Hlep me with my Paladin

[Nidzge]

Hi I'm playing Paladin Hero on Hard difficulty. From the start of the game I had problems with money (probably due to heavy losses in my battles). Currently I cleaned Debir, Scarlet Wind and Bolo Island. I have few more fights in Rusty Anchor and lots in Verona. I'm level 16 with 4320 leadership. These are units I own:

1. 86 Bowmen
2. 54 Ancient Bears
3. 14 Assassins
4. 72 Royal Snakes
5. 9 Evil Beholders

Problem is I have 0 gold coins so there is not much I can change.

I have few questions:

1. Does enemy stacks grow in size as the days past by. The thing is I have traveled a lot from island to island and 24 days has past already. So this is maybe why I'm having problems with enemy armies?

2. Which units are best for Paladin hero. I red that most people says Inquisitors, Paladins are good. Have in mind that I'm still in Verona so I still don't have possibility to recruit juicier units. I have only seen few Emerald Green Dragons.

3. What to do in my case with 0 gold coins and almost all enemies lethal or invincible. BTW I have picked all chests and gold on maps so I can only get gold through fights.

Can anyone help me. Thanks in advance