Need help in the early-mid-game

So, after getting my renoun up high enough that I can pledge myself to a king, and after my army has helped enough in a campaign to start being given fiefs. I have no idea how to proceed. I've never gotten any further in either this game or Warband. I usually get to this point, then just.. the game flatlines. I can't seem to get my leadership up high enough to have more than 80 soldiers in my army. It makes defending cities, siegeing cities, and battling other armies incredibly punishing.

I feel like I've got the early game down. Tournaments, hideouts, raiders, selling loot and prisoners. That's all I do, and it's quite fun. But once I'm given cities I have to defend, idk, all my upward momentum immediately halts. I try to join other battles and sieges, but then the king keeps giving me more and more castles and cities I can't defend. I can't build up a big enough army to hold my own. I just end up hiding around my city while I slowly lose money or get sieged.

I could really use some pointers. I generally just start a new character at this point in the game because from clan rank 0 to clan rank 2 is the most fun I ever have in the game.

submitted by /u/EremeticPlatypus
[link] [comments]