I would hate you?Originally Posted by O'ETAIPOS
I don't see why I would hate someone who reminds me of something so important. Loot! We can't have realistic attrition/logistics without local loot! In fact vanilla does simulate this for the faction being looted. The tile the enemy army sits on starts to look "scorched", and you get "pillage" penalties in your provincial finances.
Something you forget though, is that a lot of this money is basically just going into the hands of the soldiers who pillage. Varying on the abilities of the commander, little of this loot actually goes to the state treasury. But that's what traits and ancillaries can help with.
The mercenary army, of which Xenophon was a guest, also went through Cilicia. Due to Cyrus being unable to control them properly, they looted the country and wreaked a lot of havoc. Only thanks to Cyrus' diplomatic skills, and good reputation, did he save this dire situation. You remember the part where both monarchs gave eachother presents to patch up the relationship..
How much of the money do you think went directly into Cyrus' treasury? The soldiers were the looters. Most likely he ordered them to give it all back for diplomacy's sake. And to preserve his good reputation.
Hannibal Barka's forces moving through aquitania and the alps would scarcely get much of a bonus.. considering he lost 80`000 men on the march. But once on fertile land, with good celtic allies, he started getting reinforcements and supplies.. The local loot soldiers take from the areas they march over is small pickings compared to the enormous costs of bringing about sufficient logistical operations. But local loot may help alleviate these costs somewhat for an able commander. This is micro compared to macro though.
Allowing an army to loot the countryside is one way of preserving "morale" (god knows that definition is "flexible")..
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