The Ministries
The ministries of the Thousand Scales provide the structure and guidance that keep the Realm from descending into chaos.
The ministers filling its ranks understand that the most direct path to the top is a straight line, and sometimes that line is through someone’s back.
Whether they come from the Dynasty or well-connected patrician families, or are even talented peasants seeking better lives, successful ministers who’ve ascended to lofty heights of power and influence will do whatever it takes to stay there.
As the Great Houses slice up the empire and squabble over the pieces, the ministers are ruthless in holding their departments together so the Realm continues to function.
Structure and Organization Hundreds of ministries govern the Realm. Each has a specific, closely defined function. Some are small, consisting of only a single minister and a handful of clerks.
Others are vast, sprawling networks of bureaucrats spread over numerous offices throughout the Realm.
The Thousand Scales’ primary hub is the Imperial City; most administration buildings stand in the Imperial Palace’s shadow.
Large ministries claim entire buildings as their own, while other structures contain the offices of several smaller ministries.
Although still reflecting the grandeur of the Empress’s domain, many of these edifices have a certain utilitarian sameness to them, as though designed to be interchangeable.
Many major ministries maintain branch offices elsewhere in the Realm, especially in prefectures populous or remote enough that it’s impractical to funnel their administration through the Imperial City.
Some branch offices are in purpose-built urban structures; others occupy rural estates donated by local families or reassigned by Imperial edict.
The Empress built in checks and balances to limit the power held by any single ministry.
The Humble and Honest Assessors of the Imperial Tax collect huge sums of wealth, but can’t spend one obol without approval from the Treasury.
The Imperial Treasury is responsible for the Realm’s vast fortune, but relies on the Honest Assessors to fill the coffers in the first place.
These overlapping responsibilities also serve as failsafes if a ministry is compromised. Should a corrupt minister and her staff be removed, their responsibilities will go neglected. But as other ministries perform similar functions, the bureaucracy can carry on until suitable replacements are found.
The Empress sometimes merged lesser ministries or divided ministries that had grown large and unwieldy into lesser bureaus, making their exact number difficult to pin down.
Parent Organization
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