The Disposition of Troops in the Song Dynasty

The disposition of the troops in early Song Dynasty followed a principle of mutual constraint between inside and outside,namely,the amount of troops in the capital were identical with that in other districts.This situation changed during period of Emperor Shenzong(神宗) who deployed the majority of the troops in the northwestern district whereas the troops in the capital decreased continuously.There were only tens of thousands army men in capital in late Song Dynasty.In the Southern Song Dynasty,the principle of mutual constraint was resumed,the majority was deployed in Linan(临安) area.However,the situation was reversed in later Southern Song Dynasty.Preference of northern areas over southern ones is characteristic of the disposition of troops in both Northern and Southern Song Dynasties whose strategy is passive defense.