Quote Originally Posted by mikagami
can your number of family members catch up with the number of cities you capture? so how do you manage your cities? by automanage?
There is a check box at the beginning of a campaign, or during a campaign in "game options" -- "Manage All Settlements". Withis box checked you can manually manage all settlements even if there is no family members as governer.

and how do you let captains become generals?
Let them fight battles (and win). A heroic victory almostly certainly gives you a promotion, while a clear victory sometimes. I've also seen it happens when the enemy just decides to retreat with 0 kill on either side.