The Book of Akbar 221: March of his Majesty Jahanbani Jannat-ashiyani's army from Qandahar to conquer Kabul, and victory over that territory.

221

When his Majesty was freed from anxiety about Qandahar he placed before himself the conquest of Kabul, and with this intention left his Majesty Firdus-makani’s garden and halted at the Gumbaz Safed (the white dome) above the shrine of Hasan Abdal. The thought of the expedition continually occupied his mind, and he was perpetually holding conferences about it with far-sighted loyalists and devoted friends. Many of the Persians were wearied of their long expatriation and went off without leave, while some departed after obtaining leave by importunity. Budagh Khan and the others who were in attendance on the Shah’s son opened, from want of consideration, the hand of tyranny and oppression over the subject population, and thought of increasing their own substance by such unhallowed proceedings. High and low used to come from the city, imploring justice, and his Majesty Jahanbani was in a difficulty for if he were to rebuke the oppressors, the Shah would be vexed, while, if he did not execute justice, the hand of the unjust would not be withdrawn from the subjugated, and this would call down the Divine displeasure. As the time was not convenient, he remained perturbed, and put off remedying the evil till another season.
When the expedition to Kabul had been determined upon he was compelled to ask Budagh Khan for accommodation for some of his ladies and for his goods and chattels. He candidly acknowledged that in accordance with his promise he had made over Qandahar to the Persians, but said that he could not set the foot of resolve in the stirrup of toil until he had disposed of his people, and his mind were at ease concerning them. Budagh Khan in his ignorance of affairs made objections and unlike a wise man was neither alert in carrying out the Shah’s orders, nor in obeying the king’s mandate, which was the root of the matter. The chief officers represented that they had a great enterprise in hand, and that there was nothing for it but to seize Qandahar. They would thus undertake whatever was before them with a light heart. His Majesty referred to the kindnesses of the Shah and declined to vex the latter’s servants, and thought they must submit to their unreasonable conduct. He began to consider if he should go to Badakhshan and should join M. Sulaiman to himself before attacking Kabul. But as a strong motive for haste in conquering Kabul was his desire to behold the Shahinshah and to share to the full in that light of the garden of the Khilafat, knowing that by heaven's decree all providential victories depended on the auspicious existence of that splendour, his eager desire to attain that object revealed itself from time to time. Just then the Shah’s son became a beholder of the gardens (riyāz) of mercy, and a visitor of the pools (hiyāz) of pardon (i.e., he died). The confidential officers represented that winter was at hand, and that it was impossible for them to convey the women and children and the baggage (partāl) along with them into the hill-country. The Shah’s son was dead, and it was not right to leave Qandahar to the Turkamans, especially when they were so headstrong and were by their tyranny ruining the country and casting down the pillars of peace. Moreover, though they had been commissioned to bind constantly the girdle of service on their souls’ waist, and to serve continually the sublime expedition they had been perverse and been drunken with the wine of negligence, and had not shown zeal in submitting to orders. On the contrary they had transgressed the supreme commands, and had openly and secretly gone into opposition and had suspended over their countenances the veil of shamelessness. It behoved his Majesty to shorten their oppressive