Trade Efficiently With Vlandian Units

A very simple build using 70% crossbowmen and 30% noble cavalry.

Crossbowmen setup:
Spread formation + make a decent line
Hold fire
They need to move forward a bit so they have room to run backwards in the later stages of the fight

Cavalry:
Sit to the side and behind, or you can run out early and bait the AI to chase them into an awkward positon.

Battle:
Get the crossbowmen into a good position and enable fire at will when they are close enough. You can easily march up into enemy arrow fire because of their big shields.

Sit the cavalry back and let the crossbowmen weaken and disrupt the enemy, when you feel the time is right send the cavalry out to the side or behind the enemy and initate a charge. You should micromanage the cavalry to make sure they don't get stuck in a situation where they take heavy losses. Ideal targets for cavalry are infantry, but you could also charge enemy cavalry from behind when they are focusing the crossbowmen.

The crossbowmen have decent ability in melee, but they are quite effective when kiting backwards and they will do this automatically if you press f6 (delegate control). If you are disrupting the enemy infantry with your cavalry, the crossbowmen should have plenty of time to kite back and continue shooting.

Assigning captains with the appropriate skills for the units will further enhance the strategy.

I found this simple strategy to be effective at minimizing unit losses while defeating larger armies.