The Song 宋 (960-1279) victories over Xixia 西夏 (1032-1227) from 1090 to 1110 were outcomes of deliberate strategic planning. The Chinese way of warfare in these two decades saw a multi-faceted strategic dimension which included intelligence analysis, map making, manpower mobilization, logistics, accounting, military engineering, and operational strategy. To conduct a campaign, high efficiency and outstanding coordination ability became indispensable for a field commander, and the important role of his staff enhanced accordingly. This paper examines the warfare of late 11th century China with an account on the life and career of Chong Pu (d. 1099). Within 20 years, Chong Pu distinguished himself from a staff of the Fuyen Theatre Command to one of the best known generals of Song through his participation in the Lingwu campaign (1081), the building of the Hulu river valley salient (1097), and his relief of the Fort Pingxia (1098). The career of Chong Pu exemplifies the development of operational strategy in Song China.