04-27-2023, 04:45 AM
As the date approached ever closer in which the Xiomeran Empire was planning to annex a sizeable chunk of Huenyan land, a combination of fear and anger gripped the country. Fear that the land grab could lead to war if Huenya resisted, and anger that the government hadn't already resisted the move. The unilateral cease-fire that Vice-Speaker Tiacihitli had declared, halting Huenya's attempts to dislodge the separatists, was now widely seen as a mistake by many Huenyans. It was seen as having emboldened the Empire, leading to the present crisis.
In Chuaztlapoc, however, something was gripping the government even more than fear or anger. It was paralysis. The esteemed leaders of the Huenyan Federation couldn't decide what to do about Xiomera's planned land grab. Conservatives and nationalists wanted to throw everything Huenya had militarily at the separatist statelet of Western Xiomera before the Xiomerans could annex it, in a desperate bid to prevent the annexation before Xiomera had sizeable numbers of troops there. The centrist and more left segments of the Legislature and the government were convinced that such a move would lead to a war Huenya could not win. They insisted that the only rational course of action was to reinforce the borders as they stood now, prevent Xiomera from grabbing more land, and seek help from LIDUN and the international community to regain what was about to be stolen from Huenya.
The paralysis wasn't just in the halls of the Legislature. The Vice-Speaker, a civilian who believed that the law could resolve any issue, agreed with the centrists. Great Speaker Texōccoatl, a military man, found himself siding with the conservatives and nationalists. The growing split between Huenya's two top leaders only contributed to the inability of the Huenyan government to come to a decisive decision.
As the Huenyan government debated, dithered and spun in circles, the clock continued to tick. Xiomera's planned annexation was now just five days away. And no one in Huenya could agree on what to do about it.
In Chuaztlapoc, however, something was gripping the government even more than fear or anger. It was paralysis. The esteemed leaders of the Huenyan Federation couldn't decide what to do about Xiomera's planned land grab. Conservatives and nationalists wanted to throw everything Huenya had militarily at the separatist statelet of Western Xiomera before the Xiomerans could annex it, in a desperate bid to prevent the annexation before Xiomera had sizeable numbers of troops there. The centrist and more left segments of the Legislature and the government were convinced that such a move would lead to a war Huenya could not win. They insisted that the only rational course of action was to reinforce the borders as they stood now, prevent Xiomera from grabbing more land, and seek help from LIDUN and the international community to regain what was about to be stolen from Huenya.
The paralysis wasn't just in the halls of the Legislature. The Vice-Speaker, a civilian who believed that the law could resolve any issue, agreed with the centrists. Great Speaker Texōccoatl, a military man, found himself siding with the conservatives and nationalists. The growing split between Huenya's two top leaders only contributed to the inability of the Huenyan government to come to a decisive decision.
As the Huenyan government debated, dithered and spun in circles, the clock continued to tick. Xiomera's planned annexation was now just five days away. And no one in Huenya could agree on what to do about it.
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