text: The state of Han, the weakest of the Warring States, was the first to fall in 230 BC. In 229 BC, Qin armies invaded Zhao, which had been severely weakened by natural disasters, and captured the capital of Handan in 228 BC. Prince Jia of Zhao managed to escape with the remnants of the Zhao army and established the short-lived state of Dai, proclaiming himself king.
  In 227 BC, fearing a Qin invasion, Crown Prince Dan of Yan ordered a failed assassination attempt on King Zheng. This provided casus belli for Zheng to invade Yan in 226 BC, capturing the capital of Ji (modern Beijing) that same year. The remnants of the Yan army, along with King Xi of Yan, were able to retreat to the Liaodong Peninsula.
  After Qin besieged and flooded their capital of Daliang, the state of Wei surrendered in 225 BC. Around this time, as a precautionary measure, Qin seized ten cities from Chu, the largest and most powerful of the other Warring States. In 224 BC, Qin launched a full-scale invasion of Chu, capturing the capital of Shouchun in 223 BC. In 222 BC, Qin armies extinguished the last Yan remnants in Liaodong and the Zhao rump state of Dai. In 221 BC, Qin armies invaded the state of Qi and captured King Jian of Qi without much resistance, bringing an end to the Warring States period.