Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord allows you to develop your settlements into money making machines! But in order to get the most gold flowing through your town, you need to ensure that you have the right infrastructure in place. Setting up workshops is key to doing this, and there are some workshops that are better for specific towns than others.
Not sure if you mean in a cav formation or a separate party. But either way I tested having companion on horseback vs. On foot and it seems like they can do alot more damage on foot then on horseback. Ai isnt the best on horse. I gave them all a pack of javs, throwing axe, a 2h polearm and a 2h sword and they wreckYou'll slowly begin to build up your denars. Also, eventually, I know players tend to not like caravans because they struggle to make their own profits sometimes and tend to get captured. But, if you level up your trade skill enough then you can get the perk that generates trade rumors from your caravans. This is also a good way to get high level gear to sell. (15k for a horse you cant even use until the late game-At that point you can buy them easy.) Fighting the City gangs in back alleys are also a great way to increase renown, get loot, and above all increase relationships with particular lords. 3- Look into marriages for you and your siblings.
EDIT: Ok, so the only thing that ever touches that value is a method called "ExecuteUpgradeWorkshop ()" and that's linked to the Clan Finances view model but doesn't seem to be linked to anything in the UI. So I guess at some point they intend it to be something the player chooses to do. No idea what the level is expected to add.D7M9.