《资治通鉴·汉纪·汉纪十一》
汉武帝认为这是小罪，想不杀他。但张汤坚持要杀，认为： 庄助出入宫廷是皇上心腹之臣，却外与诸侯如此私交，如不杀庄助，今后类似的事情就不能禁止。 
张汤争，以为： 助出入禁门，腹心之臣，而外与诸侯交私如此，不诛，后不可治。 
Emperor Wu of Han thought that this was a minor crime and wanted to spare Zhuang Zhu. However, Zhang Tang insisted that he should be executed, saying: Zhuang Zhu goes in and out of the palace as a confidant of the Emperor, yet he has such a close friendship with the feudal princes. If Zhuang Zhu is not executed, it will be impossible to curb such behavior in the future.