In the thirty-first year of Hongwu, after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, the young emperor Zhu Yunjiang ascended the throne and was honored as Emperor Jianwen. However, the new emperor went to disaster when it came to the issue of cutting the domain. Although his motives for cutting the clan were reasonable, he lacked the right strategy and wise people.
Zhu Yunjiang intended to weaken the powerful clan kings in order to retain his throne. However, he lacked sound judgment and wise decision-making. The officials around him, such as Fang Xiaoru, Qi Tai, and Huang Zicheng, although they had knowledge, lacked practical talent and strategy. They only knew how to talk on paper, but they could not turn Emperor Jianwen's plan to reduce the domain into reality.
As a result, the plan to reduce the clan failed to succeed, but led to a national disaster. Zhu Yunjiang's plan to reduce the domain was not effectively implemented, but instead allowed the situation to spiral out of control. These clan kings already had great power, and their resistance not only aborted the plan to reduce the clan, but also led to turmoil and chaos in the country.
Eventually, Zhu Di the King of Yan led his army south in 1394, further exacerbating tensions. He took the opportunity to seize the throne and became the later Ming Chengzu. Emperor Jianwen's plan to reduce the domain not only failed to retain his position, but also lost the entire country.
Emperor Jianwen's plan to cut the domain was a classic power defeat, and it revealed an important lesson: wise judgment and correct strategy were needed when dealing with the relationship between power and power. Only the rational and wise use of power can achieve long-term stable national development.