Jianwen Emperor's Princely Reduction Edicts

Timeline

1. 1398Prince of Zhou's mansion, Kaifeng · HenanQi Tai advocated reducing the Prince of Yan first, while Huang Zicheng proposed taking the Prince of Zhou first to cut off the Prince of Yan's limbs. The Jianwen Emperor adopted Huang Zicheng's plan, ordering Li Jinglong to lead troops to surround Kaifeng, arrest the entire household of Zhu Su, Prince of Zhou, depose him to commoner status, and relocate him to Menghua in Yunnan.
2. 1399Prince of Xiang's mansion, Changsha · HuguangIn the fourth month of the first year of Jianwen, the court stripped the Prince of Xiang, Zhu Bo, of his fief on charges of counterfeiting banknotes and unauthorized killings; the Prince of Xiang and his entire household burned themselves to death. The Prince of Qi, Zhu Fu, and the Prince of Dai, Zhu Gui, were likewise deposed to commoner status and imprisoned in the capital and Datong respectively.
3. 1399Nanjing · Ming dynastyIn the second month of the first year of Jianwen, an edict forbade princes from commanding civil and military officials and revised the official system. In the fourth month, the Prince of Min, Zhu Pian, was deposed to commoner status and exiled to Zhangzhou. With five fiefs now reduced, the court moved to encircle and monitor the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di.