The fall of Haicheng threw the plan of General Song into disarray as the ability to hold a defensive position on the Liao river became difficult.

The counterattack was also thrown into disarray when, on 10 January, the 1st Brigade took Kaiping (Gaizhou) from its 5,000 strong Qing garrison, inflicting 1,200 losses to 307 Japanese.

Qing reinforcements en route from Yingkou numbering 10,000 came across the retreating men and were thrown into a panic and the offensive was halted.

To the relief of General Song, the Japanese temporarily halted offensive actions due to exhaustion and they began to reinforce their current positions.

[4][5] The Qing government, after the fall of Lushunkou and the entry of Japanese forces into Manchuria, mobilised additional men and changed commanders.

The Guangxu Emperor relieved Li Hongzhang of his command, handing it over to a 6-man strong committee of Defence headed by Prince Chun.

On the 21st the Chinese once again approached Haicheng but beside long range artillery fire no attack was made simultaneously, both sides received reinforcements in the region.

[9] The Chinese side had received 10,000 men under Wu Dacheng who departed Shanhaiguan for the Japanese their reinforcements consisted of elements of the 1st Division which was dispatched on the 20th the Japanese accordingly extended their frontline to Taping-shan a large hill 2 miles long and 60 metres high which was of considerable military importance.

On 28 February, Japanese forces under General Nozu Michitsura began a counterattack against Liaoyang and Niuzhuang, beginning with an artillery barrage and followed with an infantry offensive across a wide front.

The Qing forces were driven in disorderly retreat to the north and northwest towards Jinzhou, offering only light and sporadic resistance.

[14][15] The fighting in Niuzhuang was fierce as regular combat yielded little by 5pm on the day the Japanese decided to systematically destroy the houses in the town bringing their guns to fire directly on Chinese positions this continued until 11 pm when the remaining troops surrendered DuBoulay gives casualties as 389 Japanese and 3,000 for the Chinese 2,000 dead 633 prisoners the rest unknown.

The 5th Brigade was left as a garrison at Niuzhuang and Yingkou as the rest of the Japanese forces fell upon the Chinese at Tianzhuangtai.

Full-scale combat in Manchuria ended with the defeat at Tianzhuangtai with only small action between Chinese local forces and the Japanese in the Manchurian hills.

[15] However, it was still estimated that there were 200,000 men between Shanhaiguan and Beijing not including those in Manchuria the quality of these troops however was considered dubious as the best of the Chinese army had already been routed.

Negotiations for the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which had begun on 20 March, were finalized by the Qing surrender on 17 April, ending the war.