Since crossing over to this world, Chu Fan hasn't had a habit of working overtime. Unless it's truly crucial, he won't work overnight. He prefers to maintain a good sleep schedule to ensure he's in top condition for each day's challenges.

After a wonderful night's sleep, Chu Fan woke up feeling refreshed and as if his whole body was much more relaxed. Coupled with the good news of Mu Yunfeng's victory, Chu Fan was in an especially good mood.

After all, as the emperor of Wei, he can ensure the territorial integrity of the country and not lose an inch of land. This is not only a respect for the ancestors of the Chu family, but also his duty as the king of a country.

After Qiuya and the other maids helped him get dressed, Chu Fan woke up Liu Xueyu and asked her to get ready. Meanwhile, the maids went to the imperial kitchen to get steamed buns and porridge for breakfast.

Chu Fan once heard from an experienced health expert in his 50s that it's not advisable to eat too greasy food in the morning because it can have a negative impact on your blood vessels and liver. Therefore, Chu Fan always chooses to eat light food in the morning.

You might be wondering why the Imperial Kitchen always provides fresh steamed buns and porridge whenever Chu Fan wakes up. This is because the Imperial Kitchen's chefs are very attentive. They prepare a batch of porridge and a basket of steamed buns every half hour before Chu Fan wakes up, ensuring that Chu Fan can enjoy hot, freshly baked steamed buns and porridge as soon as he wakes up.

As for the buns and porridge that Chu Fan failed to eat in time, they would not be wasted. These foods would be eaten by the eunuchs and maids in the palace, which was also allowed by Chu Fan. Chu Fan always adhered to a principle, that is, never allow food to be wasted.

The fact that Chu Fan cherishes food very much has long been spread throughout Kaifeng City, and the people all praise His Majesty's virtue of thriftiness.

After enjoying a delicious breakfast with Liu Xueyu, Chu Fan began to prepare to go to the imperial study because he needed to handle some important matters there today.

Sitting next to the fireplace in the imperial study, Chu Fan continued to ask Eunuch Li the questions that he had not finished last night, hoping to get more in-depth answers.

Chu Fan questioned Eunuch Li, "Last night we discussed some of the policies implemented by my father, but we haven't delved into why the northern border was so easily invaded by the Xiongnu. What connections and reasons are hidden behind this?"

Eunuch Li replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, have you ever considered that while many of the princes were entrusted with important responsibilities by the late emperor, you alone never set foot in any court affairs? Have you ever considered how many of the ministers at court at the time truly believed in your ability to hold the throne?"

Therefore, after the late emperor was attacked and Your Majesty ascended the throne, many ministers in the court were skeptical of you. In addition, Your Majesty chose to follow the system of the late emperor, which to a certain extent restricted many officials from exercising their power freely.

Many generals were followed closely by us, their close ministers. They were worried that the orders they issued might arouse the suspicion of His Majesty, leading to serious consequences that they could not bear. Therefore, they acted hesitantly and did not dare to fight with all their strength.

Furthermore, at that time, those treacherous officials with evil intentions had not yet revealed their true colors. While the generals were fighting bravely on the front lines, they also worried that if they left, the treacherous officials in the rear might take the opportunity to fabricate charges and frame them.

Chu Fan also recalled that when he handed over full military power to Mu Yunfeng, Prime Minister Qin Hui had been submitting memorials impeaching Mu Yunfeng. If Chu Fan hadn't originally intended to give Mu Yunfeng enough strength to rebel, he would have likely been persuaded by Qin Hui to withdraw Mu Yunfeng from the front lines.

Fortunately, Chu Fan didn't listen to Qin Hui's slander, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous. Because according to the rules emphasized by the system later, only when the people of Wei rebelled and overthrew their rule could the tasks assigned by the system be completed.

If Chu Fan had really withdrawn Mu Yunfeng from the front line, giving the Huns the opportunity to attack Kaifeng City, then he would not only fail to complete the system task, but he might also become the king of a fallen country, losing his throne, life, and the entire country.

Chu Fan knew that despite all that Eunuch Li had said, there was one point he hadn't mentioned: the northern generals most likely hadn't put up an effective resistance against the Xiongnu invasion. Otherwise, given the Wei soldiers' fighting capacity, holding the city wouldn't have allowed the Xiongnu to invade so quickly.

Therefore, Chu Fan decided to ask the Ministry of Personnel to hand over the records of officials and powerful families in the lost cities to him for review, so as to gain a deeper understanding of the situation.

It wasn't long before the Ministry of Personnel brought the files Chu Fan needed. After carefully examining them, Chu Fan had roughly confirmed his suspicions. It turned out that upon seeing the Huns invade, the powerful families in the cities that had fallen didn't immediately choose to join the soldiers in resisting the invaders. Instead, they created panic within the cities and then fled, living freely in other cities of the Wei State.

At the same time, many armies lost precious opportunities to resist due to the generals' hesitation. Some generals even surrendered when they saw the chaos in their cities and the Xiongnu army pressing in from outside. Their actions led to the fall of most northern cities, bringing countless disasters to the people in those cities.

At this time, Chu Fan deeply realized that after just recovering the lost territory, it would not be appropriate to reuse the talents from the recovered cities in the north.

He knew that if he hastily appointed members of the aristocratic families as officials in those cities, then when the Xiongnu invaded again, these officials would likely abandon the cities they were responsible for and flee. Such behavior would not only harm the interests of the country but also have a very negative impact on the people.

On the other hand, if officials are promoted from ordinary people, although it seems fair on the surface, in fact, once these ordinary people gain power, they are likely to do many illegal things due to their unbalanced mentality.

Such a situation has already occurred in the three Acropolises. Ordinary people who were promoted were unable to properly handle the changes brought about by power, which led to chaos in the ruling order, which was also extremely detrimental to the stability and development of the city.

As for those aristocratic families who originally held on to the fallen cities, Chu Fan would not let them serve as officials locally. He would arrange for them to serve in Kaifeng City. After all, if they continued to serve in those local positions, their reputation would soon become that of a new powerful force, which would also be a very unstable factor.