The Ministries
King Xavier has divided the responsibilities of governing into seven ministries. Each Minister is a nobleman, chosen from the ranks of the Council of Nobles by the King and approved by the same council. Most minister have been in their positions for years.
Several of the ministries include their own armed forces. These forces often draw personnel from the Royal Forces, but are not under the command of the Minister of War. These forces have higher standards than most, and are very selective of who is brought in.
The Ministers are:
- The Minister of Agriculture
- The Minister of Commerce
- The Minister of Industry
- The Minister of Justice
- The Minister of the Diplomats
- The Minister of the Treasury
- The Minister of War
The Minister of Agriculture
The Minister of Agriculture works maximize the impact of the Kingdom’s agricultural output.
Farming makes up a considerable part of the Kingdom’s economy, and the Minister of Agriculture has a large staff to coordinate the yields. The Minister is in charge of setting requirements and quotas, and assists the Treasury with crops collected as taxes.
The Minister of Commerce
Minister of Commerce is responsible for overall economic growth.
Still a largely agrarian based kingdom, the Commerce Ministry works to build up commercial interests that attract both nobility and well-off commoners. Some of the agricultural conglomerates are born of these efforts.
The Minister of Industry
Minister of Industry works to maintain and promote industrial growth.
None of the territories that became North Mississippi had extensive industrial capabilities when they were annexed, usually boiling down to domestic goods and minor military equipment. This ministry has been working to build up more trade-friendly industries, but has had more success with agricultural equipment to increase farm yields.
The Minister of Justice
The Minister of Justice is responsible for law and order, the high courts, and maintain the civilian prisons.
Because much of the day to day activity is accomplish by the county yeomen and magistrates, the Justice Ministry is much smaller than it is in most other countries.
The ministry includes two armed forces, the Regiment of Bailiffs and the Prison Troopers.
The Minister of the Diplomats
The Minister of Diplomats is responsible for maintaining embassies and working towards treaties.
The smallest of the Ministries, it is also the most prestigious. From the Embassy Troopers sent to guard the embassies to the bureaucrats and assistants, every representative of North Mississippi is vetted considerably.
This ministry includes its own armed force, the Embassy Troopers.
Prince Leopold, Crown Prince of North Mississippi, currently serves in this Ministry, as the Ambassador to the Margrave at Halifax.
The Minister of the Treasury
The Treasury is responsible for the minting of coins, printing of money, regulating financial institutions, and collecting taxes.
Since many taxes are collected in the form of agricultural products or trade goods, both the Agricultural and Industrial ministries are involved in tax collection.
The Treasury has its own armed force, the Revenue Troopers, who protect the tax columns and gold reserve.
The Minister of War
The Minister of War, as the civilian head of the Royal Forces, is responsible for the regulation of military law, expenditure of funds, and the procurement of equipment and conscripts.
Though not normally within the chain of command, the fact that Herschel Robinson is both the Marshal of the Army and the Minister of War means that has influence across every branch of the military.