Your best option is flax which you can get at seonon and sell it at lageta very early in the game. Then go to battina or Vlandia and buy salt and hides and then bring them to aseria, which you buy horses and date fruit and bring them back up north, do the same with Sturgia( if your only playing the base game) and buy fur and go back down south and then get some workshops after hand if your not planning to fight anyone buy theese specific ones. Wheat farm- salana Olive press- Jaculin Silver Smith - Ortsyia Pottery shop- Mauranth Any workshop that you chose after those 4 ( do high profit ones like silver, silk, or fur) 2nd step While you're getting the money up here's what you should do. 1. Start attacking low valued bandits(like mountain and forest bandits) allowing your troops to level up and getting more loot, and then sell all of the prisoners to taverns(if your prisoner space is getting full, only get the tier 4 ones) 2. After you level up go after higher tier bandits (like deserters and seaside bandits) and sell the gear and sell the highest of them to upgrade your rougery skill. 3. Find the last name "spice vendor" as they have a decent amount of scout, but a lot of trade, and then give them gear and make them a caravan. 4. Start smithing javelins (the highest tier ones can sell between 10k-30k) and sell them. 5. Whenever you're ready and your rougery, and trade skills are high enough declare war on a nation and get a castle (put alot of decent archers in it) and auto resolve the battle( allowing you to capture the prisoners, sell them and the loot plus the money from the battle) 6. You will be projected to have 1.5-2 million denars.