Hello & questioning about difficulties level of playing

[Hideyoshi]

Hello everybody, this is my very first topic on this forum, even if I often read it.

That's for hello, now questionning

First a little self-background and mind-state(?*état d'âme*) :
I am a great fan of Rome Total War (no kidding!) and mostly of the total realism mod. Now I'm still playing it.
It's a very good mod, very well documented, a lot of historical units and provinces, etc. I guess a lot of you know this mod very well

At my sence, the major *défaut* is that it's very, very easy - I always play hardest difficulties. Maybe it's inherent in Rome Total War AI but once you started you're faction -even the hardiest to play-, economy stabilized and close dangerous ennemy armies destroyed/reduced, the ennemies are not reactive at all and its too easy to play.

Ex : My last game is with the greek cities states. About my territory I just keep the original provinces, plus most of the macedonian provinces, the Hellespontus, minor asian took from the Seleucid, Daughter-cities reconquered (Massilia, north Black sea cities) and half of egypt. Finally most of the original hellenist world.
Now I am very stuck in the game because every nation around me are, either or into my protectora, either or my allies.
As soon as they attack me (often for stupid reason and in very wrong way), I easily eradicate all of their armies and, if it's needed, after eliminated a lot of population from some of their cities, I force them into protectora (I often give back the city conquered retaliatory) - even the seleucid accept it , while they have greater territories and armies than me.
That's very ennoying. . Then where is the challenge ?

Piuuuuf, it's a lot to explain my point but I think it's needed to my question :

Will Hegemonia be very hard ? Will it be possible to play political/diplomatical act like it was in the antic world ?

I explain : actually, I very enjoying reading Herodotus and Thucydide, I can read it's a very great difficulty to rise army and support it against any ennemies - (no need to read Herodotus et Thucydide to know that )
I wondering if it will be the same in Hegemonia ? By using, by example, an higher cost to keep an army in campaign and less rate population to rise for the army, and so on.

Do you understand what I'm trying to say ?
If you anything to say about it, please I'm just waiting for your comments

If you need any precision, dont hesitate.
thanks in advance.

NB : English is not my mothertong, so be indulgent, I think I often use idiomatic expression directly translated from french and my grammar is very poor.

[Snevets]

Costs will be high and governments interactive. Slaves will be rebellious and units well balanced. I think it will be fair- afterall if you play as a Greek faction you can stablize your economy all you want but sooner or later you're going up against Persia.