Historically, the Khitan has always been an important national force in northern China. Since the middle of the Tang Dynasty, they have been constantly invading the Han Chinese regime in the Central Plains, and in the process gradually rising to become a powerful nomadic empire. However, in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Khitan once again began a large-scale invasion.
At that time, the Khitan army was strong, not only with excellent equipment and well-trained soldiers, but also with very good military leaders. As a result, they behaved extremely fiercely in the war, constantly attacking the border defenses of the Song Dynasty, plunging the entire country into crisis.
Faced with such a situation, Zhao Kuangyin, the emperor of the Song Dynasty, had to take a series of measures to deal with it. First of all, he ordered the border defense to be strengthened, and built a large number of city walls, passes, beacon towers and other facilities to prevent the Khitan attack. At the same time, he also sent a large number of additional soldiers to the border defense, hoping to resist the pressure of the Khitan army.
In addition, Zhao Kuangyin also tried to resolve the contradictions with the Khitan through diplomatic means. When he met with the Khitan envoys, he asked for peace talks and promised to give the other side some economic assistance. However, these efforts have not been able to achieve any substantive results due to the conflicting interests of both sides.
Finally, when the strength of the Song army could no longer withstand the powerful offensive of the Khitan army, Zhao Kuangyin decided to launch a decisive battle, hoping to drive the enemy army out of his territory in this way. The battle took place in 1005 CE during the Battle of Shanzhou, which resulted in a victory for the Song army and succeeded in halting further Khitan expansion.
Overall, although the Khitan army had put a lot of pressure on the Song Dynasty, this powerful nomadic empire was not able to gain a foothold in the long history. Instead, their continued southward invasion eventually led to their own decay and was even replaced by other, more powerful forces.