It is said that all armed conflicts begin with a dispute between two men. So it was that the self-proclaimed Emperor Heavenly Demon declared war against The Imperial Emperor in Beijing, and in response, they sent their forces clashing. It was a conflict that brought widespread devastation to The Land. Heavenly Demon raiding parties clashed with Imperial soldiers in every Province, and in each instance, the victor claimed that Province for their master. When the Imperial Court sent a small garrison of soldiers to Tianjin City, they delivered a message instructing the local government to pay a protection tax to retain the soldiers. The greatly impoverished city of Tianjin had no gold to pay such tax, and its citizens were left to defend themselves. With Huabei Province already under siege, t