Chen Fan, Hu Guang, and Yuan Feng nodded in agreement, and then the group began to discuss which officials to dismiss.

The topic that Liu Hong had always wanted to address but dared not attempt easily—the performance evaluation and downsizing of officials—came to light during a casual conversation among several bigwigs.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

Just as everyone was discussing enthusiastically, Liu Hong walked over from the back hall with a loud shout from Song Dian.

"Your Majesty, we, your humble servants, pay our respects!"

Chen Fan and the others quickly stopped their discussion, stood up, and bowed to Liu Hong.

"Hehe, gentlemen, no need for formalities! Please be seated!"

Liu Hong smiled and then sat down on the imperial throne.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"

"What were you all talking about just now? I heard your conversation from the back hall!"

After everyone was seated, Liu Hong looked at Chen Fan and the others with a smile.

Chen Fan respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, we were just discussing the matter of dismissing those officials who hold positions without performing their duties and are utterly incompetent!"

"Oh? I wonder what the outcome of your discussion was?"

Liu Hong's expression shifted slightly; he had been thinking about this matter for a long time.

However, fearing opposition from the public, he changed his approach, secretly having Yang Qiu and his spies frame someone, and then waiting for the spring assessment next year to fill the vacancy with the young officials he had promoted.

Without a complete and sustainable system for evaluating and eliminating officials, framing and slander is merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause, and will have extremely negative consequences once the incident is exposed.

That's why he kept Cheng Yu, Jia Xu, Yang Qiu, Zhong Yao, and others in check, telling them to slow down their actions. Ultimately, it was because he had too few talented people under his command.