This Legalist excerpt from Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 32.10 gives multiple anecdotes. It illustrates that excessive honors for reclusive scholars erode farming and military strength, contributing to Zhongshan state’s downfall.
The city of Dingzhou was surrounded by the Tartar army. Sun Yangao, the prefect, was so frightened he no longer appeared at his official quarters, but shut himself in his private house and had the door bolted. Official documents were passed through a tiny window.