Well, first here are some useful detail about the settings and all.

Started from Early Period, set as Easy, with the English.

It's now 1171, I control 8 of the 9 provinces in the Iberian peninsula(assuming that's the name). The one I don't have is Leon, and that's because I just don't want to deal with a rebellion later on in the game. I also control some of the Northern Africans provinces (Morroco to Cyrenecia). In the north I have all of the British Isles save Ireland. I have Normandy, Brittany, Aquitaine, Anjou, Ile de France, Lorraine, and Flanders.

Wessex: Cardinals/Siege engines/Ships
Mercia: All infantry
Cordoba: All archers
Aquitaine: All cavalry
Flanders: Assassins(and soon spies)
Another Province I'm forgetting(probably IDF or Anjou): Emissaries
Granada: Ships
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I most likely have the strongest navy in all of Europe, uncontested control of the Northern seas( in that no one else has ships there). There are some ships that belong to the Italians, Sicilians and Byzantines in the Southern seas.

I'm in a passive war with the Egyptians and the Spaniards, I've wiped out the entire navy of the Egyptians, and the Spaniards only have Leon left, haven't been attacked in a couple of rounds by anyone. I've got a shifting income of 2000 florins a year, which equals a profit of about 1500 a year.


My questions are the following:

1. How can maintain the largest army in Europe(for now), without going bankrupt?
2. Who can I trade with, and also how do I trade over sea?
3. Where to expand next, north against the French who have a couple of provinces left or the Germans who are at war with the French? Or South against the Egyptians, or the Byzantines, or the Italians (Navy and all).
4. Should I keep low in the eastern provinces for now until the Golden Horde come and duke it out with the Northern People/Byzantines/Turks and then when they're gone move in?
5. How to maintain a steady/increasing flow of cash?
6. What to do next?



Thank you in advance.