誅九族，是嚇阻背叛、樹立威信最有效的方法，沒有之一
被滿門抄斬的恐懼，甚至能用寫作為家族族曲，用以威嚇敵人並警惕自己
例如冰與火之歌中的 Lannister 族曲：The Rains of Castamere
曲： http://youtu.be/-FF2fBRKxtk 詞：
And who are you, the proud lord said, that I must bow so low?
Only a cat of a different coat, that's all the truth I know.
In a coat of gold or a coat of red, a lion still has claws,
And mine are long and sharp, my lord, as long and sharp as yours.
And so he spoke, and so he spoke, that lord of Castamere,
But now the rains weep o'er his hall, with no one there to hear.
Yes now the rains weep o'er his hall, and not a soul to hear.
指的就是當 Reyne家 被 Lannister家 在鬥爭中擊敗時
整個家族都被處決，最後一個被行刑的人
只能感嘆家族城堡只剩空蕩的大廳已無人可弔念
嚇阻背叛者的效果十足，也能時時提醒全家人只許成功不許失敗
所以株九族當然有用，只是現代人大家都怕變魯蛇，所以廢除了這種制度了