564 years ago today, July 22, 1461 (June 15, 1461, the 1461 lunar calendar), King Charles VII of France passed away. Charles VII (February 22, 1403-July 22, 1461), the fifth king of the Valois Dynasty of France (reigned from 1422 to 1461), was known as "Charles the Victors" and "Charles the Loyal to Duty". He eventually won the Hundred Years War, laying the foundation for France's prosperity in the next few centuries. The outcome of all battles is first known in the heart of the self-Joan of Arc, Charles VII, was born at a time when the country was in crisis. Amid the shattered mountains and rivers, his royal chariot floated around the country like catkins, and finally miraculously reversed the situation. The British invaders were driven away. In the process, most of the feudal lords across France were also swept away. The prestige and status of the royal family reached an unprecedented height, centralization of power was basically established, and France entered a new stage of stable development. Although his brilliance was concealed by Joan of Arc, it still did not change his role as the highest commander and greatest beneficiary of the victory of the war, and he was recorded in history as a "winner loyal to his duties." When the rulers of Britain and France broke out in 1337 over a dispute over the order of succession to the throne, no one would have imagined that it would become a rare and protracted war of attrition in world history, and that this century-old war would end in an unexpected and dramatic turn. In this war, the British's successive victories on French soil fully conveyed a message to people: the feudal knight corps on which France relied had fallen behind, the cavalry had lost its former role, and the mercenary form adopted by the British gave full play to the role of infantry, especially those archers who could successfully fight with cavalry, and the combat methods using firearms became more advanced. Amid repeated mental attacks, King Charles VI of England had to watch the allied forces of British mercenaries and Philip the "Sighty" of Burgundy wreak havoc on French soil time and time again. In 1420, he finally had to sign the humiliating Treaty of Troyes with King Henry V of England. Under the terms of the peace treaty, France became part of the United Kingdom of Britain and France. King Henry V of England declared himself the Regent of France and had the right to inherit the French throne after the death of King Charles VI. The one who suffered the most from the Treaty of Troyes was Charles VII, the protagonist of this article. As the son of Charles VI, he was canonized as Crown Prince as early as 1417. The Treaty of Troyes deprived him of his inheritance rights. In 1418, Paris was occupied by the British. From then on, he left the gentle hometown where he grew up and embarked on the path of exile. At that time, two major factions were formed in the French feudal aristocracy's struggle for power and gain. The Burgundians and the Amanyacs were the most powerful. The Burgundians were led by the Duke of Burgundy and colluded with the British to confront the royal family. The Amanyacs were led by the Duke of Orleans, who sided with the king, but also used the king to exclude dissidents. After Charles VII left Paris, he fled to Bourges in the south. He was supported by the Amanyak faction, established himself as regent, organized a government-in-exile, and announced that he would not recognize the Treaty of Troyes. During this period, Charles VII attempted to negotiate peace with Burgundy, but was thwarted by the Amanyak faction and killed Charles "Bold", Duke of Burgundy, who had come to negotiate in front of him. Charlie, who was controlled by others, had to swallow his anger, but later he gradually got rid of the Amanyaktes and embarked on the path of reconciliation with the Burgundians, which became a key to his success. In 1422, Charles VI died and Charles VII ascended the throne. At the same time, the British also adopted Henry VI as King of France. There was a situation where two kings existed side by side in the land of France, with the two sides roughly dividing line along the Loire River. Charles VII, who was short of gold and silver, was forced to borrow money from merchants with land as collateral to raise military expenses, but the war was still unfavorable. In 1424, France was defeated at Vernail, and in 1428, the British army besieged Orleans. Just as the disheartened Charles VII was preparing to retire, his savior appeared. A farm girl in Lorraine is said to have been hearing a mysterious voice calling her to save France since she was 13 years old. She is Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc asked the Crown Prince three times in 1428 to state her plan to save the country. In April 1429, Charles VII received Joan of Arc, gave her an army, and awarded Joan the title of "Commander-in-Chief of War." This magical girl lived up to expectations, solved the siege of Orleans, and recovered Lance, the place where the French king was crowned. In July of that year, Charles VII realized his dream of being crowned king in Lance, and the enthusiasm of the whole of France was mobilized. The rest of the Hundred Years 'War between Britain and France was France's recovery of its territory in successive victories. After turning the whole war around, Joan of Arc wanted to take advantage of the situation to recover Paris, but she fell into the hands of traitors, was betrayed to the British, and was finally heroically burned to death at the stake. In the process, Charles VII sat and turned a blind eye. The reason is still a mystery, and this is the only thing that Charles VII has been criticized by future generations. Charles VII pursued the victory and advanced steadily until the British army was defeated in the Battle of Castillon in 1453, recovering all British territory on the mainland except Calais, and ending the Centenary War between Britain and France. Amid the triumphant victory of the war, Charles VII gradually gained permanent power to collect taxes from 1425 to 1439, and became financially independent. In 1438, the "Bullock is the Order of Bourges" was promulgated to restrict the Pope's power in France. In 1439, the Order of Orleans was promulgated to establish a standing army of cavalry and infantry, under the personal command of the king himself. In 1440, the rebellion of the great aristocrats was put down. Centralized state institutions were established, and France entered a new stage of stable development. Compare Charles VII with another French king, Henry IV. They were all leading figures in bringing France into a peaceful and stable situation during a long period of war. However, the situation faced by Charles VII was even more complicated. At that time, France not only faced invasion from foreign forces, but also the distribution of power between domestic feudal lords and kings was not clear. During the Centenary War between Britain and France, France also experienced many large-scale people's uprisings. There is a complete possibility in French history to develop in a completely different direction from what we see now, and it is not impossible to merge with Britain. After Charles VII ended these chaos, and after more than a hundred years of consolidation and finalization, by the Huguenot War era of Henry IV, history had much less room for change in direction. From this point of view, Charles VII's influence should be greater than that of Henry IV. Charles VII ranks 88th in this ranking. Comments: The situation faced by Charles VII was once extremely dangerous. After losing the initiative in the war, he almost lost the legitimacy of his succession due to the Treaty of Troyes. The appearance of Joan of Arc is actually a signal that the people's aspirations of the lower classes of France are on the side of Charles VII, who represents the French national tradition. This also shows that when history developed into the 15th century, a gap had been drawn between the mainstream cultures of Britain and France, and the possibility of integrating into one had been lost, and Charles VII was the beneficiary of this gap.