The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 479 A Dilemma
Although Lan Yu's army was not large in number, its combat power was extremely strong. During this period, he had suffered a lot, and many cities had been severely damaged.

If they cannot reclaim these areas, their losses will be enormous, as these plains are the true heart of their territory.

If it falls into the hands of Duke Lan Yu of Liang for an extended period of time, it will inevitably have a significant impact on this region.

In comparison, the Khmer Empire has already done more than enough. As for why it can't help them now, that's just how it is. Thinking of this, he sighed and said.

"I'm truly sorry, envoy, but I had no other choice in this matter. You should know the fighting strength of the Ming army."

What if I don't go back to help now?

"Such a huge loss is simply beyond our ability to bear, so this is the only way. I believe you will understand!"

Upon hearing this, the man felt a chill run down his spine. Didn't they understand the principle of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold"? If so, their future losses would be even more severe.

"You need to think this through carefully, because you'll definitely regret your choice in the future!"

Upon hearing this, the emperor of the Delhi Sultanate frowned. The envoy was being rather presumptuous, daring to speak to him in such a manner. He simply snorted coldly.

"This is my choice. In any case, the Emperor of the Delhi Sultanate shall be the Delhi Sultan."

"The nation comes first, and I have done more than enough for you. Now I am withdrawing the troops for my own country's sake. Rest assured, once I can withdraw the troops and resolve this matter, I will send them back to support you!"

"You just need to hold on a little longer!"

Upon hearing this, the envoy couldn't help but smile wryly. This matter was easy to talk about but extremely difficult to accomplish. If it were really that easy, he wouldn't have been unable to resolve it for so long.

Moreover, both Mu Ying and Wang Bi are very powerful, especially since they are so easy to deal with.

At that moment, he felt utterly hopeless and could only turn around and leave the place.

When the news reached the Khmer Empire, the army of the Delhi Sultanate stationed there was already packing up to retreat, which made him very panicked. So he went directly to the commander of the Delhi Sultanate.

"General, you can't leave! If you leave, I'm afraid Mu Ying and Wang Bi's armies will attack again. With our current strength, we are no match for them. Then our Khmer Empire will perish!"

The arrival of the leaders was also a difficult situation. Although they knew about the trouble in this place, their own country was not doing well either. They couldn't just abandon their country for them.

"Your Majesty, I understand your feelings very well, but there is nothing we can do about it. The Ming Empire has already dispatched a portion of its troops to attack us, which means that in addition to you, our country is also suffering heavy losses. We really cannot afford to think about anything else now!"

"Blame the Ming army for their formidable fighting strength. But don't worry, if you can hold out for a while, we will come to your aid after we have resolved this matter!"

The emperor of the Khmer Empire felt a chill run through him; this matter was far from easy.

If it weren't for the arrival of the Delhi Sultanate's army, his capital would probably have already fallen, and he wouldn't have had this opportunity. Seeing that there was no way to resolve the situation, he took a deep breath and summoned his ministers to see if there was any way to resist.

However, these ministers remained silent. The previous battles had thoroughly defeated them, and they did not believe that their current forces could withstand the well-rested Ming army.

At that moment, someone stepped forward and spoke.

"Your Majesty, our army is no match for the Ming Dynasty. We must make plans as soon as possible!"

"There are still many islands in this sea, some of which are very large. Why don't we occupy one of them as our backup base? If anything happens, we can use it as capital to make a comeback!"

"Nothing lasts forever. No one can be sure what the Ming Dynasty will be like in the future. If the Ming Dynasty becomes weak, we can continue to attack and take back a large piece of territory!"

The others nodded in agreement. In short, many people supported this idea. They were very clear that since they could not compare with the Ming Dynasty, this was the only chance to escape the Central Plains.

Upon hearing this, the emperor felt conflicted. Although these people spoke in such a manner, none of them considered his feelings. After all, he was the emperor of the Khmer Empire, whose country had once been a dominant force in the region.

Who could have imagined it would turn out like this? Do they want me to go out to sea and become a small island owner?

Indeed, he was very unwilling, and he gritted his teeth and said.

"In that case, let's move some of the people and forces to another location first, while the rest of the army remains in this place. All the civilians should come up and reinforce the city's defenses!"

"This time we must fight the Ming army to the death. If we win, we can take advantage of the situation to rise to power and even seize more territory!"

"If we don't hold on, we'll head straight to an island in the sea and develop it little by little, and then make a comeback!"

The group nodded in agreement, but everyone knew perfectly well that any talk of resistance was just empty rhetoric.

On the one hand, it gave them an opportunity to retreat, and on the other hand, it was to cover up their incompetence.

When Wang Bi and Mu Ying learned of this news, they nodded in satisfaction.

"It seems that Duke Liang's reaction speed is very fast this time. Since the army of the Delhi Sultanate is preparing to retreat, we should also step up our efforts and surround these enemies. I suggest that we cut off all the ports at sea!"

"These places are all unique terrain features, and leaving them to them isn't a particularly good thing. It's better to destroy them completely!"

"In that case, even if they wanted to escape, they wouldn't have any way to do so!"

The generals all nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)