Summoned Conference (Lein)

An Imperial Conference with Summons (Itrani: Hakure mo-nanatanon ne-i-Taitere, literally 'Conference with Summons of the Empire) is a specially convened sort of Imperial Conference, whereby additional 'summoned' members of the Imperial and regional governments will also be in attendance to present their views and information. The numbers of people being summoned to attend conferences can reach the hundreds, though normally around 40 or 50 are summoned.

Summoned Conferences are not often convened, certainly not a matter of routine, and most of the time are called only in reaction to large-scale crises or natural disasters. As the saying goes, "Conference summons are as pigeons in the Tandusar cliff holes" (The Tandusar cliffs are a series of cliffs rising nearly 80 metres above the Meidorien River; their narrowness means that in event of massive flooding the river may reach halfway up the cliffs, driving out the pigeons and creating the sort of catastrophe that would necessitate a summoned conference).

History

While Imperial Conferences were a commonplace event even in dynasties before the Lein, and became a crucial part of decision-making during the dynasty, no provisions were made for adding exra members to the conferences in case of emergency; the chain of command of the ministries was seen as sufficient to deal with most issues. The first case of people being summoned specifically for an Imperial Conference, from outside the capital, therefore, was not during the reign of Lein Durun the Founding Emperor but rather Lein Kasan, the second Emperor, during whose reign the Anaman River burst its banks in massive flooding that killed nearly 30,000 people and left a million homeless; deciding that the chain of command was far too slow, he drafted an urgent letter to be sent to all major local officials in the region, as well as logistics officials of surrounding provinces, demanding information and plans to be sent to the capital as soon as possible. This letter, starting "The Empire orders the presence..." (Itrani: "Taitere pures nasalur..."), a beginning which has since become known to the general public and is sometimes used as a saying to indicate a calamity, eg. The harvest this year is such the Empire is ordering my presence.