I have some advice for when you attack the German states, if you haven't yet or are in the midst of warring with the HRE.


Go after the Emperor early in you invasions. The HRE is prone to instability. Kill off all heirs (which I find aren't usually that many if at all) and the king, and you'll often see many of the HRE provinces go rebel. That's alot of land. Many times some of their strongest armies go grey, and can create amazing buffer states, with entire armies of strong german warriors for a bargan price if you desire. As the French, I've often for either Burgundy or Provence or both heavilly built up, then turning grey, and either presenting an impenitrable barrier or a grand speed bump to a weakened German state and/or an Italian state insistent on war with me when borders are shared.

This should give you some time to build up and concentrate on other fronts or economic growth within your empire.


Also, you may want to invest in ships and play the frog man, invading muslim provences from across the mediterainian, which will allow you to access rich lands without incuring war automatically with christian factions.