Let me talk about the conclusion first: There is no absolute optimal solution to this game, but the biggest problem for novices is not knowing what to do in the early stage. My experience after playing for half a year is that it is a qualitative leap to understand two things first - how to make money and how to survive the early stage.
The first step is to look at your initial values. The three items of treasury, grain, and military strength directly determine whether you can sustain it in the first three years. Many people wanted to build infrastructure and recruit famous officials as soon as they came up. As a result, the economy collapsed and the army had no money to maintain. The backhand was a bunch of incidents, and the more they played, the poorer they became.
The idea I suggest is to ensure cash flow first. The fastest way to make money in the early stage is not to raise taxes, but to trade and raid homes. Although the gains from trade may not look like much, they are more stable and can be obtained as much as possible. It is really good to confiscate a house. Officials who have violated the law in the early stage must not be soft-hearted. The confiscation of a house will last you two months at least. In addition, there is no need to rush to fill up the number of cabinet officials. Priority should be given to securing positions with high salary and cost-effectiveness, and all the money saved will be invested in the army and maintenance.
In terms of military affairs, the initial troop strength is controlled within the range that the training ground can bear. Don't raise an army of 100,000 as soon as you come up. The money will be lost in a hurry, and you will go bankrupt before the enemy is defeated. The steady pace is to ensure that the number of troops in the first year is around 50,000, which is enough to withstand the probing attacks of neighboring countries in conjunction with basic city walls and ordnance. After the treasury has a surplus in the mid-term, it will slowly expand to 100,000 to 150,000. At this stage, almost no one dares to touch you casually.
When it comes to talents, remember one principle: you can never have too many famous ministers, but don't blindly pursue high attributes. In the first three rounds, priority is given to filling in the positions of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War. The attributes do not need to be particularly good, it is enough to have an average level. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment can be placed later, and the impact will not be big in the early stage. There are only two positions that are really worth paying attention to - military advisor and prime minister. As long as you find someone with high IQ or high politics in these two positions, everything you do next will be done with twice the result with half the effort.
I have to be fair about the harem. Although harem standing paintings are popular, they are long-term investments, and overindulgence in the early stage is definitely a pitfall. The most ideal approach is to create an initial concubine at random, save the number of heirs to two or three, and spend all the remaining resources on government affairs. When your economic and military base is stabilized, it's not too late to go back and enjoy your three thousand beauties. The harem is just a dish.
Finally, let's talk about the principles of handling random events. Eighty percent of the random events here are choices between two options, which may seem confusing, but in fact they are all tests of values. There is only one core judgment criterion: choose the one with the least loss, not the one with the greatest gain. Because the biggest enemy in the early stage is bankruptcy and collapse, not insufficient income. You never guess how much resources the next incident will consume, so being safe is the way to go.
The most fascinating part of this game is here - every choice you make will have a chain reaction. There is no standard answer, it is all a trade-off. But as long as you grasp the lifeblood of the economy, things will get smoother and smoother in the future. I hope this guide can help you avoid detours, get off to a smooth start, and become a real emperor as soon as possible!