WI: No Yongle Emperor
- Thread starter Neirdak
- Start date
The Yongle Emperor was responsible for some things that would never have happened under a longer Jianwen rule: the shift of the capital to Beijing, the sending of the Treasure Fleets, and the invasion of Vietnam.Let's imagine that for whatever reasons the rebellion of the Prince of Yan fails and Jianwen Emperor stays in power.
What would happen to China?
However, there are two things that I think would have happened anyways: the wars against the Mongols, because they remain a threat and will do so for a while; and the increase of eunuch power; because the first Ming Emperor had centralized power in the monarchy to the point that the bureaucracy was not going to recover.
The Jianwen Emperor had a reputation for being civil and Confucian, but I think that's not enough for him to change the entire autocratic framework that the first Ming Emperor left him. But he didn't live long enough to give any sure signs what he would have done had he remained in power longer.