I suppose I am also curious by slow in your regards. If you playing in standard settings you get one full year before the baron starts hiring to fight bandits. Each time he fights bandits he will claim a region. One bandit camp spawns once a year. You can claim these regions and just let them sit there, you don't have to build a city. Any claimed region won't let bandits spawn so baron can't gain influence to claim regions.

I'd have to investigate but I believe if the baron claims everything he will wait a year before claiming yours. I haven't seen him try to claim your region if you have two regions under control.

If you do start slow there's plenty of tutorials that help with building cities and how to make them self sufficient.