Any tips for Zhen Jiang campain at beginning ?

[Tzenka]

I'm not able to get a nice start, whatever I tried around tunrs 5-11 there is always someone coming to rekt me while I don't have the ressources to have a better army.

I'm playing on normal ...

[TDBD-SEBN]

on normal I fight Yaun Shao until he just was subjugated to the idea of being a tribute. then everything from then kinda snowball. once you have the money from him, you can fast buy any building in commandary. then declare on him again, take some lands and fast buy. repeat until he vanished. try to take all small factions out first before he vassalized them. seek alliance through whoever also hated Yaun Shao and willing to form coalition with you. usually Yaun Shu is the guy for you to secure the south land, make peace with Dong Min after taking the lands to the west so that you only fight one front. Zheng Jiang is the richest campaign ever. she's only hard at the beginning.

[Tzenka]

Well it's really worst than that, I feel stuck between Zhang Yan who won't make peace with me without robbing my money and the Hans army who come attack if they are sure to win, or try to ambush when I camp a city.

Even if I have a pact with Zhang Yan the Hans are really annoying, I can't attack them but they come if I try to expand elsewhere...

So I don't know if the issue is making wrong moves /diplomacy (I tried a lot of different things), wrong army composition ?
Am I supposed to win battle that the game says I shouldn't ?

Should I wait for money ?
Warhammer 2 + Cao Cao campaign gave me the habit of doing a fast conquest and the feeling that a slow beginning gives you a hard campain.

I'm gonna play the other bandit faction until I get better I guess.

[Trolleur_Durden]

Yes, you can definitely win battles that would end in defeat through auto-resolve. I'm playing in Records and hard difficulty, and I always manage to win battles that are fairly even (when the auto-resolve says it's gonna be a valiant defeat or close defeat).

[Ultrabot]

Take the first settlement, then get down to that toolmaker. Wait on the border for one turn to muster + more troops. Once you've taken the toolmaker, split off the sentinel class from your army, and leave him there. Hire the strategist for your main army and head back to your first town.

At some point, Dong Zhou's armies will attack the toolmaker, you can win that battle. Maybe hire a couple more archers with the sentinel you left there. Meanwhile, head north and attack the bandit king, take that settlment to the north, he will now come to you, you can fight a defensive battle and beat him, then march your army round to finish him off.

Meanwhile your southern army, having defeated Dong Zhou's forces, can march on that fishing port to the west.

You need to be very aggressive. Don't worry too much about hugging the red early on.

[Tzenka]

Oh thanks a lot I'm gonna try that.
I wouldn't have thought of splitting the army

[Ultrabot]

Sell items, or use them to bargin for agreements as well.

Your first assignment, you can put in your first town for extra food, which you can also sell.

[Tzenka]

And thank you I didn't notice we could fast buy buildings ....
Now it's really easier ...

[NoDeSlip]

I yet to start her campagin but what are the few reforms to take for her at the start?

[Snakeox]

Here is my strat on very hard, should work for normal:

Take the first settlement then rush Zhang Yan north of your starting pos, he will be busy and away from his town.

Then just finish him and conquer every outpost to the south until you reach the yellow river.

By this time Dong Zuo will be busy fighting AI's and won't bother you too much so you can expand west.

Don't upgrade building since you may need to field 2 armies and will probably have negative income, just loot and occupy when you can to get cash and infamy.

And stack archer militas, those are cheap af to hire and keep around.

Also save scum, a lot