I have heard this reframed as "Cortez was actually a better politician than he was a general, unifying enough Aztec-hating factions to take down the Aztecs and

I have heard this reframed as "Cortez was actually a better politician than he was a general, unifying enough Aztec-hating factions to take down the Aztecs and then maneuver politically to the top once those factions succeeded".