Rather than seeing Shangdang being taken by Qin, Shangdang's governing commander, Feng Ting, decided to offer the region to Zhao. Shangdang was a productive and strategically important region just west of Zhao's capital Handan, and its capture would allow Qin easy incursions north and west into Zhao territory, so King Xiaocheng of Zhao () accepted and dispatched senior general Lian Po to lead an army and secure the region from the encroaching Qin.
