As the great encirclement tightened across Hubei, Gao Family Village itself was experiencing a crisis of a different kind.
Tan Liwen was buried alive under paperwork.
Only a few months earlier, Shan Shier, the village's highest-ranking administrator, had led a massive expansion into Sichuan. The plan was simple in theory: replicate Shanxi's development model.
Reality disagreed.
Sichuan was a maze of mountains and old loyalties. Small factions sprouted everywhere like wild bamboo after rain. Worse, there was no stabilizing figure like Governor Wu Shen had been in Shanxi. No ready-made pillar to anchor reforms.
After careful evaluation, Shan Shier sent back an urgent request.
Not for soldiers.
For administrators.
And not the inexperienced kind.
Every single person dispatched to Sichuan was one of the village's best. Efficient. Capable. Battle-tested in governance. The kind who could balance grain ledgers while negotiating land disputes and drafting transport schedules.
Which meant Gao Family Village was suddenly hollowed out.
Now Tan Liwen, left behind as second-in-command, stared at the consequences.
Supply coordination for multiple army groups. Ammunition routing. Personnel deployment. Budget approvals. Internal civil management. Emergency adjustments.
The stacks of documents were growing faster than he could breathe.
He slumped into his chair.
"I can't do this anymore," he muttered. "If this continues, I'll die of paperwork before the bandits die of bullets."
That very evening, after Gaojia News concluded, a recruitment notice aired.
Gao Family Village Administrative Office is recruiting civil servants. Open to all genders. Requirement: graduate of Thirty-Two Middle School.
One requirement.
It eliminated almost everyone instantly.
By noon the next day, inside the administrative hall of the main keep, the recruitment process began.
Tan Liwen looked at the queue.
Then looked again.
There were barely any people.
His scalp tingled.
Did I set the bar too high?
Graduates of Thirty-Two Middle School were precious resources. Most had already been absorbed into factories, logistics, research units, or dispatched outward with development teams. Educated manpower was rarer than silver.
If no one applied, he was finished.
Just as anxiety began chewing at him, a cheerful voice rang out.
"Uncle Tan! I'm here to apply!"
Tan Liwen looked up.
A familiar grin greeted him.
"Handsome Enough to Bubble, Liu Maopao!"
Today Liu Maopao was not dressed like a wealthy young merchant. He wore his graduation scholar's robe from Thirty-Two Middle School. Clean. Crisp. Intentional.
He clasped his hands politely. "Uncle Tan, won't you welcome me?"
Tan Liwen thought, I barely know you. Calling me Uncle already?
But he waved him over anyway.
"You graduated this summer," Tan Liwen began. "Since then you've been helping your parents run the largest restaurant in the village. Your wool sweater factory is expanding into Jiangnan. Why would someone from such a prosperous family apply to become a bureaucrat? Isn't that a waste of business talent?"
Liu Maopao smiled calmly.
"Business talent is insignificant, Uncle Tan. Since childhood, I've wanted to enter public service. After graduation, I've been waiting for this recruitment notice. Now that it's here, how could I miss it?"
Tan Liwen narrowed his eyes.
"You're not running away from commerce because Mrs. San's down jackets are crushing your sweater market, are you?"
Liu Maopao laughed.
"Winter is cold, Uncle Tan. People wear down jackets over sweaters. Warm and Sleepy sweaters and Mrs. San's down jackets complement each other. We are partners in warmth, not enemies."
Tan Liwen suppressed a smile.
"Fine. List your advantages."
Liu Maopao straightened.
"My father, Liu You, is from Heyang County. One of the earliest followers of Dao Xuan Tianzun's teachings in the village. Ordinary background. No Manchu ties. No Mongolian aristocratic relations. No family members in the imperial court. We are pure working people. Our loyalty is unquestionable."
Tan Liwen nodded internally. Clean political background.
"During my first year at Thirty-Two Middle School, I joined the student council. I handled coordination between teachers and students. Communication skills, conflict resolution, organizational management."
He continued confidently.
"In my final year, I served as student council president."
Tan Liwen's eyebrows lifted slightly.
That was not trivial.
"While serving," Liu Maopao added, "I was assigned to interact with two Mongolian nobles studying here, Zhebu and E'zhe. I built a close relationship with them. We became sworn brothers. That relationship contributed to certain strategic deployments in the north. Dao Xuan Tianzun personally praised the outcome."
That made Tan Liwen sit straighter.
Praise from Dao Xuan Tianzun was no small endorsement.
"Furthermore," Liu Maopao said, "I managed the Warm and Sleepy Textile Factory. I've overseen production, logistics, expansion into Jiangnan markets. I understand commerce, labor concerns, supply chains. I've traveled widely. I understand people."
He met Tan Liwen's eyes.
"Internal governance. External diplomacy. I can handle both."
Tan Liwen was genuinely impressed.
Still, he leaned back and folded his arms.
"Your resume is strong. But it lacks one decisive element."
He tapped the desk.
"Give me one reason I must hire you. A reason I cannot reject."
Liu Maopao smiled.
"You are desperately short-staffed."
Tan Liwen spat out his tea.
"You brat!"
Liu Maopao laughed. "Careful, Uncle Tan. Don't choke."
Tan Liwen grabbed his folding fan and tossed it at him.
"Get out of here. Report for duty tomorrow morning."
Liu Maopao caught the fan smoothly.
"Hahaha, thank you, Uncle Tan."
He twirled the fan and walked out.
Outside, two figures were waiting anxiously.
Zhebu and E'zhe rushed forward.
"Brother Maopao! Did you succeed?"
Liu Maopao grinned wide.
"It's done. I start tomorrow. I've officially stepped onto the political stage."
The two Mongolian youths cheered.
Liu Maopao clasped their hands tightly.
"One day," he declared boldly, "I will become Gao Family Village's chief administrator. You two will become Khans of Mongolia. When that day comes, we'll merge our nations into one country. Then we'll truly be brothers."
Zhebu's eyes shone. "Merge!"
E'zhe added excitedly, "And I'll be Navy Commander!"
Zhebu immediately frowned. "To be Navy Commander you need to study at the maritime academy. On Zhoushan Island. That requires special approval from Dao Xuan Tianzun."
E'zhe froze.
"…Then I'll apply!"
The three young men burst into laughter.
Inside the administrative hall, Tan Liwen rubbed his temples.
He had just recruited a future troublemaker.
But perhaps, he thought quietly, that was exactly what the village needed.
Because wars were won on battlefields.
But nations were built by ambitious fools who believed they could reshape the world.