B.C.262 was a turbulent year in which people witnessed the ambition of the Qin Kingdom to pursue her hegemony over ancient China. At the start of the year, Qin launched an attack on the neighbouring southern kingdom of Chu in the hope that they would get to know the attitude of Chu towards Qin’s expansion into central China. Facing the fearful Qin army, Huang Xie, Lord of Chunshen of the Chu Kingdom (春申君 黄歇) decided to maintain his policy of appeasement (which appeared to be similar to the Policy of Appeasement promoted by Chamberlain in the early 20th century) and ceded the bordering prefecture Zhouling (州陵) to Qin. In response, the Qin Kingdom promised to maintain its non-aggression policy to Chu (which is indeed another version of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union). However, the voracious Qin Kingdom did not cease her aggressive progression after taking over the prefecture of Zhouling. In the early summer of B.C.262, Qin army marched into the Kingdom of Han to conquer the Shangdang region.
As early as B.C.265, Qin had planned to take over the region of Shangdang (上党) which at that time belonged to the Kingdom of Han. Shangdang was both geographically and strategically important to Qin’s expansion into central China. Locating at the borders of Qin, Zhao and Han, it was of great importance for Qin to occupy it in order to open up a route for transportation of soldiers and resources to invade the Kingdom of Zhao. Farsighted King Zhaoxiang of Qin (秦昭襄王) was well aware of this and sent his troops to acquire the town of Qinyang in the state of Han in 265 BC in order to make Shangdang an exclave land. Within four years, almost all fortresses and main roads across the Taihang Mountains were captured by Qin, isolating Shangdang from the rest of Han. What made the situation worse for Han was the Lord of Wuan, Bai Qi (武安君 白起) , who might be appointed to lead the Qin army into Shangdang. Later known as one of the four greatest generals in the Warrior States Period in Chinese history, Bai Qi had no record of defeat throughout his military career. It seemed that Shangdang was poised to fall.
The state of Han, being militarily weaker and territorially much smaller than Qin, knew that it would be her fate to be conquered by Qin sooner or later. In the hope that Qin would delay her expansion into Han after acquiring the Shangdang region, the king of Han gave up Shangdang to Qin. With the fierce Qin army marching towards Shangdang and being abandoned by their home country Han, the people of Shangdang were in despair. At this point of time, giving in to Qin would be against the will of the people of Shangdang, but keep resisting would not only be against the order of the king but might also pose threat to the existence of Han. Facing this dilemma, Feng Ting (冯亭), Shangdang’s commander offered the region to the Kingdom of Zhao.
Tensions between these warrior states had risen to the peak. At Handan (邯郸), the capital of Zhao, young King Xiaocheng of Zhao (赵孝成王) had just succeeded to the throne four years ago. With his mother handling the country for the first year of his reign, it had been less than three year since he gained actual ruling power. According to Records of the Grand Historian (also known as Shiji, 史记), the young king had a strange dream at the start of the year. In the dream, he walked through floating red veils and discovered a gorgeous robe with different colours on both sides. He put on the robe, and suddenly found himself riding on the back of a dragon which was flying in the sky. On the course of ascending, he dropped down to the ground and found himself lying on piles of gold and silver. The young king thought this dream was a good omens, as the gorgeous robe and the flying dragon might mean gain in surprise, and the piles of gold and silver might represent the wealth of the nation. In the morning, he excitedly summoned his soothsayer and asked him about the dream. To his surprise, the soothsayer saw this as a warning of the crisis in the future, as the robe with different colours on both sides was interpreted as imperfection and dropping down from the back of the dragon was viewed as the inability to achieve one’s ambitions. Moreover, the piles of gold and silver might symbolise the lost treasure of the nation.
Indeed, the soothsayer’s interpretation of the dream did unveil part of the future of Zhao. Several days after this incident, a messenger from Shangdang carried Feng Ting’s letter to the palace in Handan. Hearing that Feng Ting was willing to offer the entire Shangdang region to Zhao, King Xiaocheng of Zhao was overwhelmed by ecstasy. Shangdang region, consisting of seventeen prefectures and locating at such a strategic position, was soon to be under his reign without him wasting any of his soldiers to fight for it. Nevertheless, the young king remembered the teachings of his parents and refrained himself from making the decision before consulting with other senior members of the state. Firstly he asked the Lord of Pingyang, Zhao Bao (平阳君 赵豹), who was also his uncle. Experienced in dealing with these foreign affairs and being able to sense the oncoming crisis, Zhao Bao rejected his nephew’s suggestion at once. He knew very well that accepting the Shangdang region would bring Zhao to the opposition of Qin, who was eagerly looking for an excuse to attack Zhao. Aware of the weak military base of his country, Zhao Bao did not want to start a war with the rising Qin in which Zhao was destined to be defeated. Failed to hear what he wanted to hear, King Xiaocheng of Zhao summoned another uncle of his, the Lord of Pingyuan, Zhao Sheng (平原君 赵胜). This time, the young king got what he wanted.
Zhao Sheng suggested that the king should accept Shangdang, as this was a chance given by the god. He argued that it was not easy to acquire seventeen prefectures, as even with one million soldiers, it would still take months to conquer one prefecture. The king was also aware of the threat posed by the Qin army and the renown general Bai Qi, and Zhao Sheng answered this concern by relating to his own encounter with Baiqi at a conference seventeen years ago. He argued that Bai Qi was unchallengeable in field battles, but if they could contain Bai Qi in a longer period of time, they would definitely find flaws in his strategies. Moreover, their own country also had renown generals such as Lian Po (廉颇) that could battle with Bai Qi. Zhao Sheng ensured the king that accepting the Shangdang region would be the right choice.
The young king believed in his own interpretation of the strange dream as good omens and gain in surprise, and this message from Shangdang seemed to correspond with his dream. Without asking other counsellors and General Lian Po, who played a crucial part in Zhao Sheng’s planning for the war with Qin, he accepted the offer from Feng Ting. Despite the role of the strange dream in this incident, the decision making process of King Xiaocheng of Zhao still seemed very problematic. Unlike his father, King Huiwen of Zhao, who often consulted with his ministers on important state issues, the young king seemed to have characteristics of a dictator. He only believed in what he thought, and trusted only his family members. Instead of consulting with other key figures of the state, he asked his two aristocratic uncles, and despite the opposition of Zhao Bao, he endorsed Zhao Sheng without even giving a deeper thought. This somehow displayed the instability of the warrior states. Only those states with a succession of wise rulers could survive, and the only state that stood to the last unified China.
With Shangdang newly added into Zhao territory, King Xiaocheng of Zhao sent General Lian Po and his troops there to take over the local affairs. Meanwhile, the Qin army which had conquered several prefectures and cut off Shangdang’s connection to Xinzhen, the capital of Han, still had not set off and were not far from Shangdang. With the air tensed all over ancient China, a decisive military campaign was about to break out.