Envoys of the Various Kingdoms

There were also some women inside the carriage.

They were all carefully selected and prepared to be presented to the Emperor of Jiang.

Sending beautiful women as gifts is a common practice and nothing out of the ordinary.

The group paused briefly outside the city before slowly driving towards it.

"Halt!"

The garrison commander had already noticed the convoy earlier, and now that he saw it approaching, the guards immediately stepped forward.

"I am an envoy from the Great Zhou Kingdom, here to pay my respects to the Jiang Kingdom!"

"I am an envoy from the Great Liang, here to pay my respects to the Jiang Kingdom."

"An envoy from the Qing'an Kingdom has come to pay respects to the Jiang Kingdom."

A group of envoys stepped forward, and when they saw a squad of soldiers blocking their path, they raised an eyebrow slightly.

Putting everything else aside, the guards here looked very spirited, standing ramrod straight, and their clothes were clean and tidy.

Judging from what we see now, it doesn't quite fit the character of this city.

"Messenger?"

Upon hearing this, the leading soldier frowned slightly.

I had heard the commander-in-chief mention before that envoys from other countries might be visiting in the coming days.

Looking at it now, it turns out he was right.

"Is there any proof?"

Although I already knew this beforehand, I still needed to be extra careful.

Seeing how meticulous the other party was, the envoy dared not act rashly.

We don't yet know the true strength of the Jiang Kingdom, and besides, their dynasty did indeed produce Human Sovereign before.

In such a situation, it's best to be polite.

The envoys exchanged glances, each thinking the same thing: they should be polite.

But they also wanted to see if any envoy from any dynasty would be foolish enough to challenge the other side.

After waiting for a while and seeing that no one was going to cause trouble, they all took out their credentials and handed them over.

The guard took it, examined it closely for a few moments, and then nodded.

He waved his hand behind him, and the soldiers made way for him.

"Please come in."

The guard gestured to the group of people in front of him and then said something.

Seeing this, the messengers did not stand on ceremony and immediately headed towards the city.

As they walked toward the city, they made sure to look around.

However, when they saw the scene in the city, their brows furrowed slightly.

All that could be seen were the dilapidated houses in the city, and the strong feeling of a small town that was immediately apparent.

In their dynasty, only some remote small towns looked like this.

As a major border city, it would certainly not act in this way.

Border cities, being places for defending against enemies, naturally have walls that are as high and as imposing as possible.

After all, this is needed to defend against enemies.

In addition, border cities are places that visiting envoys from other countries would pass through, and they are also the first cities they pass through.

Naturally, some effort is required.

Otherwise, if outsiders come and see their country in such a sorry state, they will lose face.

As they entered and saw the dilapidated state of the city, they couldn't help but frown.

This is supposed to be a dynasty with Human Sovereign, so how come this small town is in such a state?

The crowd found it strange, but they still pulled the carriage slowly down the street.

There weren't many people on the street; in fact, they were quite scattered, as if everyone had left.

Just as they were heading into the city, a burly man strode towards them.

Judging from the large number of personal guards following behind him, he must be the commander of this area.

Sure enough, when the burly man approached, he glanced at the assembled envoys, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and asked, "So you are the envoys from various countries?"

"It is we."

Upon seeing this, the envoys and others bowed in return.

Regardless of the circumstances, these courtesies should not be overlooked.

"Since you are envoys from various countries, you must be heading to the imperial capital Yanhuai City. I imagine you are unfamiliar with the way, so I will send a few of my personal guards to escort you there."

Upon seeing this, Lin Liyun immediately spoke up.

No one from other dynasties had ever come to the Jiang Kingdom, so they probably weren't very familiar with this place either.

In that case, it would be very necessary to send someone to escort them.

Upon hearing this, the envoy's face immediately lit up with a smile. He had been somewhat worried about whether the people of the Jiang Kingdom knew proper etiquette.

Perhaps someone from their side has arrived, and the other party doesn't even understand the basic courtesy of asking someone to lead the way.

They were quite pleased to see that the other party had considered this point.

"Thank you for your trouble."

Seeing that the other party had responded and come down, Lin Liyun immediately waved his hand, and his personal guards stepped forward.

"You must ensure that nothing goes wrong while escorting these envoys to their audience."

"Yes, sir! I obey!"

Upon receiving the order, the guards immediately roared in unison.

Lin Liyun nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this. These personal guards were trained by him personally, and their loyalty was not an issue.

Lin Liyun then asked the envoy if they needed to rest there.

However, these envoys all wanted to get to Yanhuai City as soon as possible, so upon hearing this, they shook their heads and declined Lin Liyun's offer.

Seeing this, Lin Liyun didn't press the matter and waved his hand to see the envoys out of the city.

After the convoy left the city, there were still some muddy roads along the way.

The carriages formed a long procession, swaying from side to side.

Seeing this, the guards immediately said, "Please bear with us for a while longer. After we cross the hill ahead, the road will be much easier, and then we can follow it directly to Yanhuai City."

The envoys, who were on horseback at the time, did not seem to care much when they heard this.

How good can the road be?

When they arrived here, their backsides were practically split in two from the bumpy ride.

How easy is it to travel, as they say?

No one present paid any attention to these words.

"May I ask why there weren't many people in the city just now?"

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, the envoy from the Great Zhou Kingdom spoke first and asked the question.

These words had barely left his mouth when they immediately attracted the attention of those around him.

At this moment, everyone craned their necks, eager to hear what was going on.

Could it be that the people of the Jiang Kingdom have become so sparsely populated?

The guard standing nearby remained expressionless upon hearing this. "There are still quite a few people in the city, but it's currently spring planting season, and most of them are either working in the fields or busy repairing roads."

Spring plowing...

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions became more enlightened.

Yes, it's the time for spring plowing, so it's normal for people to go out to farm.

Is this the road construction?

The crowd wondered what was going on with the road construction, but before they could speak, they could faintly hear shouts coming from afar.

A little ahead is the hill they mentioned; once you get past it, the road becomes much easier.

Hearing the shout from afar, the crowd couldn't help but crane their necks slightly.

A moment later, the convoy moved forward to learn, and soon witnessed a bustling scene.

All that could be seen ahead were countless people sweating profusely, constantly pushing large Shitou aside to widen the road.

This made the road ahead look somewhat messy and chaotic.

"Make way, everyone. These are envoys from various countries who wish to see the Emperor."

Seeing that the road was blocked, the guards immediately stepped forward and asked the people to stop their work temporarily and make way for the road.

Upon hearing this, the people quickly moved aside, making way for a passage.

The carriage was able to pass through smoothly.

When the messengers saw this scene, they assumed that when the other party said the road was easier to travel, they meant the road that had been repaired.

I didn't think much of it.

But when they had walked several hundred meters and saw a gray-white road stretching straight ahead in the distance, they were stunned.

"What... is this?"

From this vantage point, the envoy could clearly see how straight and wide the gray-white road stretched forward.

Such a road is like a straight river, flat and without waves.

"This is the road that has been repaired."

Upon hearing this, the guard immediately offered an explanation and led the group forward.

Those who have seen cement before are no longer surprised by roads like this.

Upon seeing that these envoys from various countries seemed to have never seen this item before, several guards immediately revealed subtle smiles.

These envoys from various countries seem to have never seen much of the world.

The envoys from various countries also stepped onto the cement road at this moment, and they were immediately taken aback when they first set foot on it.

The envoy from the Great Zhou Kingdom dismounted at this moment and stepped onto the cement road himself.

The feeling of flatness caused his expression to change slightly.

Upon closer inspection, the road ahead was wide enough for four or five carriages to pass side by side, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

The road here was several times smoother than he had imagined.

At this moment, the carriage behind them slowly drove onto the cement road.

The creaking sound that had been making noise disappeared considerably in an instant.

The women sitting in the carriage immediately sensed the difference.

Before, the carriage was incredibly bumpy, but now it felt as smooth as if it had been stationary.

They could clearly sense that the carriage was still moving.

What's going on?

The woman sitting in the carriage couldn't help but gently lift a corner of the curtain and peek out the window.

Upon seeing this, he was startled.

Looking down from their angle at the carriage, all they could see was a gray-white road.

The road receded into their vision, and in this situation, they couldn't see how uneven the road below was.

This situation left the women in the carriage completely stunned.

Why are the roads here so smooth?

"This road leads directly to Yanhuai City?"

The envoy, standing on the concrete road, looked at the soldier with surprise.

"Yes, from here all the way to Yanhuai City."

The soldier nodded, replying affirmatively.

Upon hearing this, the envoys from various countries displayed different expressions.

Such a straight road, if it were used to transport grain or people?

That would save countless hours of effort!

Moreover, it can reduce the loss of grain during transportation.

After all, they had served in the court for a long time and had considerable knowledge of this matter.

In the past, whenever their dynasty needed disaster relief, or to allocate grain or pay taxes, they would do so.

There would be considerable losses during the journey to the capital.

If it rains, the roads become muddy and difficult to walk on.

It's easy to waste time if you're not careful.

As for acting, they've only just embarked on this path, and they're already certain that there's no need to worry about rain on this road.

It's so flat that even walking on it is incredibly easy.

This puzzled them greatly; how on earth could such a road have been built?

The seamless, unified look couldn't possibly be achieved by cutting individual Shitou from a quarry, arranging them so neatly, and then laying them on the ground, could it?

If that's the case, how much effort would it take to accomplish that?

The crux of the problem is that this is something that is difficult to accomplish by human effort.

If one were to use Yin God? Even for Yin God, accomplishing this would be extremely difficult.

Moreover, where would one use Yin God to do such a thing?

As the people looked at the road in front of them, they secretly thought about how convenient it would be to have such a road.

The women in the carriage stretched lazily.

It was only then that they realized how comfortable it was to travel on such roads.

I really don't know how we got to where we were on those roads before.

I think I just heard someone outside saying that this road leads all the way to Yanhuai City.

In that case, wouldn't we no longer have to suffer?

The women were all delighted at this thought.

At this moment, my favorability towards the Jiang Kingdom increased dramatically.

Unlike their thoughts, the envoys outside were thinking, "As expected of a dynasty with Human Sovereign."

This place is truly different.

Although they had only recently arrived in the Jiang Kingdom, the Jiang Kingdom had already given them a strange feeling.

Perhaps they will see other different places later on.

Who knows what other surprises a dynasty might hold in such a remote place?

With this in mind, the carriage began to pick up speed, hoping to reach Yanhuai City as soon as possible.

Let's go and see what the capital of the Jiang Kingdom is like.

The carriage sped up, and the demonic Demon Beast pulling it seemed quite cheerful at the moment.

After we embarked on this road, the carriages behind us felt much lighter, and most importantly...

It runs extremely smoothly.

The carriage sped up and raced forward.

Occasionally, you might see a carriage coming from the opposite direction, but the road is so wide that the two carriages pass each other directly, making it a very pleasant experience.

If this were in their country, they would have to slow down to avoid accidents and then speed up again after passing through.

But here, there's absolutely no need for that.

As they passed each other, there was an extremely pleasant feeling.