Taejo had emphasized the Confucian Classic of History, which stated that the ideal Emperor should understand the suffering of farmers and directly experience their toil.
Seongjong followed this principle and established a policy by which district officials were appointed by the central government, and all privately owned weapons were collected to be recast into agricultural tools.
Talented sons of the country aristocrats were educated so that they could pass the civil service examinations and be appointed to official government posts in the capital.
In bloody back-and-forth warfare, the fierce resistance of Goryeo soldiers at first slowed, then considerably hampered the Khitan advance at the city of Pongsan-gun.
In the face of such quick and determined resistance, the Khitan decided that further attempts to conquer the entire peninsula would be far too costly, and sought instead to negotiate a settlement with Goryeo.
While the bureaucrats argued in Kaesong, General Xiao launched a sudden attack across the Cheongcheon River, directly on the Goryeo army headquarters in Anju.
In a cleverly veiled threat, Sŏ Hŭi reminded General Xiao that the Liaodong Peninsula had also once been under the dominion of Goguryeo and that the Manchurian territories, including the Khitan capital at Liaoyang, should properly belong to Goryeo.
Sŏ Hŭi's brilliant diplomatic maneuver underscored his correct understanding of both the contemporary international situation and Goryeo's position in the region.