Although the new French king is still a descendant of the Capetian family, he is a branch of the royal family after all. Philip VI was originally the Duke of the Valois territory, and the dynasty he founded was also called the Valois dynasty.

328, the last king of the Capetian dynasty of France, Charles IV , died. After his death, the throne was inherited by his cousin Philip of Valois, known as Philip VI in history. , the Capetian dynasty was destroyed, which lasted for 341 years. . Although the new King of France is still a descendant of the Capet family, he is a branch of the royal family after all. Philip VI was originally the Duke of the Valois territory, and the dynasty he founded was also called Valois Dynasty .

When Philip VI first came to power, rebellions broke out everywhere, internal and external troubles occurred, and the situation was difficult. Let’s talk about the internal worries first. After the death of Charles IV, there were several strong contenders for the new French King, as marked by the red box in the picture below.

Contender No. 1: French Princess Juana, she is the granddaughter of Philip IV, the daughter of French King Louis X, and the niece of the last French King;
Contender No. 2: French Princess and Queen Isabella of England La, she is the daughter of Philip IV, the biological sister of the last King of France;
competitor No. 3: Charles, Duke of Valois, the son of Philip III, the half-brother of Philip IV , the last King of France Uncle;
Contender No. 4: Louis, Duke of Evreux, he is the son of Philip III, half-brother of Philip IV , and the uncle of the last King of France;

These four nominal contenders are all Descendants of the Capetian family, relatives of the three brothers of the last French king, but in fact the Thackeray Law was enacted at the beginning of the Capetian dynasty, which excluded female heirs, so competitor No. 1 was eliminated first. The same is true for Contender No. 2, but it is also true that she has a big fist. Isabella has the backing of the entire UK and is very powerful. Her son Edward III will definitely come to compete for the throne, and it is normal to cause trouble by the way.

(King Edward III)

Competitor No. 1 is in a similar situation to No. 2, but No. 1 has the advantage of being the elder. I am the elder brother and you are the younger brother. If you want a turn, it will be my turn first. You go to the back and queue up, but 2 No. 2 expressed dissatisfaction. He also had his own advantages. The son of No. 2 married Juana, the daughter of King Louis X of France, which increased his political chips. Since the chips on dad’s side are unclear, let’s fight mom. No. 1, Charlie from Valois, is dad’s son from his first wife, and No. 2, Louis from Evreux, is dad’s son from his second wife. Obviously 1 No. 2 is more noble than No. 2. Eventually the new French king fell into the Valois family, and Charles' eldest son Philip became the first king of the Valois dynasty, Philip VI.

Philip IV's queen was Juana I, queen of the territory of Kingdom of Castile (now Spain) Navarre. After she married Philip IV, the territory of Navarre was used as a dowry. Brought to France, the couple became co-rulers of the Navarre territory. This is the same as when a French duchess married the King of England and brought her territory to England as a dowry. The King of England was also a vassal of the King of France.

Later, Juana I died, and her three sons succeeded to the throne of France and concurrently served as kings of Navarre. While they were kings of France, they were also vassals of the king of Castile. But the tragedy is that all three sons died, and the king of France was won by Philip VI, the nephew of his father Philip IV. Philip also thought that he should also be the king of Navarre, which was a bit shameless.

(Queen Juana I of Navarre)

The French king of the Capetian dynasty also served as the king of Navarre because he inherited his mother's territory. This was a natural thing, and the people of Navarre also recognized this reason. But suddenly Philip VI appeared later and claimed that he was the king here. The people of Navarre refused to admit it: Who are you? You are just a descendant of the Cape family, how can you have the nerve to inherit your aunt's natal territory?

The throne of Philip VI, who had just ascended the throne, was unstable. He was rushing around to put out fires. He was so busy that his butt was smoking. He was powerless towards Navarre. After a fight, he gave up this territory.As mentioned earlier, French King Louis (

(The red arrow is Navarre, the French territory in Spain, the green arrow is Gascony, the British territory in France)

After Louis X died, the second brother Philip V and the third brother Charles IV They all succeeded to the throne one after another, and they all took Navarre into their own hands. After all, they inherited the territory of their mother, and the reason was very good. What was terrible was that none of the three brothers had a surviving son, and the throne was passed to his cousin. Philip missed it. Philip was unable to keep Navarre and gave up this territory amid internal and external troubles. Louis' daughter Juana naturally became the Queen of Navarre, known as Juana II in history. As long as a country is strong. The enemy must have internal troubles as well as foreign troubles, or part of the internal troubles are caused by the foreign troubles. It has been said before that there is a disobedient territory in the north of France, which is the county of Flanders, which is roughly equivalent to the current northern France, . The western part of Belgium and the southwestern part of Netherlands . In medieval Europe, the wool textile industry here was very developed, and the economy also developed rapidly. It was an important commercial center in Europe at that time.

The relationship between Flanders and Britain. Very close, because they import raw wool from the UK, and the finished products are also sold in the UK, and trade is very frequent. Who wouldn’t like such customers? As a result, Flanders has become the richest in the vast French territory! Several French kings coveted the wealth here. Philip II captured the Count of Flanders during the Battle of Bouvines and imprisoned him in the monastery, causing the other party to lose a fortune. Letting him go after a huge sum of money is simply a robbery.

(The red box is Flanders’ location)

The following Dharma kings also used Flanders as a cash cow, always trying to take advantage of it. Now this cash cow. However, the British were advantaged in vain, and the French king was very unhappy. He would blow his beard and glare at this place whenever he had nothing to do, and acted like a covetous person. In order to protect themselves, the Flanders nobles had been colluding with the British for many years, and their serious master, the French king. Whenever there is a conflict between Britain and France, this guy will definitely be the first to stand up against the King of France.

The former Earl of Flanders was dealt with very badly by the King of France. But these foreign French counts were not welcomed by the locals at all. The locals revolted every day and wanted to drive away the foreign rulers. The count asked the King of France for help, and the King of France sent troops to suppress it. Blood flowed like a river. In this cycle, the contradiction between the two sides became deeper and deeper. There is no doubt that the supporter behind these rebels is the British ally.

As soon as Philip VI came to power, rebellions continued in the county of Flanders. Philip was also a death seeker. While suppressing the local rebels, he set fire to their homes. This is so stupid. After all, Flanders is the territory of your own country. You burned everyone's property. How can the people not hate you and gnash their teeth? After rounds of bloody suppressions, Philip VI managed to maintain his rule. He knew that only by getting rid of the British troublemaker could the situation here be peaceful. With Philip's order, the French army began to purge the English in Flanders. This angered King Edward III of England, who announced that he would immediately stop the supply of wool to Flanders.

(Philip VI)

If British wool does not go to the sea, Flanders workers will have no food to eat, factories will stop working, workers will lose their jobs, and all industries will be depressed. The people of Flanders do not hate the King of England at all, but think that King Philip VI of France was the culprit. The Flanders protested overwhelmingly, and under a stalemate, Philip VI announced that he would confiscate Gascony, the British territory in France.

Edward III’s great-great-grandfather was the notorious landless king John. This prodigal John met the nemesis of two generations of British kings-the little fox King Philip II of France. John's IQ was much lower than others, and he engaged in various unsavory tricks. In the end, he lost a large area of ​​the British king's territory in France, leaving only a piece of Gascony in southwestern France, and this territory has always been It is a thorn stuck in the throats of successive Dharma Kings, and they are not happy until they are spit out. (

(Hundred Years' War between England and France)

Then the British army captured Flanders and used it as a stronghold to set up the battlefield in France. For the next hundred years, Britain and France have been fighting on French soil. The British They kept fighting against France. The French mainland was beaten to pieces, and the people suffered deeply, but there was no way. The French king was not strong enough to cross the sea to fight in the British mainland.

King Edward III of England clamored to get back the loss of his ancestor John. All French territories, and also advocated that Philip VI should step down and inherit the French throne. Of course, he would not get the throne in the end, otherwise there would be no current Britain and France, but the two countries would have become one. It did not prevent him from using his words to put great psychological pressure on Philip.

The French were not all cowards. When the British army continued to move south and reached the Port of Calais, they encountered stubborn resistance from the other side. After a year of fierce fighting and siege, the British army finally took the important port of Calais. This location is a real fortress for both Britain and France. Whoever captures Calais will take the long-term initiative. Right.

(Location of Calais Port)

In 11348, when the British army was advancing all the way, an accident happened. A terrible plague swept across the European continent. The Black Death is coming! Disease is the real boss. People kill people, and God kills gods. The entire European continent is filled with victims, and there are countless corpses. All the people who are infected have black faces and bleeding. The death of King Edward III is really terrible. , Emma, ​​this thing is too scary, run away! He fled back to his hometown in England as quickly as possible and closed the strait, but it was too late, and the whole of Europe was in danger. The whole of Europe was like being destroyed by God. The sword was slaughtered over and over again, and in an instant, one-third of the population of France died, including: Philip VI, the first French king of the Valois dynasty!

(Valois! Dynasty King Emblem)

The excitement will continue in the next issue, so stay tuned!