Optimizing your county income.

[unmerged(613712)]

Hi there ! I play for a little while now, and was wondering how to maximize my income. I came up with few theories myself, but wanted to see how you guys do it !

So we're talking in the strict economy-technology point of view, leaving all other aspect aside. We admit playing with Small Feudal taxation, Harsh city and church taxation.

1st : Who's in charge of county you dont own personnally ? Do you put à Bishop, Lord-Mayor or a classic count ? I go with the obvious here, i give the county to the burgher of the city, but i might be wrong x)

2nd : Let say i own the Brugge county. So i start with one castle, one church, two cities and 3 free slot. Do you :

A - Save gold to 800 (then 900, then 1k) to fill the 3 slot with city as fast as possible ?

B - Build all income batiment (market, harbour etc) in the 2 existant cities before filling empty slot ?

C - Build all income batiment in all of your actual building (aka castle church + the 2 cities) before filling empty slot ?

D - Rush University in the 2 cities first before going A, B or C ?

To your keyboard folks !

 

[Pode]

You get taxes and troops from your direct vassals only. The AI sets its laws to the default settings every chance it gets, and even then there seems to be a glitch in calculating your income from vassals of vassals. So if you're after gold, you want to give counties to Lord Mayors, full stop. Coastal cities get the harbor chain of improvements, which almost doubles their income. Making a Lord Mayor into a Doge doubles it again. So I make all my coastal duchies into republics for cash and all my inland ones dukes for the troops.
I set my laws like yours, so that everyone gives me at least some tax and some troops. Cities and churches get harsh tax, minimal troops, nobles get small tax and full levies. Under these settings, the village/town chain in your own castles gives the most income increase, followed by town/harbor in vassal cities, then village in churches. I built my own income, then the church schools, then the first level of village in my cities and churches, then walls and troop buildings in my castles. Once a vassal has the first income building in his holding, he'll start to improve it himself and save you the gold, especially if he's got more than one holding. I like to give all the cities in one county to the same mayor for this reason.
I'm reluctant to build a new city (anything really, but especially something so expensive as a city) until I know that I'll be holding that province in my desmesne come hell or high water for the rest of the game. Ditto for universities, though the earlier you build them the more worthwhile they are. So IMO, rush the land that will be your ultimate desmesne, then build income in it, then church schools, then cities, then universities.