The Turks

[Adrian II]

The Turks are alot of fun.

Aye.

't Is true that in the beginning your Turks are dirt poor.
However, a smart Sultan has ways and means of overcoming penury.

1. Ransom
   Your starting army is more than adequate to beat the Byzantines, who are rich and who will come more or less straight at you. The Emperor's first attack will be with a spear army. Use you mobile missile troops to wear them down, let your Family Members cut them to pieces, then let the horse archers wrap up those pieces. Collect a handsome ransom and then some (yes, I'm a poet). Rinse and repeat until you have taken Nicaea.
2. Trade
   Your starting merchants have decent finance traits. Send them to Antoich and Aleppo to sample the wares. Together they will rake in 250-500 florins in a good year, as well as build up better traits over time. This is important. Merchants should operate in droves, like a 'trade army', with a mercantile genius in the middle and preferably with an assassin around, in order to protect the weaker merchants. By turn 70 they will be making 2000 a year as well as denying income to other factions, which is equally important.
3. Obedience
   Carry out the Council's assignments; this will bring in 500-2000 florins.

As for the steppe peoples, they can be beaten in two ways.

1. In the open field
   Always pick the high ground for a fight, always use spears, poles, and halberds, backed up by tons of arrows and some heavy cavalry.
   
2. Let them lay siege, then counterattack
   I have developed a tactic for 'city warfare' which I may explain in detail at some later stage. The point being that you draw the Mongols to your walls or onto the spears inside your walls, and then slaughter them with arrows and siege artillery. In this way their unique mobility counts for nothing, whereas your cheap and easily replaced spears are employed to maximum effect.

But then I love sieges.

In my French campaign (Hard mode) I took a Mongol stronghold of 800 with an army of 600, and I lost only 45 men. Those culverins are a thing of beauty.. *


İyi Şanslar!

* If you give them time, that is. The trick is to set no limit on battle time. Make sure you have culverins (or other siege guns) ready as reinforcements by the time your first batch is out of ammo. Look for the right spots and angles when you place your guns within walls, either your own or those of the enemy. Some castles (like Acre, where said siege 'miracle' took place) have huge open spaces within the outer ring from which to fire at enemy cannon towers, gates and the like.