Farming barbarian camps and NPC kingdoms for loot

Barbarian camps and NPC free cities are the safest way to grow because they do not retaliate against your kingdom. Camps like the Wolves, Ravens and Serpents hold food, wood and gold plus a defending garrison, and NPC kingdoms such as the Free City of Dunmar carry a defence bonus and bigger loot. Start with the weakest camps, bring enough army to win cleanly, and use the loot to fund buildings and more troops. Farming NPCs is how new rulers snowball an economy without picking fights they cannot win. Read your battle report afterwards to see how much you carried home versus how many troops you lost, and adjust your army size so raids stay profitable.