So, during my first Carthage game to wash off the rust, I did my usual plan of taking Sicily entirely first and waiting for the Romans to peace out. That works, but then the issue that they would constantly contest Corsica with me on lightning attacks became evident. As I had invested quite a bit on the island, including a FM governor, having to retake it every 10-20 turns was a bit of a pain in the ass.

So, current game. I decided to not take Messina this time, to avoid a war with the Romans, and would just face off whatever the Marmetines would throw me there in exchange of some strategic peace. Turns out, they didn't throw a whole lot. Apparently I was mistaken and they don't actually seem to spawn new armies unlike Syracuse. Still, my plan, this time, was to have Garrisons in all settlements just to boost public order (always 60%, even if it ended up quite large - I would treat as a resource I could tap in times of crisis), and to have a full stack cheap army (Libyan-Phoenician skirmishers, infantry, and cavalry) with some ships for quick transport in each possibly theater. That left me with three major possibilities: Africa/Homeland, Sicily, and Iberia. So far, I managed to squeeze out two of these armies, and for now I am treating my expansion army (higher quality units all around, including elephants and siege weapons) as the African army for now. The two weaker armies are both lead by FM that can be elected as War Leaders, to capitalize on the possibility of reaction against invasions.

That lead to a problem, though, because I saw one of such armies *desert*right in my homeland while doing some rebel hunting. The general had 3 Loyalty, and all the old farts (starting FL and FH) died recently, so my authority was really in the (specially as I can't chose my heir effectively). So now, while these defensive armies might be a good call for any faction, maybe I should at least reconsider the generals for Carthage, and prioritize someone with very high loyalty rather than any actual military potential.

So, any thoughts or suggestions on the matter?