In this paper, I reconstruct the epistolary network of Han literati in the northern territories during the thirteenth-century Jin-Yuan transition. As a base, I used two hundred letters in a collection titled Zhongzhou qizha 中州 啓劄 (Epistolary writings of the central plain). In response to a recent study which suggested the dissolution of literati networks after the demise of the Jin dynasty in 1234, I show how literati across different regions in the North maintained connections with each other through letters. I further discuss how Qubilai's system of patronage, with the help of several key brokers in the epistolary network, transformed parts of the literati network into an indigenous network of political elites after 1260; and this network, in turn, contributed to Mongol governance and administration in the North.