This is a popular historical account of the Alliance of Chanyuan between the Song and Liao Dynasties. In the autumn of 1004 (the first year of the Song Jingde era, the twenty-second year of the Khitan Tonghe era), the Khitans invaded Song, and in that winter, the Song and Liao dynasties negotiated peace and normalized their diplomatic relations. This peace agreement, which is known as the Alliance of Chanyuan, dramatically ended decades of enmity between the two sides, turning hostility into friendship, and both then entered a rare period of development. Though the positive impact of the alliance is unquestionable, many aspects. Remain perplexing. Who proposed the peace talks? Did Kou Zhun really have the power to influence Emperor Zhenzong of Song? Who was responsible for the death of the Khitan general Xiao Talin? Why did monarchs and ministers believe that Emperor Shengzong of Liao was "not wise"? Was the 300,000 paid by the Song court a ransom or compensation?