Kitan was being hard pressed by Kin, and Gen. Ya Ryul-lyŭng wanted to escape and find asylum somewhere, so the king sent him a verbal invitation to come to Koryŭ. He replied that he could not do so without a written invitation. The Koryŭ statesmen feared that this covered some kind of trickery and the written invitation was not sent.
Koryŭ desired to put out a feeler to see how she stood with the Kin power so she sent a message saying “The district of P‘o-ju is rightfully Koryŭ territory and we should be pleased to have it turned over to us.” The answer was given without an hour’s delay “Certainly, take it and do with it as you wish.” Evidently the great Kin leader did not intend to let a single district stand between him and the good-will of a power which might cause him serious trouble while he was prosecuting his designs upon China.
The year ended with a great feast at the capital of Koryŭ at which dancing girls from all parts of the country congregated. The records say that they came “in clouds” which indicates the social status of the country. Buddhism had her representative in every home, but no severe asceticism would seem to have characterized the people, if this report is true.
The year 1117 beheld repeated triumphs of the Kin leader over the Kitan forces, the flight of the Kitan general Ya Ryul-lyŭng by boat, the burning of the Kitan fleet and the cession to Koryŭ of two more districts, thus placing her border again at the Yalu River. But this concession was of design for it was followed by a letter from the Kin court which read as follows: “The elder brother, the Emperor of the Great Kin, to the younger brother, the king of Koryŭ; we were a small, weak tribe and were badly treated by the Kitan power but now we are about to destroy it. The King of Koryŭ must now make with us a firm treaty which shall be binding to the ten thousandth generation.”
This met with an almost universal negative among the wise-heads of Koryŭ, but one voice was heard saying “They may be in a position to do us great harm and we should comply with this demand.” The latter opinion did not prevail. Three years later another envoy came from the king of Kin with gifts but the accompanying letter was couched in low language which was construed into an insult and was answered in the same tone. The king then hastened to repair the fortresses in the north and to increase the height of the wall stretching across the country; but the Kin emperor sent and forbade it. When he received as answer the question “What affair is it of yours?” he kept his temper and did not press the demand for he was anxious just then to be on good terms with his southern neighbor.