@EatyerGreens

Sir, I think you have the makings of a Player Supreme!

Your comments and questions have opened up to the true meat of the discussion, and very reminiscent of the old pre-RTW Org, when *deep* discussion was the norm.

I composed an overly long response, which I need to edit, and hope to post over the weekend in a separate thread as the response is beyond the scope of this thread.

Worst case scenario is that, however many troops you have, you still feel unable to attack outwards and still have enough left behind to do the defending. Result? Stagnation, boredom, corrupt generals, progressively failing economy... civil war maybe?
Boredom? Hardly.

Just got to expand your Strategum.

Good comments, great questions, right though pattern.

Mastering TW is a matter of process, and takes a bit of time.

STW/MTW are masterpieces, and possibly the greatest PC games of all time. The only rivial in terms of advanced gaming, I think, is Far Cry.

Have you read Sun Tzu's, "Art of War"?

The solutions to all your questions are in his writings. As stated by The Creative Assebmly, Shogun: Total War is based upon the precipes of his teachings.

TS