The road you travel from Tana [Azov] to Cathay is perfectly safe, whether by day or by night, according to
what the merchants say who have used it. Only if the
merchant ... should die upon the road, everything
belonging to him will become the perquisite of the lord of
the country in which he dies. ...
And there is another danger: this is when the lord of the
country dies, and before the new lord who is to have the
lordship is proclaimed; during such intervals there have
sometimes been irregularities practised on the Franks,
and other foreigners.
-Book of Descriptions of Countries and of Measures
Employed in Business,
Francesco Balducci
Pegolotti (1290-1347)

What is the author saying about the Silk Roads in this
text?
O There are no threats from robbers or bandits.
O Rulers are always hospitable toward merchants.
O It is only safe to travel by day.
O Political situations change often.