Pro: Elephants - Elephants are domesticated and bred and used for farming, construction, transport and many other purposes. In war, elephants play a crucial role in disrupting enemy lines, breaking morale and generally trampling men, horses and villages. Being of a more hardier and better trained kind, War Elephants are the prized possessions of the wealthiest of warrior nobles. 

Con: Corruption - Gold and the endless quest to get more of it moves citizens to crime, politicians to important positions and entire cities to the brink of disaster and back again. Many wars and conflicts, both sensible and insane, have been started because of the plots of the greedy, the ambitious and the corrupt.