宋高宗渡江之初，內有盜賊之亂，外有金兵之入侵，極為艱困。幸賴名相李綱、趙鼎等修內政、收人心，名將韓世忠、劉光世、岳飛等抗外侮、嚴守備，得以轉危為安。紹興八年 (1138)，宋金第一次約和，金朝主戰派兀朮反對，於紹興十年夏再度發兵侵束，圍攻順昌。宋方守將劉錡 ( l098~1162) 採堅壁清野之策，奮勇抗敵，時方盛暑，金兵不能忍受酷熱，戰力銳減，而宋軍則置之死地而後生，卒獲空前的勝利。此戰後，宋軍士氣大振，對抗金致勝之信心大增；同年，岳飛北伐，亦有郎城之捷，金朝深知無力消滅南宋，終於十二年與宋締結和約。南宋能偏安江南一百五十年，諸將轉戰之功實不可抹滅。

The situation was tough and difficult for the newly-established dynasty of the Southern Sung when its founder, Sung Kao-tsung, withdrew to southern China, with bandits surging within and the Chin threatening from the North. It was through the ministry of Li Kan (李綱) and Chao Tin (趙鼎) and by the military achievements of Han Shih-chung (韓世忠), Liu Kuang-shih (劉光世) and Yuei Fei (岳飛) that the Southern Sung government managed to survive. Breaking its First Agreement with the Sung(l138), the warlike ruler Chin, Wu Chu (兀朮), threatened again to conquer the South in 1140. During the Battle of Shun-chang (順昌), Liu Chi (劉錡), the commander of the defending force, effectively fortified the defense works and left nothing usable to the enemy. His strategy, with the help of hot weather, led to an overwhelming victory, which greatly enhanced the confidence of the Sung troops in facing the northern invaders. At the same time, Yuei Fei pushed north and claimed a great victory at Yen-chen (郾城). Acknowledging their failure to defeat the Southern Sung forces, the Chin finally reached another peace settlement with the southern regime two years later, leaving it alone for one and a half centuries.