Go to my WiP thread and read the loredump on serfs. The Empress' Demand, formerly Feudalism Simulator 2019: (CANCELLED)
That’s actually a very complicated answer, in that this is still a very feudalistic state. Serf levy makes up most of the vassals’ soldiery, but the Imperial Army is composed entirely of freemen volunteers (there are not many jobs for freemen, with serfs filling up the manual labour industries, so the Empire only needs to spread the word that’s there’s pay, and three hot meals a day in the Imperial Army and they’ll sign up of there own accord). The force that’s going to be possibly awarded these campaign medals are all Imperial Army however, and the Imperial Army is far more well-armed and trained than serf levy(hardly any of them have guns, or any weapon that isn’t a repurposed tool).
Basically the Empire owns two million serfs. A quarter of those work in state-owned factories(A very high level of them). The rest work in the fields.
It helpes that they’re one of the only states with functioning currency, and an actual military. So there is no world market, nor can the currency drop in value.