In the past, the performance evaluation of officials was basically just a formality. Apart from catching some people who violated the law and engaged in corruption, officials who did not make mistakes were treated exceptionally leniently and might even be promoted as a result.

Now, Chen Fan and others have set their sights on those incompetent officials, which coincides with Liu Hong's plan.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Hong said in a deep voice, "I feel that the annual deliberations and the triennial evaluations in the past have spanned too long a period of time. As a result, the losses and impacts caused by officials who have committed bad policies or failed to perform their duties are magnified, which is not good!"

Chen Fan nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right! I think it would be better to set the assessment period at once every six months, twice a year, and six times in three years. Those with outstanding performance can be promoted."

Those who fail the test less than three times may be allowed to remain on probation; those who fail more than three times may be dismissed immediately!

"Grand Tutor's method is excellent! I wonder what you gentlemen think?"

Liu Hong nodded, then looked at the others.

"We second that proposal!"

Li Ying, Hu Guang, Cao Song, Xun Shuang, Yang Qiu, and others also expressed their agreement.

Liu Hong smiled and then said, "Alright, let's discuss the next issue!"

The performance evaluation of officials has always been one of the most important matters in every dynasty. It not only affects the livelihood and stability of a country, but more importantly, it is one of the most effective means for officials in the court to compete for power and profit.

This is a double-edged sword; if not handled carefully, it can hurt both oneself and others.

Therefore, Liu Hong, Chen Fan, and others carefully discussed each point, trying their best to identify the advantages and disadvantages and make revisions accordingly.

However, where there are people, there are selfish motives, entanglements of interests, and interpersonal relationships. With these, some problems are hard to avoid. Liu Hong, Chen Fan, and others are well aware of how to avoid or minimize their impact, which has become a difficult problem in front of them.

However, this is an unavoidable problem. Everything requires human intervention, and no one can guarantee that all forms of favoritism and corruption can be completely eliminated.

A moment of silence fell over Deyang Palace as everyone pondered a feasible solution.

After a moment, Xun Shuang raised his head and looked at Liu Hong, saying in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I believe that in addition to assigning duties and responsibilities to those officials for assessment, a special assessment department should be established, independent of all other government offices. Only in this way can we minimize the impact of so-called personal relationships and favors!"

"That's a good move!!"

Subsequently, Chen Fan and others agreed to Xun Shuang's proposal and formed a team composed of key personnel from the Sili Yamen, the Tingwei Fu, and the Zhijinwu, with Li Ying as the leader and Yang Qiu, Song Feng, and Xun Shuang as assistants.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Hong said, "I have another idea that might work!"

"Does Your Majesty have any good ideas?"

Chen Fan and the others couldn't help but look at Liu Hong with curiosity.

Liu Hong smiled and then said, "In the past, the evaluation of officials was done by superiors evaluating subordinates. The imperial court evaluated the prefects of prefectures and counties, and the prefects of prefectures and counties evaluated the magistrates of counties. As a result, it was inevitable that there would be bias due to various reasons!"

Hearing the emperor's pointed words, Chen Fan and the others couldn't help but frown. This was indeed a difficult problem. Some people would promote their protégés and former subordinates in order to win over their confidants and gain more support. This had become the norm, and even those present were not immune to it.

It is basically impossible to completely overturn and eliminate this phenomenon, after all, there are not many truly loyal ministers in history.

Seeing everyone's expressions, Liu Hong couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that everyone understood the underlying principles, but no one was willing to solve the problem. The officialdom had developed for thousands of years, yet it could never escape the shackles of human relationships.

"Therefore, I believe that we can add another method, in which subordinates and civilians, such as students of the Imperial Academy, students from the common people, and people from all over the country, can supervise and evaluate their superiors and officials, and then the court can review their performance!"

However, Liu Hong ultimately decided to give it a try. The quality of most officials determines the development and stability of the country. If he wanted the Han Dynasty to get better and better, it was obviously not enough to rely solely on the loyalty and self-discipline of the officials. It was still very necessary for him to hang a sharp sword over their heads.

Yuan Feng, looking worried, said, "Your Majesty, wouldn't this be exploited by some malicious individuals who might organize people to attack others at will?"

The others also looked at Liu Hong with grave expressions. If what the emperor had just said was true, then all of them present would probably be the first to be punished.

Seeing the worried looks on everyone's faces, Liu Hong waved his hand and laughed, saying:

"You gentlemen need not worry about this. As I just said, those students of the Imperial Academy and ordinary people are only subject to supervision and evaluation."

Only when the assessment results differ significantly from or are diametrically opposed to their evaluations will further investigation be conducted! What do you all think?

Hu Guang stood up and said, "Your Majesty is right! As the saying goes, a gentleman is upright and honest. As long as one acts with integrity and has a clear conscience, the supervision and evaluation will naturally not have any impact!"

"Moreover, this method can ensure the examinees remain loyal to the best of their ability, and I believe it is feasible!" Li Ying echoed.

Xun Shuang and Yang Qiu, needless to say, immediately stood up to express their support, and Chen Fan eventually nodded in agreement.

At this point, the general consensus was reached on the issue of performance evaluation and elimination of officials.

Just as everyone was preparing to discuss one issue at a time, a member of the Imperial Guard arrived hurriedly outside Deyang Palace with a report of victory.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!