Quote Originally Posted by Keltest View Post
This isnt a game of Starcraft where all you have to do is destroy all the enemy's buildings to win. The Empire's own armies were smashed to bits! They won the last battle, but their heartland is still occupied by enemy forces and devastated to boot. As far as surrenders go, the Concordant is incredibly favorable for the Empire. The only really nasty part is ceding land in Hammerfell, and ultimately they didnt even have to go through with that one. They failed to stick the landing on the Talos bit, but that isn't really their fault, Ulfric is just a complete idiot who can't play politics to save his life.
While I agree Ulfric has no head for politics, I don't give much for the Empire's political savvy either if they thought that accepting some frankly humiliating terms (and then living with them indefinitely) wouldn't blow up in their faces.

Yes, the terms could have been worse but calling them favorable seems like an incredible stretch.