For over a century, the Ming colony of Heshi developed in relative isolation, fostering a society that diverged sharply from the orthodox traditions of the Chinese mainland. Governed by a class of intellectual scholar-bureaucrats who embraced reformist ideals, the colony thrived on illicit trade with European powers and developed a unique culture characterized by religious tolerance and interracial marriages. This era of autonomy ended abruptly in 1773 when reports of the colony's "degeneracy" reached the Ming court. Incensed by the presence of British factories, the spread of Christianity, and the abandonment of Confucian hierarchies, the Emperor issued a series of draconian edicts known as the "Chastity Directive" and the "Foreigner Ban," aiming to forcefully reintegrate Heshi into the imperial fold by destroying churches and expelling foreign merchants.

Resistance to these measures coalesced around the "People’s Mandate," a group of intellectuals who orchestrated civil unrest to demonstrate the incompetence of the imperial administration. The situation escalated tragically in early 1782 with the "Kwankoo Cringing," a massacre in which Ming soldiers killed forty-six civilians defending a church. The brutality of the event radicalized the population, uniting merchants, elites, and peasants against the homeland. In response to the growing insurrection, the Emperor dispatched a 30,000-strong army under General Zhao Tianwu to crush the dissent, while rebel leaders convened a Regional Assembly to draft formal grievances regarding the destruction of their economy and social order.

The conflict shifted from civil disobedience to open warfare in October 1782. General Tianwu, acting on intelligence regarding a rebel hideout, sent troops to surround a militia force in the town of Dongshan. During a tense standoff between the enveloped dissidents and the imperial regulars, a militia member shot and killed a Ming soldier. This single act of violence broke the impasse and ignited the Heshian War for Independence, plunging the colony into a violent struggle to sever ties with the Forbidden City.