The Navy Of The Southern Song Dynasty

Because of locating its capital in Hangzhou , such situation were formed that the Southern Sung Dynasty built up its country against the sea , so the tension of the coast defense and deterioration of the public order in the foreland both affected the safety of the dynasty . To meet the need of this situation , the dynasty begun to enforce its navy as soon as it was built . Based on the construction in the period when Emperor Gaozong and Emperor Xiaozong ruled the dynasty, some navies were built up in the foreland, the layout of the navy in the foreland were basically formed , the lead system of the navy was also formed that the army were respectively subordinated to the central government and local military institution , the internal system of the navy was also set up . To meet the need of the naval battle , the dynasty also enforced the armament of the navy , so many kinds of warships and the arms equipped on the warships were created .The main strategy of the navy of the Southern Sung Dynasty was defense . To control the situation on the sea , the navy quartered its troops on the key spots , and a multi-level defend system was set up which extended from the foreland of the Huaidong region to the Jiangzhe region . On the defended sea , the navy scouted and patrolled , reported the information in time , which made the government of the Southern Sung Dynasty can acquire the military situation at any moment.The navy played a prominent role to the national defense and public order . About the national defense , the navy defeated the intrusion of the navy of the Jin Dynasty , kept the safety of south-east coastal areas and territorial seas , balanced the strategic constitution of the dynasty, these effects can not be replaced . The navy also attacked the enemy's land by the sea and made strategic threat to the enemy in some extent. About the public order, the main effects of the navy were striking the pirates and checking the smugglers . Being restrained by such factors as politics, economy, and military affairs , the public order of the Southern Sung dynasty was not fundamentally improved , but by the effect of the navy , the ruling order in the foreland of the dynasty still normally existed .