The policy at the beginning was to assign warriors and bansho (non-Han generals) as setsudoshi stationed in the regions outside of the Great Wall, and to place civil officers sent from the central government as setsudoshi stationed in the areas on the inside of the Great Wall.
長城外節度使には武人や蕃将（異民族出身の将軍）が就けられ、長城内節度使には中央から派遣された文官が付くのが当初の方針であった。