First thing is that all victory-regions get loyalty for Turks, Chinese and Rebells, all other regions are 100% Prussian(that problem was not with 1.02 in my game 1881), that not only my regions, Washington and all other victory regions had the same problem.
The game is to easy if you first get regions with gold and/or gems, you get many money with 2-3 regions(Burma and Kumasi), better is that you need protection status to build structures in that regions to prevent that?
In a war you can easy destroy enemy structures, that is a hard hit to the enemy economy, France do not restore the economy in over 10 years, but that is not the problem that I destroy the structures. The AI build in a confuse way, some times they want first build railroads but the economy is not strong enough(no coal, no steel) so they need luck to get it from other nations. So it is no Problem to produce more than other Nations and that help to blow up the Army(in my game I short before had a army so strong to bet all other nations in a war).
With combination from that 2 points you can research all techs and had many money over(see my save), the only challenge is to find something to do between waiting times and not run off some resources.
One decision you can do every turn(better educational system?) for 500 money, with gold and gems it is no Problem. Now all Regions had 100% Happiness and 0% Militancy.
See fights are a small problem, only Austria makes a landing operation 1866 at Hamburg, but I see no warship, they all “protect” the merchant fleets. I Win 2 fights and get one time a merchant ship, I think that could a problem if you force that and get many more merchant ships you can build. I Think it is better to get some gods as prize and burn down the ships. The ships now in a bad condition, but they don’t sink in a trading area and get reinforcement.
If you research fuel tractor around 1880 I think that farms should use 50% coal and 50% oil(with a upgrade?), that help with the coal shortness and the problem that oil is only need for population at that time