Charles VII (Loyal to Duty) (French: Charles VII le Victorieux, February 22, 1403- July 22, 1461) was the fifth king of the Valois dynasty in France (reigning from 1422 to 1461). He is the son of the mad Charles VI and the Bavarian Isab. Because both the elder brother and younger brother passed away early and became heirs. [1]
The Treaty of Troyes signed in 1420 deprived him of his right to inherit the throne and transferred it to King Henry V of England. After the death of his father King Charles VI, King Henry VI of England (son of Henry V) was declared King of France by the British. Under the support of the Armagnac faction, Charles VII effectively controlled the area south of the Loire River, and the northwest of France was completely under British rule. [2]
After Joan of Arc's decisive victory in the Battle of Orleans in 1429, Charles VII saw hope again. With the support of Joan of Arc, Charles VII was crowned on July 17, 1429, at the Cathedral of Reims, where successive Capetian and Valois monarchs were crowned. However, after Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, who were allies of England, troops were sent to attack Rouen, where Joan of Arc was captured. However, due to the deployment of a large number of troops by the British in French territory, the attack on Rouen did not make effective progress, resulting in Joan of Arc being burned to death in 1431. 25 years after her death, he, who was held accountable for his conscience, filed a retrial for Joan of Arc as the King of France and was ultimately exonerated.
Charles VII carried out a series of major reforms, including a fixed tax system and the establishment of a standing army with cavalry and infantry (a policy later abandoned by his son Louis XI). After 1435, Charles VII no longer held regular Estates General meetings. In 1438, Charles VII issued a state decree in Bourges, which made the French Church somewhat subservient to the royal family. The Orleans Ordinance was promulgated in 1439 to establish a standing army. In 1440, Charles VII quelled the rebellion of the aristocracy. Charles VII ended the Hundred Years' War in 1453.

During the reign of the Crown Prince
Charles VII was the eleventh child of the mad Charles VI and the Bavarian Isab. Born in 1403 at the royal residence of H ô tel Saint Pol in Paris, he was granted the title of Count Pontier at the time of his birth. Charlie lived a prosperous and comfortable life when he was young, until a riot broke out in Paris in 1413, and citizens invaded the Saint Paul mansion where Charlie lived. At the end of that year, Charlie became engaged to Mary de Anjou at the Louvre, who was the daughter of King Louis II of Naples and the "Queen of the Four Kingdoms" Yolanda of Aragon. Afterwards, Charlie moved to Anjou to live. In 1416, Charles was appointed as a captain of Paris and began serving in the court. Charles was crowned Crown Prince in 1417. As the Crown Prince, Charles could have ascended to the throne a hundred years after his father. But God did not favor him. At this time, France was in a state of internal and external troubles: the power struggle between the two major aristocrats, the Almonish and Burgundian factions, was stirring up chaos in the country; Abroad, we also have to face the ambition of King Henry V of England towards French territory. [1]
The beginning of the civil war between the two factions can be traced back to 1407 when the Duke of Orleans was assassinated by the Burgundians. The Count of Almania became the new leader, and the Orleans faction was renamed the Almania faction. In 1415, King Henry V of England led his troops to land in Normandy and defeated the French army in the Battle of Agincourt, occupying northern France and the capital city of Paris. The Burgundians colluded with the British army and massacred a large number of Armenians in Paris. In 1418, French Crown Prince Charles fled to Boulogne with the Armagnac faction. In 1419, Charles established his own court and parliament in Bourges and Poitiers respectively. On July 11th of the same year, Charlie and Fearless John attempted to reconcile and arranged to meet in Montero on September 10th. On the day of the meeting, the Duke believed that the talks would end peacefully, so he only brought a few attendants, but was assassinated by Charlie's subordinates. Charlie claimed to have no knowledge of the assassination plan, but some people also believed that Charlie was involved in the conspiracy. This assassination failed the reconciliation between the Armagnac and Burgundian factions, providing a more favorable situation for King Henry V of England to invade France. Fearless John's son, the good man Philip, later asked Charlie to repent for the assassination, but Charlie did not respond.

Under the influence of the Burgundians and the queen, on May 24, 1420, King Charles VI of France signed the Treaty of Troyes: "The English keep all conquered lands until the Loire River; deny the inheritance of Crown Prince Charles, and take Henry V as heir and regent, and marry Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles VI, to Henry." However, supporters of the Valois dynasty believed that Charles VI's mental state was poor, and therefore advocated the invalidity of the treaty, stating that Charles remained the legitimate heir to the French throne. Those who advocate the invalidity of the treaty but deny the legitimacy of Charles agree that Charles, Duke of Orleans, is the heir, but the latter is currently imprisoned by England and lacks the strength to compete with the English king and Charles. At this time, England had conquered the northwest region of France, including Paris, and thus established the Anglo French binary monarchy. Regent of Normandy by John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford. [1]
In July 1421, Charles was besieging Chartres when he heard that Henry V would lead his army south, so he quickly withdrew to avoid losses. Charlie fled to the south of the Loire River to receive protection from Yolanda of Aragon, and married Yolanda's daughter, Marie de Anjou, on April 22, 1422, based on the engagement of 1413. In the same year, both King Henry V of England and King Charles VI of France passed away. Henry V's one year old son became King Henry VI of England, with his uncle, the Duke of Bedford, serving as regent. His coronation ceremony was held at the Saint Denis Church in Paris. At this time, Crown Prince Charles VII, who had fled to Bourges, also declared his succession to the throne. From then on, there were three Chinas: one was the French of the British, with borders from Guineas to Calais, including Normandy, Wexen, Maine, Picardy, Champagne, and Î le de France; one was the French of Burgundy, including the Counties of Nevers, Flanders, and Artois in the north, in addition to the Duchy of Burgundy, and soon including Fritz and Brabant, which were ceded by Jacqueline of Bavaria; the third was the French of Prince Charles, with territory limited to the vicinity of Bourges
During the reign period
The defeats in the Battle of Krawang in 1423 and the Battle of Venay in 1424 brought members of the Amaniak faction to Charlie's side and earned his favor, but the real power was held by his mother-in-law, Yolanda of Aragon. She attempted to form an alliance with the Duke of Brittany. Although the Duke decided to maintain the neutrality of the Duchy, he still sent his brother, Count Arthur of Richmond, to assist Charles. In 1425, Charles appointed Arthur as the commander-in-chief of the French royal family, effectively leading the French army. Atil promoted his confidant George de Ratremovaye to the position of Minister of the Interior, but Ratremovaye took advantage of the situation to seize power. The conflict between the two ignited internal strife in the palace, further exacerbating the already unstable state of the court.

At the beginning of 1429, the overall situation in France plunged the Charles Restoration Plan into despair. Orleans, the most important city in central France, has been under siege since October 1428. The Duke of Bedford, Regent of England, is leading his army to attack the Duchy of Bar, causing low morale among the French soldiers. At this time, a young girl named Joan of Arc appeared in the village of Dun Remi on the border between Champagne and Lorraine, claiming to have been given a sacred mission by heaven. She requested that the commander stationed in Vaucouleur, Robert Bottecourt, lead her to meet with Chinon and Charlie, and set off on February 23rd of that year. In March, Joan of Arc arrived in Chinon and Charlie examined her before acknowledging her sanctity. Let her lead a group of capable soldiers (such as Lahir and Santelais) to rescue Orleans, and successfully lift the siege on May 8th. Then, on June 18th, she completely defeated the British army in the Battle of Pati, and the war situation was reversed from then on. Subsequently, Joan of Arc accompanied Charles deep into Burgundy territory, and on July 17th, Charles completed his coronation ceremony at the Cathedral of Reims, officially becoming the King of France. Joan of Arc was later captured by the Burgundians during the Siege of Cambigny on May 24, 1430. Burgundians handed her over to the English and she was found guilty in an English controlled trial. She was burned at the stake on May 31, 1431. It was not until 1450 that Charles, as the King of France, requested the Pope to re-examine Joan of Arc, and finally in 1456, 25 years after her death, she was exonerated. [1]
Joan of Arc's death gradually united France. In 1433, the royal commander Atil ordered the imprisonment of Ratremuwaye on the grounds of condoning Yolanda's manipulation of power, and the sycophants around Charles were replaced by capable ministers such as Denou. In 1435, Charles and the Duke of Burgundy, Philip, signed the Treaty of Arras for reconciliation. In 1436, Arthur accompanied Charles to recapture Paris. From then on, Charlie's influence in France surpassed that of England. As England's influence in France gradually weakened, Charles took advantage of the easing of the war situation to rebuild the national economy and carry out a series of comprehensive and significant reforms. But Charlie's multiple reforms damaged the vested interests of the nobility and caused dissatisfaction among them. In 1440, led by Prince Louis, the nobles Charles I of Bourbon, Jean II of Alenzon, and Jean IV of Armagnac rebelled in Poitou and launched the Prague Rebellion. Charlie dispatched Jean Bro's artillery regiment to suppress the rebellion, and later he pardoned the nobles who participated in the rebellion. [1]
In 1444, Charles finally reached a consensus with England and signed the Treaty of Tours in exchange for peace. However, the treaty only lasted for five years before the two countries went to war again. However, after the reform, the French army was unstoppable and recaptured Normandy and Aquitaine in just one year. In 1453, England sent veteran John Talbot to attempt a counterattack, but he was killed in the Battle of Castile by artillery fire from Jean Broglie. Thus, Charles regained all of France's territories except for Calais, and the Hundred Years' War declared the ultimate victory for France, earning him the title of "victor".

(1) Charles VII established a tax system and obtained permanent taxation rights through the Estates General (after 1439, Charles VII no longer held Estates General and monopolized power). The three taxes he established were implemented until the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789: first, the goods tax; second, the salt tax; and third, the tax levied on crop yields and the amount of gold and silver owned
(2) Charles VII reformed the army, abolished the feudal conscription system and mercenaries, and established a regular army. The first standing royal army was composed of twenty selected cavalry companies, led by a company commander selected by the king; a paid army backbone was stationed in the garrison city; and a spontaneous organization, namely the auxiliary free archer, was organized and placed under the supervision of the royal family and regional commanders to establish an artillery unit. This not only enhanced combat effectiveness, but also improved the rampant plundering behavior in the late stages of the war, as well as the rampant looting of villages, kidnapping for ransom, and the capture of castles, providing guarantees for post-war reconstruction. No wonder Machiavelli believed, "If the legal system of King Charles is developed or upheld, France must be invincible
(3) Promoted the dissemination and development of printing technology culturally. In 1458, Charles VII sent the royal mint Nikolai Jensen to Mainz to learn new printing techniques. Although he did not return to France, he established the world's most famous printing factory in Venice. The exquisite and unparalleled Roman movable type font he created was imitated throughout Europe.
(4) In 1438, Charles VII issued the Edict of Bourgeois: "To establish the ecclesiastical council above the Pope; to abolish the system of offering the first year's salary to the Pope; to establish the ecclesiastical council once every ten years; to maintain the freedom of the French Church and isolate it from Rome
(5) In 1440, Charles VII quelled the rebellion of the major nobles in Prague and eliminated the factors of national instability; He reorganized the government, appointed citizens as advisors, and established the High Court (Toulouse was founded in 1443, Grenoble in 1456).

We can easily see the differences before and after the reign of Charles VII from this. Perhaps without Joan of Arc, there would have been no victory in the defense of Orleans, but the later unification and strength of France owes much to Charles VII. In the early days of Charles VII's rule, France was a relatively remote area with limited material resources, and Orleans was a major city in its territory. So Charles VII is often ridiculed by the enemy as the King of Burgundy, implying that his territory has been small and never expanded since its establishment. Faced with fragmented France, if Charles VII cannot establish effective rule, he cannot levy taxes or recruit soldiers. The limitations of the king's authority are not only manifested in the resistance and disobedience of his subjects, but also in the king's inability to exercise his laws, appoint officials and financial personnel in the fiefs of the princes. In the eyes of the Bourbon and Burgundian families, the self proclaimed Charles VII has no legitimacy and cannot be called the King of France. It was not until July 17, 1429, with Joan of Arc's help, that Charles VII was crowned at the Cathedral of Reims, establishing his legitimacy. Its influence also expanded from Languedoc and Dauphin in the south and east to parts of Berry, Touraine, Poitou, and Anjou in the north and west. Charles VII ended the Hundred Years' War in 1453 and regained all British territories in France except Calais.

overview
The understanding and evaluation of Charles VII are based on two individuals. Two people who also provided help and support to Charles VII, two people who were also betrayed by Charles VII: Joan of Arc and Jacques Cole. Niccol ò Machiavelli once believed that "monarchs, especially new monarchs, cannot maintain all those respected qualities. In order to preserve their country, they often have to betray their promises and go against friendship, humanity, and religion." Therefore, we should set aside our secular perspective.
About Joan of Arc
The martyrdom of Joan of Arc is believed by most scholars to have been intentionally ignored by Charles VII. If the Burgundian Party can extradite Joan of Arc to the British, the British government is willing to pay 10000 francs to the Duke of Burgundy. In addition, they will reward the officials who arrested Joan of Arc with 6000 francs and the knights who personally captured her with 800 livres. There are differences in academia regarding the specific amount of ransom. Due to economic turmoil caused by war and other reasons, the proportion of precious metals in currency gradually decreased, and foreign gold coins were widely used in daily life, so the term 'ten thousand gold' was more preferred. In the 14th century, the normal annual income of the British royal family was only £ 30000, so it cannot be denied that this was a considerable wealth. Sacrifice for peace. Joan of Arc's death was valuable, as it not only stirred strong national emotions in France, but also became a sacrifice for the policy of reconciliation. In 1435, Charles VII signed the Treaty of Arras with the good man Philip, and after nearly thirty years of struggle, the Armenians embraced the Burgundians. In 1436, with the help of the Burgundians, Charles VII easily recaptured the capital city of Paris.

Jacques Cole
Jacques Cole was a powerful merchant more powerful than the King of France. He engages in various trades; Developing mining, speculating in gold, and equipping ships to sail in the Mediterranean; His business network extends from France to the East and Spain. Jacques Cole was a successful businessman, and it seems that Charles VII also saw this. In 1427, he was granted the privilege of minting royal coins in Bourges; in 1436, he was appointed as the Director of Coinage; in 1439, he became the Financial Director of the King; in 1442, he entered the Senate and was ennobled as a nobleman; Not only because he restored the constantly depreciating currency; And its huge capital also became a strong backing for the king's wars. From 1449 to 1450, Jacques raised funds for Charles VII to seize Normandy from the British; in 1450, he gave the French king 60000 gold coins as the cost of besieging Cherbourg. However, these did not escape his tragic fate, especially when his monopoly on commerce endangered the country's development and caused widespread dissatisfaction among nobles and wealthy merchants. At this time, Charles VII no longer relied on him as much. In 1451, Jacques Cole was convicted of blasphemy against the monarch and stripped of all his property.
Charles VII was born at an untimely time and lacked great talent and strategy, but he was adept at seizing every opportunity to change the fate of himself and France. Although he was unable to expand his territory, he laid the foundation for the strength of France. In the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII achieved the final victory, but he was not widely remembered by later generations and even criticized. But it was this young man, from crown prince to king, from division to unity, who contributed to the future strength of France.