IC: The recent shake-up has prompted a wide-spread review, and that review has made it clear that lower-level staff have been turning away Black Sheep's envoys for no good reason.
We may not accept their terms, but we should at least hear what they have to say. Diplomacy--no matter how hated the enemy--is important in keeping wars from becoming worse than they have to be.
[X] Plan Fouredged
...
On second thought, I'm also a bit less worried about our patricians being willing to keep the Black Sheep in office (which is the real worry, as Thunder Plateau now expects--due to precedent for 2/3rds of the province--to elect their own leaders).
The reports of administration failure from our spies were absolutely disgusting (by Ymaryn standards). It has to be clear, even to the most out-of-touch, that the populace hate the Black Sheep rulers. Our patricians would enjoy, in theory, the reduced standards--but this is so far below the norm that it compromises the narrative of them being best for the job, as nearly anyone is capable of that level of absenteeism.
While several here have been beating the drum of half-exile or full-exile, this isn't realistically a compromise that they would offer (they can escape the country on their own if they really wanted to; what's the point of sending an envoy?). We should be open to other compromises, such as sinecures or bribing the Black Sheep in return for a quick and peaceful transition. The only lines in the sand are that:
- The Black Sheep not be given [long-term] special privileges (which will destabilize us, like their first offer)
- Our implicit promise (via precedent), to allow Thunder Plateau to elect its own leadership, must not be compromised.
A settlement that doesn't destabilize the Ymaryn is something we can work with.
