I could have sworn that you were a relatively newer player.
Anyway, back then, a couple regions getting destroyed didn't hurt a realm too much, as taxes were collected and distributed realm-wide. Things all around could be more centrally managed, so it was done more efficiently by the people that wanted to deal with it, and not done half-assed by people that don't want to be hassled with it.
Probably because I never bothered to be anything else than a knight until I started the current one. Back then it was impossible for me to get anywhere near any positions... but the game was a lot more fun.
