Director of Passengers

The Director of Supernumeraries (冗人令, njung-njin-mlings), or more coarsely translated as Director of Superfluous Persons, is an officer of the Inner Court of Themiclesia. The office had a multitude of functions before the modern period, but the most important one was in relation to the Themiclesian Navy, where the office holder managed the fleets' "supernumerary persons", i.e. personnel onboard that were not directly involved in sailing.

History

Director

The history of the Director of Supernumeraries is linked to that of the Themiclesian Navy. Originating as a fleet of commercial ships, converted to warships, that protected merchant fleets in the 4th century, the operation was annexed to the state in 761, following the newly-established Dzi Dynasty's desire for conquest across the Halu'an Sea and beyond. The Dzi Dynasty is noted as the only one founded by a man of military background in Themiclesia, and it is accepted the annexation of the fleet is a diversional tactic employed by the Emperor Kaw-tsung to gloss over his suspicious ascension to the throne. As an organic institution, the pre-761 fleet operated on a complex set of obligations of "league merchants" that paid sureties to the government to receive protection at sea. Shipbuilders were bound to supply a certain number of warships to the government for the privilege of accessing government forests, while merchant guilds supplied the mariners that operated them at sea. On top of this, merchants also paid a custom duty to the government, on items exported and imported.

When the fleet was annexed to the state, the shipbuilding operation was turned over to the oversight of the Director of West Woods (西章令), the composition of fleets and their schedules to the Director of Fleets (航令), the training of naval officers to the Director of Naval Officers (海官令), the management of crafting houses and sourcing of supplies to the Director of Naval Engineers (海寺工令), the management of ports to the Director of Ports and Passes (津關令), and everything else to the Director of Supernumeraries. This division of duty is assumed to be derived directly from the pre-762 consortium, hence the committee-style management atypical for any military organization. Historians have noted that the Themiclesian Army had a functional fleet that fought naval battles in the Great Lake (situated between Themiclesia and Maverica), but this fleet was evidently not linked to the one annexed in 762. Hence, all six new directors reported to the Privy Treasurer and the Secretary of State for Appropriations, rather than the Secretary of State for War.

During the latter part of the Dzi Dynasty, the role of the Director of Supernumeraries became increasingly financial. Earlier, he would have been more determinative in setting the objectives of each of his subordinates. Fleet formation and routes were provided by the Director of Fleets, the crew was provided by the Director of Naval Officers, and the remainder by the Director of Supernumeraries. Once a mission was over, the fleet and its crew would be disbanded. But by the 11th century, the establishment had consolidated into two fleets that each possessed, more or less, a permanent leadership structure. Once these structures appeared, the components of his office gradually migrated to the fleet and away from his control. The Director of Supernumeraries could only influence the staffing of "supernumeraries" by altering the budgets he placed in them. On the other hand, his duty in collecting taxes also became more prominent, attributed to the growth of overseas commerce.

After the Dzi Dynasty, the two fleets completely took over the jurisdiction of the Director of Supernumeraries. According to military historian Thomas Barter, this was "the natural step in developing a more advanced navy, where different components of a fighting force become more tightly integrated and less attached to its source". However, the Director of Supernumeraries remained in control of pay and ranking of "supernumeraries"; this survives into the modern day, as evidenced by doctors, nurses, procurement officers, and several other small departments of the Navy having their own rank structure. Meanwhile, as Themiclesia's control over the seas and Hemithea receded in the 1600s, the Director of Supernumeraries lost influence further; in response, the collection of tariffs was brought home to Themiclesia's coast.

Subordinates

The subordinates of the Director of Supernumeraries are difficult to quantify at times. Generally, after Themiclesia had established trading ports in Hemithea in the 700s and in Portcullia in the 900s, it fell to the Director of Supernumeraries to govern the commercial order in them. This is an extension of the pre-762 consotrium's duty of collecting taxes in foreign places, whenever it was felt the parties that accessed Themiclesian facilities should compensate the consortium's protection of that facility. The payables were mostly levied on Themiclesian merchants who used them, as member of the trading consortium. This would suggest the state had a hand in managing the antecedent of the Navy long before it was annexed in 762. When the number of ports increased, the original Administrator of Commerce was split into three, one managing the west coast of Hemithea, one, the Halu'an coast, and the other the north coast of Meridia and on Portcullia.

The Administrator of Pharmaceuticals and of Physicians are two distinct officers created at different times. From the earliest days of sailing, the consortium had a relationship with physicians' guilds in the coastal towns. The physicians' guild would supply a number of physicians for the fleet, while the fleet would return with usable medicinal herbs and minerals found abroad. The Administrator of Physicians co-ordinated the distribution of physicians in the fleet and their stationment in port cities, while the Administrator of Pharmarceuticals led a panel of experts to seek out useful medicinal ingredients in the localities where the fleet landed. As harvesting of medicine and description of their functions was a highly-skilled task, they were managed by an official separately. The duties of the Administrator of Many Things remains mysterious. It is possible it was not an office at all, but a general name for other administrators that were less important or ephemeral. The Director of Supernumeraries was responsible for the procurement of many resources that would have required temporary bureaucracies, and it seems most likely the "Administrator(s) of Many Things" catered to these temporary needs.

The Director of Supernumeraries also controlled what would become the Themiclesian Marine Corps. It is unclear what their original duties were, but the name indicates they were stationed in the rear cabin (舫). One possibility is that they were reserve sailors, in case those on duty were not available; that early records suggest they were able to navigate by starlight has been cited as proof. Another possibility is that they were servants or apprentices of the sailors onboard, which also agrees with some historical records; however, this conflicts with the duties of the Director of Naval Officers. A third possibility is that they were naval infantry from institution, but there is no record of any infantry-like activity, specific to them, until the capture of Portcullia. Some argue that the suspicion of the military during the Mrangs Dynasty (542–752) led to the erasure or suppression of records that described their duties, though this remains heavily controversial.

Structure

The structure of the Director of Supernumeraries' department fluctuated dramatically during the first few centuries of its establishment, reflecting the changing structure of the Navy in its formative phases. The following represents the organization in the 1100s, after the Navy's broad structure had settled.

• Director of Supernumeraries 冗人令
  • Secretary of Supernumeraries 冗人丞
  • Administrator of Commerce of Ngjep 岌市長
  • Administrator of Commerce of the East 東部市長
  • Administrator of Commerce of the West 西部市長
  • Administrator of Finance 緡長
  • Administrator of Many Things 諸長
  • Administrator of Pharmaceuticals 藥長
  • Administrator of Physicians 醫長
  • Captain of the North Sea Marines 北部舫人長
  • Captain of the South Sea Marines 南部舫人長

See also

• Themiclesia