The weather was a little warm. Liu Acheng rolled over and sat up on the bed. Beside him, Awu plainly had not fallen asleep either, and immediately asked, "Acheng, are you still thinking about recruiting officials?"
"Yes," Liu Cheng said with a hint of helplessness.
"If my family weren't a Punished Family, what sort of people couldn't I round up for you?" Awu was rather frustrated too.
"It's not that I lack people, but that I lack... I still lack people." Liu Acheng opened his mouth and uttered a piece of nonsense.
"What nonsense are you talking about, Acheng?" Awu was plainly rather speechless. Then a wave of drowsiness came over her, and she simply stopped paying him any attention. Instead, she turned onto her side and nestled against him, resting her face against his waist, and drifted off to sleep.
Liu Acheng remained sitting there, gazing at the open window and listening to the insects outside, lost in thought for quite some time.
In truth, this newly appointed Langya Interior Minister was not talking nonsense at all. At present, he both had no shortage of people and lacked people.
The matter came back to his basic approach to governance.
His approach was actually very simple. For the next few years, the Northern Expedition would be the prevailing course. War was not something one could avoid simply by being poor or backing down. In particular, when it came to the émigré Langya Commandery, the main force on the corresponding eastern route of the Northern Expedition, led by Xun Xian, had yet to make any major mistakes. Instead, it had been steadily consolidating its position around Xiapi and Pengcheng.
Under these circumstances, putting the finances in order, taking stock of the population, and ensuring the fulfillment of the logistical duties within