...i didn't see many people advocating food trade or taxing cities heavier XD
i think the issue in riombara is 2 folds.
more nobles in cities combined than rural/town. tax/food benefits cities, so all the more reason not to vote for changes that'll hit the cities.
no one tries to starve cities either though they can't really, as there's no 1 duke to rally around to secede for example.. it's unlikely to change
Geography plays a huge role. Riombara isn't close to any food buyers, so lords don't have anything else to do with their food either. A completely different example would be the lords of western Dwilight: if their own dukes won't pay them for their food, then they know (or should know) that D'Hara *will*, and at a considerable price. D'Hara is therefore making a pressure on all western food markets, driving food prices up regardless of where it is sent. I can't say to what extent this is actually going on right now, though, but I suspect it will only increase. After all, D'Hara mostly deals with regions directly, and not realms, as rurals often feel a lack of love from higher up.
In D'Hara, rurals and townslands are also paid the maximum allowed amount for their food. While this does indeed redistribute food to where the majority of nobles now currently resides, the main objective was to incite profit-seeking lords to maximize their food outputs for their own sakes, therefore helping the cities out.
For this, though, D'Hara is unique, and I'm becoming more and more interested by how food is actively transforming the realm and activities around it.
