A simple dirt road in the countryside cuts through fields of golden beans and wheat.
The polished beams of the carriage reflect the glimmer of summer insects.
Horse hooves kick up gravel, causing the wheels and carriage to bounce and sway.
These rural roads, unlike the Holy Alliance's mortar roads, are paved with gravel.
After the 1447 Road Maintenance Act, the Hundred Households District is obliged to maintain these roads every year.
Of course, this maintenance mostly involves picking up gravel and sand from riverbanks and tossing it onto the roads.
Most of the time, only agricultural carts with wicker carriages pass through these rural roads.
But today, the gravel crunches as a fully enclosed carriage, pulled by two large horses and escorted by four or five military police, passes by.
The iron-clad oak carriage, with white sandglass windows and black-and-red flags drooping from the poles, obscures the flag's surface.
