Complex sentence: However, apparently unsure of the use of his authority, his words had more sting than his actions, and he cultivated relationships with local scholar-elites through book-lending from his personal library.
Split into simpler sentences: However, apparently unsure of the use of his authority, his words had more sting than his actions. Though avoiding involving them in government he cultivated relationships with local scholar-elites through book-lending from his personal library.