The Ministry of Civil Affairs

The Exalted Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Imperial Bureaucracy is vast, labyrinthine and considers itself the true ruling power of the Empire. Irrespective of Emperors dying or wars being fought, the Ministry carries on making sure that the affairs of the Empire do not come to a grinding halt. Outside interference is generally frowned upon and it has been many centuries since any Emperor tried to reform the Imperial Bureaucracy. It is generally left to its own devices, provided the food and taxes keep arriving at the Imperial Palace.

Entrance into the Ministry is based almost entirely upon performance in the yearly Imperial civil service exams. The ministry takes the top performers in these exams, and excellence puts one on the fast track to promotion. For this reason, the ministry prides itself on its superiority above the other arms of imperial governnment, as its members have got there entirely on merit, rather than by virtue of birth or wealth. This also means that intelligence is the most respected trait within the ministry, and they have a long-standing feud with the Honourable Companions for the Emperor's attention.

It is said that nothing happens in the Empire without the ministry knowing about it and someone somewhere writing it down. For this reason, the ministry long ago instituted the policy of using eight ciphers. Everything the department does is written in one of these eight ciphers. The ciphers increase in sophistication, and are used to encode successively more sensitive information. The first cipher, the common script, is known to all, but only the highest ranked know how to read the sixth cipher and higher.

It is the function of the Imperial Treasury to oversee both the collection and expenditure of funds so as to ensure the preservation and prosperity of the Glorious Empire of Chi'in.

The Treasury sets tax rates across the empire, sees they are collected and then has the enviable job of deciding upon their disposition. The civic works of the Empire are the wonder of the world: continent crossing walls, ocean defying dams and palaces to incite the envy of heaven. Every such grand project however begins life in a sparsely appointed office in the Treasury where its proponents must win the cooperation of the overseer of the Empire's coffers.

What the Imperial treasury pays for, the Ministry of Civil Affairs carries out. They build the Imperial roads, maintain the Great North Wall, and keep the machinery of the Empire in working order. It is divided into thousands of smaller departments, each with their own directives and responsibilities.

They are also responsible for managing the logistics of the Imperial Capital, ensuring that food reaches the Emperor's table and that the Army does not starve.

The members of the Magistrates, or the August Judiciary of the Benevolent Emperor as it is officially known, combine the role of investigator and judge. They investigate any allegations of wrongdoing and then pass a fair judgement based on their findings. By law, a Magistrate's decrees are empowered by the will of the Emperor himself. The role of the magistrate is one of great power and requires many years of stringent intellectual and moral examination to acquire. Magistrates must also answer to their superiors in the administration and reviews are regularly undertaken to try to purge corruption from their midst. How successful this is is a heavily debated topic.

The Imperial Record Keepers manage the vast flow of information that passes through the Imperial Bureaucracy every day. Through them go all the harvest reports, the cartographer's maps, the spies' communications, and the census data. All of this information is transcribed by legions of scribes and stored in the colossal Imperial Library. Retrieving any of this information is however quite difficult, as it often involves locating the responsible administrator, acquiring the appropriate authorisation, digging through the records, physically locating the information in question, and then decoding it from a higher cypher.

A woman of fearsome will and renowned virtue, Lei-Mei represents the latest attempt by the Bureaucracy to undermine the power of the Emperor's favourites. The current Treasurer had proven a difficult opponent for the Honourable Companions to bully even before current events. Now with the threat of Imperial ire removed, many Companions have found themselves unable even to gain an appointment.

Magistrate Cao Xi holds one of the highest ranks in the Empire, and is much sought after to resolve disputes. It is said that her investigative skills are peerless, able to uncover evidence that lesser Magistrates could not. Quite why she was assigned to a remote corner of Wu remains a mystery.