Making Money

[Askthepizzaguy]

If you end up with peace agreements and hostilities cease with your neighbors, keep a border garrison, maybe a half stack of re-enforcements, and get rid of any superfluous units (especially non-high ranked high upkeep units like cavalry).

When i first started playing, i always wondered why my income was low, until i realized that last mission I completed gave me 4 units of 250 upkeep cavalry which basically drained 1000 florins every turn they sat around doing nothing

P..p...peas... gree... mens?

What is this... "pease aggreemens" you speak of? I am familiar with the term hostilities, but peace?

I love it when I am gifted massive amounts of insane cavalry for completing a mission. Aim them at the nearest small rebel stack and win a free general!

Now, call a crusade, hire a few mercs, and go take down an empire or three.

[Poncho400]

Yea, don't let good soldiers fill your cities as garrisons (unless they have free garrison). I personally keep a small peasant garrison in each city to help with public order. I'm taking all the units I've built while fighting now extinct factions and guarding vulnerable settlements, and I'm going to throw them at my close enemy. This will rid myself of enemies on my borders (I'll have an ally and two neutrals), get rid of unneeded troops without disbanding them, and further exapand my empire. Once I've done that, I can stick to keeping small garrisons and build up my bank account. Once I get a sizeable amount, I can rebuild a massive army to once again expand.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Interesting point I absolutely HAVE to make:

Latest HRE campaign (the legend-in-the-making) involved taking the entire map as quickly as possible. I got excommunicated.

There wasn't even a single riot in my vast empire. None.

Not even pathetically undefended Jerusalem.

Why?

Glory bonus and fear. The more rivals you destroy, the more places you sack, the stronger you are and the higher your public order rating.

Public order becomes no concern at all once you've slain a few empires. So do it quickly and win a crusade or jihad.

Then crank taxes to maximum and watch money problems disappear as quickly as your enemies.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Unless you do plan to blitz at the start, I've found your economy develops a lot better with low tax rates. The growth brought about by having low taxes soon brings in more cash than high taxes on a smaller population. In addition, this gets you high chivalry Generals that can massively increase growth in your settlements. In my current Turkish campaign, Caesarea was a Citadel by the time I got the eastern horde message, and was training Qapukulu by the time they arrived.

[Askthepizzaguy]

I actually find that the strategy of lumping 8 or more generals together and going on a VERY QUICK crusade or jihad, and having them all take the target in a single stack nets you 8+ high chivalry (5+) governors.

FAR more effective than lowering taxes.

Admittedly a useless strategem for Orthodoxies.

[Rhyfelwyr]

The problem with that though, especially with Crusades, is that your high chivalry characters may all be on the other side of the map, with no way to get home except fighting or annoying everyone by walking on their land. In my current campaign as the Turks, I'm letting some characters gain chivalry through having low taxes in cities, and I send the ex-Jihading characters to my castle settlements.

I only have one dread character in that campaign right now, mostly because he picked up a very cool ancillary I have never seen before, the Dread Knight. Looks like something out of warhammer...

Anyway, through having low taxes, building religious buildings, and not building brothels etc, my Generals in cities typically pick up at least 6 chivalry, while the low taxes themselves contribute to growth.

[glyphz]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I only have one dread character in that campaign right now, mostly because he picked up a very cool ancillary I have never seen before, the Dread Knight. Looks like something out of warhammer...

Anyway, through having low taxes, building religious buildings, and not building brothels etc, my Generals in cities typically pick up at least 6 chivalry, while the low taxes themselves contribute to growth.

Dread knight retinue sounds pwnage! What are its stats? and might you know you got it/triggered getting one. i'd add that quick to my already dread FLeader (8dread despite being a grand crusader, due to assasins).

Oh another (?): So generals in cities w/ low taxes (or is it normal)will add to his chivalry? Wouldn't he get something like sloppy taxman or later worse?