After Being Abducted by the General

chapter 156

High places are cold.

Yuan Li understood this phrase more and more.

Regardless of whether they were his subordinates, family members, or friends, as Yuan Li's status grew higher, they carefully pondered their words and actions in front of him, fearing to offend him.

Gu Jia a lonely individual, Yuan Li had already realized the meaning of these words before ascending to his current position.

Besides his parents and Chu Hechao, no one addressed Yuan Li by his courtesy name anymore. They called him "Duke Wen," treating him as their sovereign. Even if Yuan Li's attitude towards them remained as amiable as before, they didn't dare to be presumptuous.

But this was an inevitable development.

If Yuan Li continued to frolic and joke with them, the boundaries between ruler and subjects would become blurred. Without authority, the subordinates might take liberties and make mistakes, which would be even more challenging to handle in the future.

Yuan Li understood rationally that this was for the best.

However, the transformation of his childhood friends into this state still left him feeling melancholic.

The next day, Xiang Hongyun and Zhan Shaoning went to the government office. In the afternoon, Ding Zongguang brought the gift lists from the various vassals who congratulated Yuan Li on his enfeoffment.

Among the gift-givers, there were four who stood out and two of them were the leaders of the North and South Wuwan tribes, Da Dan and Puyan.

In order to show their respect to Yuan Li, these two competed to present gifts, each sending their trusted confidants to deliver them, displaying utmost flattery.

It was not surprising that they were so enthusiastic. The Wuwan tribe, now divided into two, had lost its former strength, especially with the influence of Gulichi being taken over by Chu Hechao. Da Dan and Puyan were of equal strength, viewing each other with hostility and vigilance, both attempting to win over Yuan Li and Chu Hechao to monopolize power.

The five counties that used to be inhabited by the Wuwan people were now reduced to only Shanggu and Yuyang counties. According to the reports from the county officials of these two counties, Da Dan and Puyan had become much more obedient than before, probably knowing whom to please.

Not mentioning them, the other two familiar faces were Che Kangbo and Hui Zizhen.

Seeing their names, Yuan Li couldn't help but laugh. These two unlucky governors had given Yuan Li so much money that it could cover two years of their state's revenue.

They were working so hard to praise Yuan Li and Chu Hechao and giving so much money to Yuan Li just to prove their innocence, how could Yuan Li allow them to wash away their sins so easily?

He directly instructed Ding Zongguang to return the gifts from these two individuals as they were, and tell them that the gifts were too precious, and he couldn't accept them.

This money was not as important as the "leverage" that Che and Hui had left behind.

Even with the help of Xiang Hongyun and Zhan Shaoning, the government office was still overwhelmed with work. Local officials in various counties of Ji Zhou were short of manpower, and with many positions needing to be filled with Yuan Li's people, the available candidates were even scarcer.

It was not only Ji Zhou that lacked manpower; the situation was even more severe in Bingzhou, which had suffered heavily from the war. The officials in Bingzhou had to visit various places every year to recruit scholars and talents to serve in the region, but it was like trying to scoop water with a bamboo basket – it was never enough.