The Imperial Military serves as the martial might of the Empire of Daqin, and traces its roots all the way back to Termination over a hundred years ago. Its name to them is Dìguó Jūnshì (帝国军事) however, and literally translates to "Empire Military". As it is charged with protecting the empire, its interests and its core citizens, the Jūnshì is entirely composed of Daqinren citizens of the empire, with Non-Daqinren third class citizens being barred from service. As a result, both the complete loyalty and combat efficiency of the military is assured. Its military culture is also unique amongst the nations descended from Earth, as the base person is a Zhànshì (战士) or "Warrior", with all the traditional connotations. Strictly first class citizens, their general role in society is dictated at birth, with their specific role and rank being determined as part of graduation. As a result, they fight to protect the empire and bring honor to their production batch or family despite receiving a salary. In sharp comparison, a second class citizen is referred to as Shìbīng (士兵) or "Soldier", and is an employed professional.

Though its navy includes older ships dating over a hundred years back to its very founding, these vessels are relegated to use as functional museums, training new warriors and soldiers. Instead, its military might is contained in its newest ships, which constitute the bulk of its navy. Battleships are the norm for the other nations descended from Earth, but the Empire has pioneered the technology necessary to make fighter craft fully viable in space, with both types of vessels being present in their lineup. Despite this though, they prefer to use faster, more agile and flexible cruisers, light carriers, frigates, destroyers, and corvettes whenever they can benefit far more through the use of finesse and skill.

Unlike most of its Earth descended peers, the Jūnshì primarily relies on its trans-human capabilities in order to hone its capability into a lethal edge. All warriors and soldiers are programmed with the knowledge, information and know-how to do their jobs, very quickly making them viable as unpracticed but well studied combatants from the very beginning of their careers. The majority of the Jūnshì's time spent with fledgling warriors and raw recruits is instead focused on training, honing their skills and developing them through drill and practice. Warriors and soldiers go through augmented reality inside modular rooms where their senses of perception towards the training objects is altered to fit whatever scenario they need, ranging from door to door urban warfare to the engineering skills necessary to maintain their high-end weapons and vehicles.

Due to its more physical nature though, augmented reality is used more sparingly as periodic testing instead, with the vast majority of their training being within the confines of full immersion virtuality. Here, reality bends and warps at the instructors' wills as time is accelerated to suit their needs. The training sessions that occur within its confines can vary from quick room entry to complex battlefield scenarios. Despite this though, some of their very first training starts with the trainees reliving the history of Daqinren servitude as the Zhùlǐ, as well as the Termination and the following escape. Though it is embellished, the history based role play scenarios include additional encounters to drastically increase the difficulty, and is tailored to target second class citizens, indoctrinating them in the process.

Following this, fledglings and recruits often tackle the following standardized, normal VR training with additional enthusiasm. Having been indoctrinated, their mental states and psychology are also assessed and also trained as they are prepared for the final exams. Though there are several components to it, the most punishing and brutal aspect of it consists of a fully fleshed out scenario where they are defending the Dàqín Dìguó from the combined might of several invading human nations. Though its virtual nature means that the real-time spent is relatively short, the warrior and soldier candidates effectively spend several weeks under siege or counter-attacking, their performance constantly assessed. And perhaps most importantly, the trainees no longer realize that they are in a virtual reality simulation, and believe that the end of the empire is a real, tangible possibility. 'Early' deaths are mentally blocked for the duration of training from both the individual and their cohorts, only for them to be reinserted so that they may continue training. These trainees are only allowed to 'die' during 'Hell Week', the last seven days that determines the most elite of operators. Throughout the entire process, they are psychologically assessed and analyzed as well during this stressful, trying time.

Should they pass, they become the most battle hardened, experienced warriors and soldiers feared by humanity, with a short training tour on board one of the empire's museum ships to both decompress, and be reminded just why they fight.


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Equipment of the Dìguó Jūnshì is generally considered to be the best known to humanity, and its performance in the field makes this very clear. Rather than relying on traditional armor plate carriers for an example, their average soldier wears a vacuum rated bodysuit with energy shielding, something rarely seen even on powered armor among human nations. Meanwhile, their assault rifles are capable of firing smart-rounds when needed, curving shots around corners to hit targets. And perhaps most daunting of all, is their use of super carriers. Due to all space faring vessels traveling in the same medium, the age of the battleship had returned. Right until the Daqinren implemented technology allowing small craft to out-accelerate much larger ships with ease.

Their technology isn't simply advanced however. The Daqinren minds responsible for engineering their equipment made sure that it all even looked the part, their form kept well in mind despite function being prioritized. For this reason, their ships can feature sleek and elegant lines to exude the sense of refined, elegant might, or hard, stealthy angles to give off a predatory menace. As a result, their ships are slightly decorative without being overly so with the implementation of fins, protrusions and the like that also serve various purposes such as radiating heat, housing sensors and so forth.

The Ranks of the Dìguó Jūnshì are inherited from those used in mainland China and Taiwan dating back to the early 20th Century. Despite this, there are unique idiosyncrasies present, such as their fighting force primarily consisting of Warriors instead of Soldiers, with the distinction being that they are a dedicated caste of society that expect to serve for life. For this reason, they are abnormally heavy in the equivalent to warrant officers and officers due to lifelong careers. In order to attempt and compensate for difficulties in establishing the chain of command, more emphasis is placed on who is granted what position, those given the positions around those positions, and the titles that those positions grant. However, this is ripe for exploitation, politicking and the like, but this in turn is counterbalanced by the Daqinren's ability to rapidly 'troubleshoot' using their networked connection.