Conflicts and Foreign Negotiation Around Song-Liao's Border Area in the mid-11th Century

Abstract

In February of 1042, Liao sent an envoy to Song and demanded the return of the ten counties of guan-nan region. Guan-Nan region was a strategic point. When Liao s request was announced, the imperial court of Song was shocked. The imperial court looked for an envoy to negotiate with Liao, but no one came forward. No one accepted to take on a dangerous role, as the outcome of a diplomatic compromise is extremely uncertain. In this situation, prime minister Lu Yi-jian recommended Fu Bi. Lu Yi-jian s recommendation was to put Fu Bi in trouble. When Fu Bi was decided to go to Liao, criticism erupted everywhere. In particular, Tai-jian criticized the prayer for the strange tactics and Fu Bi in a matched voice. The controversy over Fu Bi s dispatch of Liao was likely to have a huge impact on Song s political career. This has highlighted Lu Yi-jian s dogmatic and unjust policy, as well as the opposition to him. In April of 1042, Fu Bi was sent to Liao as an envoy. Lu Yi-jian, in consultation with the prime minister and the executive, confirmed the direction of his response to Liao, put it in a national document and delivered it to Fu Bi. He also offered two alternatives to his request for Liao to return the ten-counties of guan-nan. It was an increase in marriage and Sui-bi to the Liao kingdom. However, there seems to have been a lot of theory inside Song about two alternatives to Liao. Inparticular, allegations have been raised that marriages far more damaging than Sui-bi s increase in national mail and mail, particularly among the critics of Lu Yi-jian. Liao finally chose to increase Sui-bi among the two alternatives presented by Song. It was in September, 1042, when Sui-bi s question of increase finally came to an agreement. Instead of Sui-bi increasing, Liao promised to press Xixia. However, Liao s pressure on Xixia did not go smoothly. Rather than acting as Liao suggested, Xixia even made a provocation against him on the border. As Xixia took a hostile attitude, in September 1044, Liao led a large army and invaded Xixia. Liao s expedition to Xixia was not to fulfill his promise to Song but to punish Xixia for his rudeness. Xixia sent an envoy to Song to avoid attacks from both Song and Liao when the army marched on. The peace treaty between Song and Xixia was finally concluded in October of 1044. The treaty was signed in a way far from what was agreed between Song-Liao, the format in which Liao would influence Xixia and speed up Song. The diplomatic compromise and negotiations between Song and Liao, which originated from Liao s demand for the ten counties of guan-nan region, were led by Lu Yi-jian, who was then in power. However, Song s unilateral acceptance, submission, and lack of diplomatic compromise have caused a huge backlash among young people centering on the admonition officers. In this way, the emperor eventually characterized Lu Yi-jian and named Fan Zhong-yan and Han Qi as members of the committee. The negotiations between Song and Liao in the mid-11th century served as a crucial catalyst for the reorganization of the pro-communist politics.