation.

His response to Qiao Yan was, “I eat a lot, so my strength is sufficient. Plus, I’m used to wielding dual halberds, which naturally provides enough killing power.”

Did that even make sense?

In some ways, what he said was actually correct.

For a genuine warrior like Qiao Yan, who didn’t seem to rely on unique skills, subcutaneous fat was a lasting guarantee of combat endurance.

Just as generals’ bellies weren’t the result of excessive rest, but rather well-developed muscles supporting continuous combat without affecting the flexibility of using weapons, such a state was undoubtedly advantageous for a warrior.

However, hearing Dian Wei speak that way gave the impression of eating, sleeping, fighting monsters, and then easily leveling up.

Qiao Yan chose to stay with Zhang Yang for a while to express strong condemnation for the kind of “inhuman” generals like Dian Wei.

Before arriving in Leping, Zhang Yang had thought that Qiao Yan, the Marquis of Leping, was taking Xu Fu to Jinyang because Leping didn’t have capable generals.

He chose to follow Qiao Yan not just because he felt he wasn’t as good at using his brain and should follow Qiao Yan’s orders, but also because he felt he was more suitable as a general than Xu Fu, a wandering swordsman.

It wasn’t until he fell into the pit that he realized Xu Fu was transitioning from swordsman to scholar,

While under Qiao Yan’s command were Zhao Yun, who was superior to Zhang Liao and about the same age, and Dian Wei, who was a melee powerhouse.

But Zhang Yang couldn’t help but feel that this was his misunderstanding, not Qiao Yan’s false advertising.

Furthermore, no matter what happened in Leping, Qiao Yan treated the county officials well, ensuring ample rice and meat.

Even when full, Zhang Yang could spar with Dian Wei, and getting beaten up wasn’t necessarily a setback.

He heard a lot about how Dian Wei improved his martial arts, which was a bit stimulating.

However, Zhang Yang felt that Qiao Yan really didn’t need to feel like they had anything in common in this regard.

Most border generals need to practice horseback archery, and archery is particularly important.

Take Yunzhong County as an example: before Tan Shihua’s death, he resisted the Dingling in the north, attacked Fuyu in the east, took Wusun in the west, invaded Han in the south…

One of the main tasks of defending border cities was to shoot the attacking barbarians under the city.

Therefore, most of his growth time, besides practicing martial arts, was spent practicing archery.

But Zhang Yang felt that Qiao Yan’s talent in improving eyesight and arm strength in archery training was even higher than that of a pressured person like him.

Qiao Yan completely ignored the process of strategists setting policies, state and county officials making decisions, and generals leading attacks.

It seems that Qiao Yan, the Marquis of Leping, could handle multiple roles!

Like now, this young girl, who had not yet grown in size, wore black clothing and held a lightweight short bow.

When she drew the bow and prepared the arrow, she concentrated her breath and spirit, blending her aura into one.

It was early summer, around May and June, and the sunlight was showing signs of early summer’s abundance.

It seemed that the lingering cold of the past few months had disappeared completely at this moment.

The golden brilliance of the sunlight converged on the tip of the young county lord’s arrow.

The bowstring released, the arrow shot out like a rainbow, hitting the bullseye directly in front.

Zhang Yang couldn’t help but shout, “Bravo.”

Qiao Yan was still at the level of shooting targets at twenty paces, which was indeed far from comparing with those skilled marksmen who could easily shoot fifty or a hundred paces.

However, for someone who had only been practicing archery for two months, this progress was truly remarkable.

At least in Zhang Yang’s impression, the short bow in Qiao Yan’s hands was made shortly after he arrived in Leping.

At this rate, in another two years, Leping might produce a sharpshooter capable of hitting the bullseye at a hundred paces.

Of course, Qiao Yan wasn’t as optimistic as Zhang Yang thought.

Archery and shooting were among the six arts of a gentleman, naturally having corresponding skills on the system panel.

She had saved extra skill points before, so just as she had previously improved her horse riding to a level sufficient for travel, she had now also raised her archery skill by two levels.

At the very least, this ensured that she could defend herself with archery when necessary before mastering spearmanship.

However, further improvement would require her own efforts.

This wasn’t a goal that could be achieved simply by talking about it; mastering any skill required hard work.

Fortunately, Qiao Yan didn’t waste the basic archery skills provided by the system.

Continuing to improve without deviating from the right path undoubtedly surpassed seeking advice from various quarters.

The training in opening and closing the bow improved her arm strength, which subsequently showed in her ability to handle a spear.

It was a beneficial cycle of mutual promotion.

As her gaze shifted from the target twenty paces away to the distant lush fields, it was also a visual relaxation.

The prosperity of summer in Leping wasn’t just about the plants; there were many other things.

The waterwheel turned steadily, the paddles on the chain operating under animal power, lifting the flowing water to higher levels.

During this crucial time when sweet potatoes needed the right amount of moisture, it saved a lot of labor.

The green shoots that had previously just broken through the ground now climbed up the supports with delicate tendrils.

With the summer breeze blowing, the flourishing leaves waved proudly, yet they didn’t block the sunlight from piercing through the tamarisk branches, providing enough light for the leaves below.

Amidst the terraced fields, one could vaguely see the figures of laborers at work.

The high yield of sweet potatoes brought along its own set of troubles that couldn’t be solved just by setting up a waterwheel.

Take intertillage, for example.

Due to their shallow and horizontally spreading root systems, which are different from ordinary crops, intertillage for sweet potatoes requires careful handling.

Only the top layer of soil is loosened, and then the weeds are meticulously removed.