The king, under the influence of several of his courtiers (many of whom were believed to be bribed by Qin emissaries), and heedless of the advice given by his most important minister, Lin Xiangru, was dissatisfied by Lian's defensive strategy: while Lian Po was in command, he set up camp, built forts, and stayed in them, not responding to any of the enemy's taunts or lures designed to get his army out onto the field.
The Battle of Changping is ranked among the largest and most lethal military operations in history since the combined troops numbered at 1.1 million.
Many scholars believe that Zhao Kuo, though inexperienced, was a talented general and had the potential to become one of the best if he had enough time to develop his practical skills.
Bai Qi was one of the most talented generals in Chinese history, who was undefeated on the battlefield and renowned for his tactical skills with cavalry and accurate assessment of the best time to attack.
Seeing the retreat of the enemy, Zhao Kuo became haughty and complacent without knowing that the King of Qin had replaced the former general with Bai Qi.
Bai Qi had decided that to defeat the large Zhao army, the best method would be to trap them and slowly starve them to death.
With its food and water supplies cut off by the Qin army, Zhao Kuo's force slowly began to thirst and starve.
Zhao Kuo led numerous counterstrikes, only to be repelled by the Qin army, which was famous for its invincible archers and crossbowmen's ability to "rain bolts and arrows."
However, the number is believed by many scholars as inaccurate since that would account for roughly 89% of the total Zhao army after it had fought heavy skirmishes for more than 40 days.