Hey, where can I get peasants like that?

[Viking]

That`s what happens with loyalist revolts. I guess when that settlement revolted to WREs favour, the only intact building that could produce military units was the governor building, hence all the money the AI got for this purpose was spended on peasants. This works in the same way as in custom\MP battles, so the wealthier the settlements is, the more money it spend per unit(armor\weapon\experience upgrades).

[Conqueror]

They are the golden peasants. I've had plenty of battles against them since I raided many ERE cities, burning the unit production buildings and letting them revolt. The peasants are very difficult to break in melee, but they are vulnerable to archery fire. Massed HA will beat them in open field.

[Sin Qua Non]

Ha, I had forgotten about the golden peasants! I believe they were also in RTW 1.0. Where the hell were they when I was recruiting units from that city? Their gold chevrons would have come in helpful then!