Increasing economics of your castle as a vassal

[kambien]

Hiyas,
I am noticing that where my castle and folk love me the place is falling to disrepair, hunger, and empty buildings.  How do you increase trade?  I spoke with the guildmaster and he shows that the town is pretty much in dire need of anything (all counts are 1,000 plus).  Where my castle is very safe it appears to be degrading.

I am a vassal under the King of Swadia and do not run things myself.  So I can't just so "here Bash you're an emissary to get supplies".  How do I fix this for my castle and my people?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Orion]

IIRC, cities need caravans to keep their economy running. If you're at war with several factions, you'll only be trading with yourself, and that doesn't keep your economy stable for long. Outside trade is important, but the caravans have to reach the city. Also, villages support cities and castles. Each city has 3 villages I think, and each castle has 1. If the prosperity of the village is higher, the villager parties you see on the map will carry more goods into the city/castle.

The most direct way to improve village prosperity is to buy their goods directly from the village elder. It takes a bit of an investment, but you'll see an increase in prosperity after a while. If your village gets looted, its prosperity drops and it won't deliver to your castle most likely so you won't get income from either for that week.