262–260 BC · Shangdang plateau (Shanxi) Theater
262–260 BC
The Changping campaign was one of the largest recorded struggles of the Warring States era. In the traditional account, the cautious Zhao veteran Lian Po held an entrenched line until Zhao replaced him with Zhao Kuo, who attacked. Bai Qi feigned retreat, divided and encircled the Zhao army, and forced its surrender after prolonged deprivation. The later Shiji tradition says that Qin then executed roughly 400,000 prisoners, but the figure and narrative details cannot be independently verified.
Commanders