602 years ago today, on July 3, 1423 (May 26, 1423, lunar calendar), King Louis XI of France was born. Louis XI (1423~1483) Louis XI King of the Valois Dynasty of France (1461~1483), the founder of the unity of the French land. He was born on July 3, 1423 and died on August 30, 1483. In 1440, he participated in the Prague rebellion against his father Charles VII, who later forgave him. Appointed him governor of Dauphine. Charles VII died in 1461 and Louis XI succeeded him. In 1464, the feudal aristocrats led by Charles the Bold (Duke of Burgundy) organized a public welfare alliance to oppose the royal power. In 1465, Louis XI lost in the struggle and was forced to conclude a humiliating treaty with the Common Interest Alliance, returning the cities of the Somme River to Burgundy and relinquishing Normandy to his brother Charles. Soon after, Louis XI broke up the treaty and reoccupied Normandy. He incited conflicts between Burgundy and Switzerland and Lorraine, and used money to support the latter. In 1477, Charles the Bold Duke of Burgundy died in defeat at Nancy, and most of the duchy was occupied by Louis XI. At the end of the reign of Louis XI, France was basically unified. Only the Duchy of Brittany had not yet been incorporated into French territory, and the Port of Calais and its surrounding areas were still in the hands of the British. During the reign of Louis XI, the royal power was strengthened and received the support of the citizens. He appointed the emerging bourgeoisie to government positions, protected handicraft workshops, and recruited Italian workers to build the first silk weaving workshop in Lyon. Reward the export of domestic goods, restrict imports, attract gold and silver imports, build roads, establish postal services, and open printing offices. Louis XI participated in a rebellion against his father, Charles VII, when he was Crown Prince. After he ascended the throne, he used high-pressure means to deal with disobedient feudal princes and tried his best to implement the policy of consolidating the royal power and concentrating feudal territories. The princes reacted violently to his ambitions and formed a so-called "public alliance" led by the bold Charles (Duke of Burgundy) to resist the king's annexation. Louis XI's struggle with this organization was not smooth sailing. He annexed Roussillon and Serdan in 1462; In 1465, it contracted with the Charity Alliance. In 1468, he was arrested by the bold Charles for defeat in the war. Louis XI turned to ally with Switzerland, which had strong customs (1470), and gained France the right to conscript in Switzerland. In 1474, the bold Charles died at the Battle of Nancy at the hands of the Swiss supported by Louis XI. At this point, Louis XI finally annexed the Duchy of Burgundy, which had brought danger to many generations of French kings. In 1475, Louis XI used bribes to withdraw King Edward IV of England, an ally of the bold Charles (Duke of Burgundy). But when he was defeated in 1479 by the bold Charles 'son-in-law Maximilian of Austria (who later became Holy Roman Emperor), the Netherlands, the territory of the Duchy of Burgundy, fell to the Habsburgs. In 1481, Louis XI incorporated Anjou, Mann, and Provence into the royal territory. After years of hard work, Louis XI largely completed the unification of France (while greatly weakening the aristocracy). In establishing his centralized rule, Louis XI preferred conspiracy rather than direct military action. That's why contemporaries called him the "Spider King". Louis XI protected handicrafts and promoted foreign trade. He used the Royal Council to govern the country (in effect a dictatorship). The rule of Louis XI provided favorable conditions for the establishment of an absolute monarchy in France. In order to reconcile with the Roman Vatican, Louis XI repealed the imperial edict of Bruges issued by his father, Charles VII. In Victor Hugo's novel Notre Dame de Paris, a vivid image of Louis XI is depicted