This Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 39.3 offers dual rebuttals over Zhao Gong’s murder by Gao Qumi. It debates statecraft: whether rulers should promptly execute hated ministers or avoid excessive, untimely punishments that breed widespread enemies.
This Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 39.2 presents two successive rebuttals over imprisoning fugitive rebel Yang Hu. It debates whether punishing known rebels deters hidden treachery, examining ministerial loyalty, human greed and royal deterrent statecraft.