Best bribe I ever made was a nobody little general -- who happened to be Spain's governor of Cordoba.

I took in the whole province when he turned. I deleted a citadel, and a bunch of buildings including a royal court and 80 percent agriculture. I made back far more florins than I paid in the bribe. Then I left, causing a nice little revolt the enemy had to fight before he could take back the province.

From there, this little band of turncoats invaded Morocco and I'll be darned if they didn't successfully besiege the castle, fighting off a couple of relief attempts in the process. They brought ruin to that province too and beat off more troops and bandits before finally being overwhelmed. They even inflicted more casualties than they suffered in that last battle.

I ransomed the survivors back for a pittance. The nobody little general was now a four-star.