越南過去被稱為交州、交趾（阯）、安南。自秦漢以來，成為中國郡縣之一，但從唐末五代後逐漸自主。趙宋統一時，向宋廷稱臣為藩屬，然而在北宋「憚於征役」、「不欲用兵」下，使交趾態度漸傲慢失藩臣之禮。真、仁宗的「安邊弭兵」政策，力主「安靜」。然而交趾卻不斷以武力擴展勢力，蠶食中越邊地各羈縻州。宋廷對交趾採「不納交趾叛臣逃民」、「不干涉主義」和「恩信撫綏」措施。但造成交趾叛臣逃民流竄至宋境，興兵亂嶺南；不干涉交趾以武力更迭政權，導致宋廷威權漸失；恩信撫綏下，交趾依然蠶食北宋邊地。種種的措施在儂智高之亂時遭到挑戰，致使仁宗朝改變，募土民來屯駐，以武將兼知州，亦接納投奔至宋的各族。然而武備建構未完成，懼武將擅權的心態又起，再加上與交趾衝突不斷，仁宗朝在恐懼戰爭再起下，重歸「恩信撫綏」，停頓了羈縻州的開發，不與交趾爭利，中越邊疆各羈縻州依然籠罩在交趾勢力下。

In the early stage of the Northern Sung Dynasty, because of the long-term turmoil of war, people had wished for peace. Therefore, Sung Jen-Tzong requested the officials in the borderland to do their utmost to maintain the stability and stop the military activity. At the Sung Ren-Tzong era, the drawbacks appeared. Sung Ren-Tzong had tried to reform, but was unable to stop the confusion, so he was forced to get back to the original policy. Sung Ing-Tzong was on the throne lasted only a short time, mostly of the policies were following the prior cases. At this era, Chiao-chin had expanded the military force to encroach on Northern Sung Dynasty's borderland and then set up a dynasty. With the pacification policy, the mutineers and refugees of Chiao-chin fled to the borderland of the Northern Sung. Therefore, the Northern Sung Dynasty had replaced the hollow military policy and civil officials in the borderland with military control policy and the recruit aborigines for defending the borderland. But the Sung Dynasty still devoted to merge the economy and culture, although it was very difficult to manage the southern borderland, including assignment the officials and the ethnic minority.