Ways to control free city's expansion

[open sparrow]

Currently free cities are way too agressive with expansions with no way to control it even as their overlord. Even they expand too close my throne city instead of going to opposite way taking all of those valuable spaces
Not only that, but also they snake around ancient wonders (the much needed gold ones too) not letting you to build an outpost to atleast take up the space
Current solution is either declare war, raze it (or take it and make peace) or use lot of imperium to integrate, remove these provinces slowly and revassalize the city which is honestly extremely slow

My suggestion here would be:

• buy a province from them with gold (or war spoils) which either annexed to my city or turns into outpost and price depends on what does that province contains. So empty would be cheaper than something that contains magic materials
• let us intimidate them for cost of relations to get off from my territory and expand to other direction
• maybe possibility to mark those territories for me so they don't claim it? Only works when it's 1 province away
• currently free cities with hermit kingdom trait don't even try to be hermit kingdom at all, fixing it would be nice
• another way for evil rulers would be just annex an already claimed province it with an army without declaring war, there would be negative relation penalty and small chance that they declare war depending either our total army's or currently occupying army's strength
• also please let us to give cleared ancient wonders to a vassalized free city and get part of imperium income from it

[cinder axle]

I totally support the last point. We should be able to trade Ancient Wonders with the free cities, the current situations are annoying.

[clear radish]

alternative, if a free city has an ancient wonder the option to trade for their imperium appear

[twilit panther]

I would like to be able to buy a province from - or sell a province to - a friendly free city. I think that's really all that's needed. This doesn't have to be a big complicated thing; just let me trade provinces with my vassals.

[warped void]

Trading areas could be an additional perk to vassal status, but I think that's the only real change I'd want. That amd adding wonder units to their rally of leiges. If you haven't vassalized them, then your options are attack or vassalize. If they're the vassal of another empire tho, that empire is there to protect their territory from you.