What would it look like if a modern army clashed with a medieval army on the battlefield? The First Opium War answers that question. In order continue their illegal opium trade in China, Britain engaged in a series of naval battles and fort assaults against the Chinese Empire, who was woefully underprepared for a modern war. When rifles meet bows and arrows, the result is devastating, and the consequences for the opium trade reached into the 20th century.