Strangely, even the system itself didn't discover it, which is worth pondering.

There must be some reason for this.

She thought of the Fortune Chart.

That thing is a Taoist artifact, and it's extremely mysterious; it's definitely not something that intelligent being could possess.

Could there be a deeper reason behind this?

Make a note of this.

She went to watch the footage of Xiong Chumo and Huo Baijun.

The emperor's edict was first delivered to Xiong Chumo, by which time he had already expanded his army by 30,000.

It wasn't that he wanted to recruit so many people on his own, but rather because Xiao Jiajun received good treatment and had become part of the local ethnic minorities through terraced fields and mushroom cultivation.

These people's way of repaying kindness was very simple: they sent their sons to serve in Xiao's army.

When the imperial edict arrived, more local young men, having heard the news, voluntarily joined Xiao's army.

His 50,000 troops were quickly at full strength.

Huo Baijun's side was similar; he had unorthodox methods and recruited mostly bandits and refugees.

First, beat and kill the most heinous criminals, then subdue the good and innocent who have not yet committed evil.

Coupled with generous military pay, these bandits quickly transformed into soldiers, following him wholeheartedly.

He was even bolder, having more than 50,000 men under his command. With the help of the emperor's decree, he eventually gathered nearly 70,000 troops.

The two men were deeply rooted in the south and had formed a force to be reckoned with. They also had the emperor's order to intervene in the defense of the two passes.

Xue Chen was very sensible and took the initiative to give Huo Baijun the border defense line of Yangzhou.

And Xiong Chumo met Feng Lizhen for the first time in a formal manner.

Tensions were high.