Cyc
Looking for the door...
If we are going to bail on the first 5 cities concept, then Octavian X has the best plan so far. After the first few cities are started, pre-define the first couple of Provinces. The capital Province and the next most likely one. With the options we've chosen, having Provinces with ten cities in them from the begining will mean a game of one or two Governors for a very long time.