"The brilliance of the Enfeoffment Edict lies in making the feudal lords cut their own flesh, yet they cannot find any reason to resist, and it is also supported by the sons of the feudal lords, so it was implemented very smoothly, without causing any resistance from the feudal lords. The court expanded its territories without paying any price."
— Ge Jianxiong, Ph.D. in History, "Unchanging and Ever-Changing: Ge Jianxiong on Chinese History"

"The fundamental difference between the Enfeoffment Edict and the previous emperor's aggressive reduction of the feudal lords' power was that the aggressive reduction used violent means, which inevitably caused resistance from the feudal lords; the Enfeoffment Edict, however, was covered with a moral veil, making it impossible for you to find a legitimate reason to oppose."
— Wang Jueren, Best-selling Author, "Merits and Demerits of Emperor Wu of Han"

★ Read this book and learn the rules of breaking through and achieving success for the strong.

★ A fascinating historical masterpiece that takes you back to the era of Emperor Wu of Han, revealing the mysterious veil behind the Enfeoffment Edict, known as the "eternal conspiracy" by later generations!

★ Citing classics and being rigorous: Based on historical materials, using data as the standard, citing hundreds of professional academic papers.

★ History can be vivid and interesting: The author uses the Enfeoffment Edict as the main dish, historical stories as the side dish, and the writing is like slow cooking, presenting you with an extraordinary historical feast.

Do you understand the Enfeoffment Edict?

The Enfeoffment Edict was an important decree issued during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han to consolidate central power.

Historically, the reduction of the power of the feudal lords has always been accompanied by bloodshed. Why could the Enfeoffment Edict weaken the feudal lords openly and justly? Since the Enfeoffment Edict was so effective, why was it just a flash in the pan? Why didn't Emperor Zhu Yunwen of the Ming Dynasty use the Enfeoffment Edict? If the Ming Dynasty had also implemented the Enfeoffment Edict at the beginning, could he have changed his fate?

In the heated discussions, the Enfeoffment Edict has been praised again and again and is known as an eternal conspiracy that cannot be solved. Is the Enfeoffment Edict really unsolvable? The author of this book has restored the entire process from the establishment to the implementation of the Enfeoffment Edict from the vast ancient historical materials, and has revealed the true face of the Enfeoffment Edict for you. It not only reproduces the background and implementation process of the Enfeoffment Edict but also analyzes its impact on the Western Han Dynasty and the entire history of China from political, economic, and cultural perspectives.

If you are eager to understand the deep logic of history, if you are curious about the wisdom of ancient politics, if you hope to draw wisdom from history, then this book is definitely a must-read for you. Let's follow the author's steps to explore the truth of history and feel the way of governing the country by ancient kings.

Liu Xi

Pen name "Lantern at Night," he is good at writing history and biographies. In 2019, he became a signed author of Zhihu, and in 2020, he was selected as an annual author of the Zhihu Salt Column with Luo Xiang and Li Songwei. His columns on history and characters have been widely praised, and the reading volume of a single column has exceeded 30 million people. Whether it is historical events or characters, he can always find a unique and interesting entry point, and with a steady pen and an unconstraint narrative structure, he can make the chaotic still water come to life, which also makes his writing very readable.