Artillery before day 12?

I've been doing some spying on a neighbor (day 5) and I've been very surprised by what I have seen. He has greater than 20 units in every visible province, and an artillery brigade. Since factories are still 7 days away, how did he get this? I thought at first it was a beginner bonus since this is a tutorial server, but then I realized that I'm also a beginner and have no such bonus.