Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c27.s13.15

v2.c27.s13.15

If Ahmad Shāh had been left to himself, he would have immediately gone back to Qandahār, in order to avoid the Indian summer which had killed off hundreds of his soldiers daily in 1757. His task in India was done by the middle of April ; he had annihilated the Maratha power in the North, slain Dattāji Sindhia, routed Malhar Holkar, captured Delhi, cleared the upper Doab of every enemy of the Ruhelas, and brought the Jāt Rajah to promise tribute. It only remained for him to confirm the work of his sword by inviting Shah Alam II to take the throne of Delhi with the loyal Shujā as his wazir. This expedition, unlike that of 1757, had brought in no rich tribute or booty, and the invader was hard pressed for money to feed his soldiers with. But Najib Khan begged him hard not to abandon the Indian Afghans to the mercy of the vast army that the Peshwā was sending to retrieve his prestige in the North ; he even contributed ten lakhs of Rupees in cash to meet Abdāli's war charges and also undertook to supply his army, if it remained in the Doāb, with provisions from his estates there and east of the Ganges. Thus it happened that as the rainy season approached, Abdāli made up his mind to go into cantonments near Aligarh. Here grass and bamboo huts were constructed for his army and tents were brought from the Delhi imperial stores by writing to his agent there, Yaqub Ali Khan. [DC. Nur-ud-din, 31-32a.] Each side now began to beat up for allies.