Unfortunately, C'Tis (and others) can still get a hefty chunk of essentially free gold income by besieging the fortified indie provinces with, for example, a single scout. The besieger gets province income AND can set the tax rate, while the owner of the castle gets only administrative income - something that I learned the hard way in my first map project.
Let's hope that in the future there will be a command to set indie troops on patrol...
