How can you raise a strong army in Evony?

First, you need a lot of farms so your food production doesn't get to negatives because of how many troops you will get. Then, buy a lot of barracks so you can split production so it will take much less. Lastly, you need an Academy and upgrade things in it to get the technology for soldiers. With those you can buy soldiers split production and your food wont go into the negatives.