While Cheng Mo was selecting the mares, Xiang Bei noticed some that were heavily pregnant and had an idea. "Ah Mo, I'm thinking, wouldn't it be better to put these almost-due mares inside the space for a day or two and have them give birth there?"
"That would be ideal. I want the army to march the day after tomorrow, so leaving the soon-to-be-born foals and their mothers here would be best. But it will be hard on you," Cheng Mo said, gently and sincerely taking Xiang Bei's hand.
"No need to be so formal. How about picking a few more stallions?" Xiang Bei began to imagine a vast space filled with herds of fine horses.
"We can't use the stallions; they are needed on the battlefield. Let's wait until after the war. Uncle Shan and the others have a few good horses they acquired over the years, all top-quality Northern horses. We can use those."
"That works too. I'll get started." Xiang Bei sent the selected mares into the space and handed them over to Gongsheng. She then extended her senses over the entire horse field, selecting about two hundred pregnant mares that were nine months along or more and moved them into the space. This extensive use of her powers left her somewhat exhausted, so she stood with the mares under the mist of the essence rain to rejuvenate.
"Oh my, you really don't let anyone rest easy, do you? Some of these are about to give birth right now, and you put them in my cave! Quickly, get them out, get them all out," white fox Cave Marrow Sui, along with GongSheng , had just returned from tending to the Akhal-Teke stallion and found the cave turned into a chaotic maternity ward.
Xiang Bei tactfully moved all the mares that had been bathed in the essence rain and mist to the hot spring valley in Dongbin Mountain. She spent several hours there preparing a variety of nutritious feeds: boiled soybeans, soaked yellow rice, bran, bone meal, fruits, bird eggs, and more. She moved everything she could think of that would be good for the horses into the valley, even thoughtfully creating a salt rock slope.
On a hillside, Symbiosis GongSheng appeared with the Marrow Sui on its back, spitting out the essence water from its mouth, which sprinkled into the valley.
Xiang Bei, unable to dodge, felt like she had been sprayed with tiger saliva and instantly transported to the lagoon's seawater, diving in headfirst. Yet, she could still faintly hear the Marrow Sui's complaint in her mind, "Is she disgusted by you? Symbiosis, does she even know how much of a blessing you're giving her? Such an ungrateful girl, humph!"
"Marrow, don't use that tone. Remember, she is our master," Symbiosis's serious yet gentle voice touched Xiang Bei's heart.
Xiang Bei came ashore, changed into the dress she used to wear when she came here with A'Mo, and then left the space, gently appearing beside a quietly waiting Cheng Mo on the grassland. No one spoke; Cheng Mo took her hand, pulling the visibly exhausted her into his arms, and together they gazed up at the stars.
At dawn, Xiang Bei brought the red horse out and strolled back to the command tent with Cheng Mo. Today was a rest day; some people in the camp were still sleeping, while others were gathered in small groups with volunteers writing letters on their behalf. As the army prepared to march south, the soldiers' letters, filled with invitations to reunite and excitement for a new life, were simultaneously sent to nearly 20,000 families. The relay stations along the way, along with a series of themed commercial streets and farms, not only greatly ensured the logistics of the king MO's army but also ingrained a deep-seated trust and longing in everyone's hearts.
Huo Changlin agreed to King Mo's proposal to have the grain and mare convoy bring up the rear while the cavalry rode single file to the XiaWan Fort Camp. So, when Xiang Bei and the supply convoy arrived after fifteen days, nearly 300 days had passed in the space. During this time, the mares had taken turns entering the space multiple times. The first batch of foals was already ten months old, and with the addition of robust stallions and pregnant mares, the entire team had grown far beyond the original thousand horses.
Xiang Bei also had Symbiosis GongSheng and Marrow Sui select some spiritually rooted foals to stay in the space for breeding. She could already foresee the grandeur of the carriage and horse teams owned by the Same City TongCheng Traveler Lodge in the near future.
The imminent battle left the soldiers little time to plan or dream about the future. During routine patrols and training, the Qiao family navy had already detected various unidentified ships, of different sizes and unknown origins, converging towards the coastal defense city from Liuqiu and surrounding islands.
The manager of the Tea Traveler Lodge was now Tong Biao, who had officially joined the military. Starting ten days ago, he noticed that the people coming from the coastal defense HaiFang city to purchase supplies were a diverse mix, not the familiar faces he was used to. These people not only appeared anxious and more reserved during conversations, but they were often accompanied by suspicious outsiders, and the quantities of grain and fodder they bought were enormous, increasing with each purchase. Today, just as he opened the ledger to take stock of the inventory, he saw Village Chief Chen of the tea plantation hurriedly approaching with some people.
"Good morning, Manager Tong. I've been looking for you," Village Chief Chen greeted Tong Biao with a look of relief.
"Good morning, Village Chief Chen. Is there anything I can help you with?" Tong Biao quickly stepped forward to meet him.
"Manager Tong, let me introduce you first. This is Director Lee from the coastal defense HaiFang city's Chamber of Commerce. They need a large quantity of grain, oil, meat, and vegetables this time, and they also brought a message saying that Chief Du will accompany some distinguished guests here in the next few days to discuss the purchase of Southeast Asian seafood. They would like to know if it's possible to meet with Mr. Qiao from the North-to-South Supermarket," Village Chief Chen said, stepping aside and respectfully introducing his companion.