Nian’s crimes are enumerated under ninety-two headings, and early in 1726 he is sentenced to be executed.

The Emperor grants him the privilege of committing suicide but his eldest son, Nian Fu, is beheaded and his other sons are banished.

Nian Gengyao is credited with three works on military tactics: General Nian's Art of War among others, but all were apparently written by others and falsely attributed to him.

Sixty-six copies of the five thoisand and twenty-volume long Gujin Tushu Jicheng (Complete Collection of Illustrations and Writings from the Earliest to Current Times) are printed in 1726, necessitating the crafting of two hundred and fifty thousand movable type characters cast in bronze, spanning around ten thousand rolls.