Quote Originally Posted by Ash
Yes I read the Hungarian guide. I still have a question though about them.
I'm playing them in Early on Normal without mods.

Most people agree that Venice and the Byzantine lands must be conquered ASAP.
But how do people manage this? Yes I know that the Italians give up Venice (and accept peace) if you get there in the first few turns.

But how do people manage to conquer Byzantine lands without some other Christian faction attacking Hungary? I do have alliances with Germany and Poland, but the Sicilians usually attack me as soon as I have Greece.

Yes I build boats but they're expensive and take at least 3 years to build. I need all the money for my army!
You don't have to rush Venice. When was the last time you saw an early era Italian army that was scary? Urban miltia? pfft. The byz are *sometimes* a different matter. Let them go ahead and string themselves out on the steppes. That works in your favor. Do not fear a two-front war if you have Kiev and ships in the black sea.
Rush instead for Serbia-Moldavia-Kiev and take all the time you want to build farms and ships, with a reasonable deterrent. With farms up to 60% and mines fully built, finance shouldn't be a problem even without trade, I have fought 3-front wars (Italy, Sicily, Byz) on hard and prevailed.