Using heavy punishment in troubled times could also be explained as using high-pressure policies to recover the chaotic situation as soon as possible. This was the case in the mountain god Kingdom.
The mountain god nation had not been too chaotic before this as they had to fight against the grimace clan. Hence, they were very United. However, ever since Huang Xinglong became the King of the Mountain god nation, things had become a little chaotic. Many of Huang Shan's die-hard supporters did not acknowledge Huang Xinglong. In their eyes, Huang Guanglong was a bastard who used the influence of the bewitching Empire to force his father. Thus, the mountain god nation was in a state of chaos.