First Game on Very Hard

[caravel]

Having played considerably far into the English Medieval campaign I felt I understood the game enough to go for a harder challenge. And while I understand the game fully, I did not expect just how hard the enemy would be on Very Hard!
I went the Scots on the Viking Campaign and the first disaster stuck when my province in Ireland rebelled and the rebels decimated me. I then gathered what forces I had and attacked the rebel province south of my lands on mainland Britain. Again, the rebels decimated me!
Now I never play games on anything less that their hardest unless Im learning how to play it. And Im sure that in Medieval, like in Rome, the AI gets a morale bonus on Very Hard.
However as an example, I charged a unit of armoured spearmen with two full units of Highland Clansman followed by a cavalry charge in their rear. First of all, the Spearmen weren't even close to breaking and second, they beat up my three regiments so badly that they all fled!
So what exactly does Very Hard give the AI in Medieval? Steroids?

I assume you're referring to "expert" difficulty? If so then what you're experiencing is the effects of a morale bonus in the favour of the AI. For the beginner this can be quite unfair. For those that understand the nuances of the game, it can be an exploit because the enemy doesn't rout as easily, giving more kills to the player units, and thus greater valour. I'd advise you to stick to the "hard" difficulty. IIRC, If you're auto-calcing battles it will be an even bigger disaster, because that morale bonus is taken into account for autocalc also.