Boardom said:
No, that's not true. Neither manpower or leadership drop, they are just gained at a slower rate when defence spending is reduced. Convert pops also nets you less manpower, so befor eyou convert a pop to soldiers pause and set defence to full, convert and lower again. Having full defence spending will alos net you prestiege over time. Reducing army main just means there are fewer men per division. Ships lose strength when navy maint is lowered.