"Keep the other factions in the dark ages while making a world-beating army! I learned this trick from the Viking Invasion expansion game and this will only work if you have enough florins to sustain the slaughter, so be patient! In the early period, build up a good fortune (~300,000, if possible) and make at least enough boats to canvass the seas to further your trade production and allow universal access to your army. I recommend at least two boats per body of water in case of sinkings or sea battles. At around the year 1210, you should be raising some good troops. Keep all of your provinces moderately protected by sustaining a parcel of troops in every province owned. I recommend a mixture of cheap units with some defensive ones such as fuedal seargents and archers. Sink all the boats belonging to the factions you wish to invade. Then grab your best general and join him with your best troops, including seige weapons, to fully take over the province (very important). At least three FULL stacks are needed to sustain the drive but more the merrier (they will thin out as the battles go on, sometimes the enemy will not fight your mighty army at all and leave!). Now that you have access to nearly every province, due to the shipping routes, you can invade all the juiciest provinces one by one and strip them dry. If the port is destroyed during the raid, build another one or move inland to the next "jewel". Pretty soon you will have pissed everyone off and no one will trade with you, but that's okay because you'll be making money off the sold buildings while you build up your own provinces! So make sure you only select well established provinces unless they are on route to better ones. You will eventually start losing money on every turn but keep the faith. You're technological achievements WILL be unheard of! The trick to keep this tactic going is to join new, and potentially more formidable, forces to your raiding army everytime you get to a waterfront province. After 30 or 40 years of this, enemy troop raising will be crippled for many years to come (although the computer will cheat and allows units to be raised without necessary buildings, to a certain extent). Your king's influence will fly through the roof, your attacking general's reputation will bolster the valour of your already battle-hardened troops, and you keep the enemy in check by not allowing them to build boats! It's win-win and when you get low on cash, your king's influence will allow cease-fire agreement's to be made. All said and done, you'll have fortresses and citadels while the other factions have keeps and forts... but not for long, right? ;-) In my campaign, the Papacy was getting a bit long in the tooth. I had to war with them and that caused me to be excommunicated. As the Spanish, I walled myself up to the opposing crusades and they just disintergrate with time. The Pope loses influence and pretty soon - no more crusades, either by lack of support or no chapter houses to make them. Enjoy." - ms26490