Mongol unit upkeep should be very small. Mongol horse warriors were expected to fend for themselves during campaigns. No food or fodder was provided to them whatsoever. That's one reason they were so destructive. Also, any city that did not surrender was entirely put to the sword and burned to the ground. Maybe Mongols should only have an "exterminate population" option available, no capture or slave-mongering. Or, if that's not actually possible, just a massive trade penalty. In general, they should be a low-income, low-upkeep type of faction.
Also, are shaolin monks supposed to have 30 defence, including something like 20 armor? The export_descr_unit file states leather armor, which should give you about 4 armour. I don't think I've seen even elite units with an armor rating that high. Their defence skill is only 9, though, which is the same as elite imperial guards. I think that should be a bit higher, like 11, to account to their insane close combat prowess.
This only applies to the monk island shaolin monks, not the mercs.
As to the naval trade issue, without more trade, the Chinese factions are completely handicapped in the second half of gameplay. To get the same balance of income/spending as in vanilla Rome, I had to cut unit costs almost in half.
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