Some beginner questions

[cabert]

I've had to do this too, but with the AI's predilection for pillaging, I find I usually have a couple of extra turns to spend in anarchy and then whip a unit.

very much dependant on :
-how much border tiles you have
-what units are thrown against you
-what garison you have

Also i sometimes had to whip more than one! and since you don't want to kill all pop of one city (at least i don't) i had to whip the neighbouring one for a second unit (in fact i sent the already made one, and whipped a new one).
I had sometimes 1/2 turns left, but not always.
I remember very good china backstabbing me, and attacking kyoto (which i had early raided ) with cho ko nus, elephant, and melee.
I already knew gunpowder, so i whipped one musketman every other turn (whipping on the first turn is too expensive!) and had 1 ready to fight, promoted with city garison, and one just whipped and not yet promoted. One turn of anarchy would have been too much!