I think CA was originally planning on having captured enemies sold as slaves and therefore raise revenues. Of course, political correctness and all, they couldn't sell that to kiddies. That's probably also why they scrapped the slave market idea.
And yet it will also hurt the kiddies to see a historically accurate Egypt, nevermind the constant bloodbath that are the battles...

I generally get very bored chasing defenseless routers because there's just no sport in it; they can't ever fight back and they die on contact with your troops.
In MTW, you could lose troops to routers - the would turn and fight pursuers occasionally...