耶律大石
Yelü Dashi had originally hoped to recapture northern China from the Jin dynasty and restore the territories once held by the Liao dynasty. However, he soon discovered the relative weakness of his empire vis-a-vis the Jin dynasty and gave up the idea after a disastrous attack on the Jin dynasty in 1134. The Western Liao continued to defy Jin supremacy in 1146, and continued sending scouts and small military units against the Jin in 1156, 1177, 1185, 1188. This indicates that for the first 2 generations there remained considerable interest in reconquest.