Policy guidance civil officials were Sung Dynasty military affairs personnel selected by commanders and officials and employed in the empire's military circuits. They were primarily assigned to strategic regions along military circuit borders, particularly along the Shaanxi region after the conflict between the Sung and the Xia. Autonomously selected by pacification officers and other high level military personnel, candidates were drawn from either family members or veteran subordinates. The professional responsibilities of policy guidance officials were primarily classified military affairs such as writing memorials to the throne, managing border affairs, participating in military planning, and leading troops in battle. As to the strategy of employing literati to achieve martial objectives, the Sung Dynasty, which habitually employed highly-educated officials to lead military personnel into battle, found policy guidance civil officials successfully fulfilling their appointed role of employing their lengthy experience in and knowledge of border affairs, plus long familiarity with the military ethos, to assist officials in waging martial campaigns.
