Transmigrate to the Middle Ages: I Become King of France

In 1066, the smoke of the Battle of Hastings had yet to clear. Philip woke up to find himself the fourteen-year-old King of France, with the royal domain limited to a corner of the Ile-de-France and powerful enemies lurking on every side. Seated on the throne in Paris, he realized he ruled little more than an isolated island: the Ile-de-France. Beyond it lay Normandy, Flanders, Champagne, Burgundy, and Aquitaine. Every duke was more powerful than the royal house. Philip proceeded cautiously, developing his lands, reforming institutions, and using his political acumen and wisdom to gradually undermine the dukes. He annexed Picardy, using an excuse gained through a divorce. He took Flanders by waiting for them to exhaust each other in battle. He reclaimed Normandy, defeating the renowned Norman cavalry. He married the Duchess of Aquitaine and gained the wealthiest region in southern France without sending a single soldier into battle. He took part in the epic First Crusade, as Turkish cavalry crumbled before him and the walls of Antioch fell at his feet. In Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Pope bestowed on him the title