[Squirrelloid]

Depends on initial population.

So, iirc, 10% taxation generates 2 unrest per turn and patrolling away 1 unrest kills 10 population. If i'm misremembering numbers, the below is wrong, but its not that hard to calculate with a spreadsheet.

Assuming only G3 scales, a province that starts with 10k population will, in cumulative income, do better with taxing and patrolling until a whopping 93 turns have passed. (Of course, this assumes you have nothing better to do with the troops patrolling as I'm not counting their upkeep against them here.)

A 5k pop province, however, will net lose population in this situation, and will only be better in terms of income for 45 turns.

So, barring better uses for troops, patrolling is certainly better for 10k pop provinces for most games (since by the time G3 breaks even, the game is basically over.