Cortés vs Moctezuma: should an empire bow or break?

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HERNÁN CORTÉS vs MOCTEZUMA II go head to head — and every jab is rooted in real history.

HERNÁN CORTÉS

I marched inland burning my own ships—retreat was never an option, only Tenochtitlan.

MOCTEZUMA II

And I welcomed you into that shining city as a guest, mistaking your greed for prophecy.

HERNÁN CORTÉS

You hesitated when boldness was the only crown worth wearing; a throne that waits is a throne that falls.

MOCTEZUMA II

Better a king who reads omens than a stranger who reads only gold—my city was a miracle, and you left it ash.

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