struggled in the beginning. then once i got the concept it was a breeze. got all mines working in the end and cleared the board before i went for the final victory with some 1000 guys and 100 soldiers.
spoiler below
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get rid of initial roads. rebuild short paths. connect mine to fort.
connect farm to huts. somehow connect the buildings altogether with the palace.
2 huts per farm, they snuggly fit left and right of the farm. 1 fort per mine with 2 short roads. it's key to generate lots of people quickly. use watchtowers to extend the border. find the other mine locations and build another mine and fort combo.