All you have to do it get quick off the mark - villagers, and lots of them. Split them into two groups - a resource group and a building group. With your building group, build Barracks, Stables (Manufacturing Plants) and what-not, and as soon as they are built get to work. While all of this is happening, you need the other half of your villagers to work on resources, and just keep producing villagers so that you have an entire workforce at hand.
Meanwhile, you need the newly produced villagers to get to work on getting new territories - and defenses! Walls are a good idea, and station small groups of your best (or very worst) soldiers at key pints, so when the enemy comes you can see them and get ready for when they breach the walls (Well, that's what the walls are for! They really are very weak, so I don't even know why people try to build millions of them, even when they are only a distration! If anyone dissagrees with this, say and we can have a debate on this qustion.)

just use the cheat, sea monkeys