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It was the third year of the Da'an era, the height of summer.
The scenery along the roadside had changed greatly.
The vast, clean expanses of the Western Regions and Xingzhou had given way to narrower, more cluttered terrain. Small hills dotted the landscape in every direction, each one uniquely shaped. Unlike in the Western Regions and Xingzhou, where one could see the distant horizon at a glance, here, such a view was rare. And yet, there were few truly large mountains.
The roadside vegetation was lush and overgrown. Unlike the bald highland grasslands common in Xingzhou, or the orderly alpine forests of the Western Regions, this area was wild and diverse. All manner of weeds and trees tangled together in unrestrained profusion, all in full summer bloom. Occasionally, small flowers blossomed among them, or wild fruits ripened on the branches.
The official roads, however, were clearly in better repair than those in the Western Regions, and noticeably more bustling than in Xingzhou. In Xingzhou, there were times when no roads could be found at all, and even when there were, one might walk for days without seeing another soul—just endless grasslands and open skies.
But here, camels were nowhere to be seen.
Transport was mainly handled by the short-statured southwestern horses, donkeys, and mules, with...
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