The Turkic envoy's gilded carriage slowly moved under the scorching sun, and the brass bell on the cart shaft made a muffled sound with each bump.
They had passed Jingzhou, traveling under the hot sun on the official road leading to Canzhou. But the further they moved, the more crowded the road appeared.
Turkic warriors clad in bamboo or leather armor constantly wiped the sweat off their foreheads. The leading envoy, Commander He Shu, lifted the curtain and frowned at the scene on the road.
"Commander, how can the official roads in Da Jing be even more crowded than the sheep on the prairie?" a young warrior asked in awkward Da Jing language.
He Shu had never encountered such a situation either. He squinted his eyes, gazing at the dust-filled road.
Up ahead, several strong men dressed in coarse clothing looked like ordinary folks, but their walking posture was orderly and forceful.
Some were even limping, but it did not affect their pace.
