When you first start, use all your stone to set up some defenses and build four to six Wood Cutters Huts. Build a market as soon as possible, and buy about 150 Wood. Build nothing but Wheat Farms in your farming area. If you have some resources nearby, such as Rocks or Pitch, use them to get some Gold. As soon as you start to get some Wheat, build about four to six Mills and about twenty to thirty Bakeries. Once you get enough food, set it to Double Rations, and if you have enough gold, build a couple Chapels, Churches, or Cathedrals. If you have all three, you will get +3 points on Religion. Buy some Hops and build some Breweries. Place about four Inns throughout your Castle. About halfway through this process, you should set the Tax to -4. When you are done with this you can set the Tax to -12 or even -20, depending on the map. Make sure to keep your defenses up. With this setup you will soon have more than 2,000 Food even with double rations, over 20,000 gold, and a very good a stockpile.