Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (685–762) later built a temple over a collection of some of the human remains, and scattered bones and mass graves continue to be discovered on the site today.

The Qin army did attempt crossing the Dan River and even once managed to breach Lian Po's second defensive line, but they did not have enough strength to exploit it and were beaten back.

The Qin side were frustrated and desperate to break the stalemate, so they sent spies into Zhao and Han to spread rumors that Lian Po was too senile and cowardly to fight.

However, on his deathbed Zhao She had told his wife to never let his son command an army, because Kuo regarded wars as easy games and treated risks with hubris rather than caution, despite having never experienced any actual battles.

Upon hearing that the Zhao king fell for the rumor, the Qin secretly replaced Wang He with the renowned general Bai Qi, who was known for being brutally efficient in annihilation battles.

Unknown to Zhao Kuo, Bai Qi had anticipated his plan and responded with a maneuver that was later done by Hannibal Barca against the Romans decades later at the Battle of Cannae.

Zhao Kuo soon found his attack against the enemy left flank halted by the Qin hill fortifications, unable to make any progress.

He then realized that his rear were being ambushed by the Qin cavalry and provisions were quickly running low, and was forced to abandon his offensives and pull back across the river.

King Zhaoxiang of Qin used this opportunity to mobilize additional forces against Zhao from Henei (in modern-day Henan province), by bestowing one grade of noble rank on the population as merits and ordered a nationwide mobilization conscripting every able-bodied man over the age of 15, with the king himself personally overseeing the reserves to the Changping frontline in order to further bolster the encirclement.

With the enemy firmly trapped, Bai Qi started repeatedly launching attacks to further wear out the Zhao army and deny them any chance of escape.

The fighting was also so fierce that half of the Qin soldiers were killed in combat, but the exhausted and demoralized Zhao army was ultimately unsuccessful in breaking out.

Bai Qi wanted to take advantage of the victory and quickly lay siege to Handan, but guarding and feeding the large number of prisoners of war would be a huge burden, and releasing them was out of the question because the newly subdued local population was still hostile to Qin rule and these Zhao captives would likely get reconscripted or participate in revolts.

In frustration, Bai Qi resigned and refused to lead the army again when the king asked him the following year, citing that the window of opportunity had long passed.