Merchants: Suggested tactic's and deployment area's

[Omisan]

This is all too complicated and time consuming for me. I played entire games making tons of cash without ever using merchants.

Unless I have a quick access to Timbuktu, I don't use merchants at all. And even when you control the entire Timbuktu/Arguin region with skilled(but not maxed) merchants on every resources, it only generates the same amount of money as one good large city.