Hi,

Sorry if this has been covered before a lot. I was wondering whether anyone uses economic warfare much?

By this, I mean the usual thing of blockading ports and taking merchants over. However, I'm also wondering about putting in harrying cavalry units into enemy territories to block roads, and so trade (does this work?).

I'm playing as Byzantium and the Poles are one of the 3 major powers i'm competing with. I have no real desire to take their lands, so i'm really confined to the above, and the odd foray into some of their outlying provinces, sacking and letting them rebel.

I was thinking that by recruiting a bunch of single low-cost horse archer units, I could sit them on enemy roads, and if they are attacked, they can just retreat out of harms way. Hopefully they'll also contribute some desolation their way, to return to a different stretch of road later. I think this approach conforms to what i've read of medieval wars, which were mainly more about harrying the opponents lands and burning their crops, rather than taking their castles.

Anyone else used this tactic (and does it work?)