Edict 1SZ-11-01

To the Grand Secretariat, 

''While we appreciate the work done by regional officials in sending in the figures regarding their harvests and other production in the year, we note with unease that these numbers remain wildly inconsistent, and provide almost no basis by which we can understand the strength of the Empire. ''

''If we do not know the resources which the Empire can actually marshal, it seems impossible that the Court can ever use our strength to the best benefit. Even as we are proposing initiatives and policies for the benefit of people, how do we know what works well, and how do we know where we should put our efforts first? ''

''While we do not have answers to these questions at present, we instruct that you conceive of ways for us and the Court at large to answer these pressing questions. ''

''In the meantime, despite our unease, the work of government must go on, and we therefore approve of these numbers and send them on. But to expect that next year will bring yet the same mess will not be reasonable. We command that something be done about this, and soon. ''