Looking at the ore being continuously mined in front of him, An Jingzhi finally felt at ease.

As long as he has these minerals, he will have an endless supply of weapons to forge, and these are the foundation of his livelihood.

The old housekeeper followed An Jingzhi and, after sending a group of people away, immediately trotted over to him:

"Master, the people sent by Young Master Rong Li have all been sent away."

"He said he was here to help, but I think he wanted to find out our secrets."

An Jingzhi nodded. "Is there no one watching in the dark?"

He could understand it. After all, he had bought three useless mountains in the eyes of the other party. The other party must want to know what he was going to do with these things.

The old housekeeper said with certainty: "Master, don't worry. Our people are guarding the area around this mountain. No one can come in without permission."

Wang Sanwa, who was in the distance, brought a few people to An Jingzhi and reported happily: "Master, this place is really great. After we mine the ore, we can burn the black stone over there, saving the time of transportation. This way, we can make a lot of weapons a day."

The three mountains chosen by An Jing were all relatively remote and happened to be close to his own enclosure, so he moved the smelter directly here.

Heavy troops are stationed to guard the area so that they can respond in time if anything happens.

When the arsenal is small, it is okay to place it in the city. But when it is used to burn charcoal in the future, the pollution is too great and placing it in the city will affect the air.

An Jingzhi took his men on a tour and only left after confirming that all arrangements were correct.

Wang Sanwa watched the old housekeeper and An Jingzhi leave. After they disappeared from view, he turned around with a stern face and scolded the other craftsmen behind him.

"Cheer up from now on! We must complete the tasks assigned by the master, otherwise we will be unworthy of the brick house that the master rewarded you with!"

"Although we have been staying in Qucheng, those foreign merchants often bring us news. We don't know how chaotic the situation is outside."

"We can be so peaceful here because of the adults!"

"Although our place is heavily guarded, there's no guarantee that anyone will sneak in and try to find out our secrets. Let me be frank: if anyone manages to leak our secrets, don't blame me, Wang Sanwa, for turning my back on you!"

The craftsmen chattered among themselves, saying that they would never leak the information.

Wang Sanwa continued with satisfaction:

"I know everyone is loyal, but there are some things I must say in advance. All we have to do is to be loyal to you with all our might. Do you understand?"

The craftsmen said in unison: "Understood!"

Since I started working as a craftsman under the lord, I can not only eat enough, but also save a lot of money.

Those who made meritorious contributions were rewarded with a brick house where the whole family could live, which was windproof and rainproof.

They happened to be the ones who benefited from that piece of land. From being hungry and naked to having enough food and clothing, one can imagine how grateful they were to An Jingzhi.

After arranging things, An Jingzhi continued to send people to the city to collect information, and at the same time, he also sent people out to inquire about the situation outside.

It was pretty much as he thought. Marquis Huai'en had joined forces with several other princes to depose the emperor on the grounds that he was immoral.

At the same time, the brothers around these princes were also divided up by them, and they were encroaching on the outside.

Everyone is in danger. Some people want to protect themselves desperately, while others want to use this opportunity to rise up.

Countless people were displaced by the war, and the outside world was like a hell on earth.

He was a little worried about the villagers in Sanmu Village. Usually, the villagers only had to be on guard against thieves and bandits.

Now that troubled times have arrived, there will be more and more people causing trouble. Miki Village is no longer safe and it may be massacred by passing bandits at any time.

They can resist bandits, but they may not be able to defeat armed soldiers.

But after taking the people over, he has to have a reason to explain to them.

Just as he was thinking about how to pick up the person, the old butler hurried to the study and knocked on the door.

"Master, Jin Fu is nowhere to be found. He was spotted doing business in the city in disguise. He was last seen in Beiyu."

An Jingzhi was familiar with the place called Beiyu. It was a border area where people interacted with the nomadic peoples in the north.

You are also a buffer zone, with all kinds of people there, which is quite suitable for a killer to hang out.

"Old housekeeper, you don't need to worry about Jin Fu's affairs anymore. He can go wherever he wants."

The old housekeeper was a little excited: "But this man spread rumors about the master everywhere, how can he not be arrested and killed?"

An Jingzhi smiled, his eyes fixed on the old housekeeper: "Old housekeeper, I have something to tell you."

The old housekeeper felt something was wrong. "What's the matter, Master?"

"Old housekeeper, my memory seems to have recovered."

The old butler's expression tightened, "Master..." He was speechless for a long time.

An Jingzhi looked dazed and continued, "I remember now. I'm really not a descendant of Duke Ji."

Ignoring the old butler's anxious expression, he continued, "I was originally a wild man in the mountains. By chance, I saved a young nobleman."

"Who would have thought someone would be hunting that noble young master? He had originally wanted me to bring these things to get him reinforcements, but he never expected that he would be killed, and I would fall off a cliff and lose my memory."

“Just remember what you came here for.”

"The old housekeeper also knows what happened later."

"I became the mayor of Qucheng by accident."

The old butler shouted, "No! The master is the master! The master is the mayor of our Qucheng!" He felt a little desperate. Why did the master say all this to him at this time? Did he want to leave?

"All the people in Qucheng only recognize me as the city lord!"

"Master," he said, his voice slowing down, "You might be mistaken. Master knows so much, how could he be a country dweller?"

He was trying to convince An Jingzhi and also trying to convince himself.

An Jingzhi shook his head uncooperatively and retorted, "That's not the case. Everything I know was actually told to me by that noble young master."

"Although I have lost a lot of memory, I can still remember some bits and pieces."

“Of course, some of them were also figured out by myself.”

"Although I am just a mountain dweller, my relatives are very kind to me. Thanks to them, I was able to grow up without worries about food and clothing." An Jingzhi showed a warm smile on his face.

The old butler's lips moved, but no sound came out.

When the master first came over with the documents and certificates, he didn't have too many doubts.

Although they are not as pampered as real nobles, they are not as dark-skinned and calloused as ordinary civilians.