[Executor]

Rdonj, I think you're missing the point of raiding,
you should be doing it as long as it's gem/gold effective for you, which frankly, in this case, isn't.
You're only hurting yourself with those Slanns.

I guess it's only about one more turn of preaching before you advance with the troops and all those priests you have stacked up in Merovia.

Vanishag, I think you would have done much more damage if you stayed inside the fort, beyond the castle gates you stood no chance.

And upkeep problems aren't that big, you really only lose a very small proportion of your army if you can't pay for troops. It takes dozens of turns to lose any significant proportion of troops.