Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c27.s17.21

v2.c27.s17.21

One last effort the Bhāu made to save his army by appealing to Shujā to arrange a peace at any price between him and the Shāh, and sent him a *carte blanche*, in the form of the impression of his palm dipped in saffron on a piece of blank paper, to be his credentials as a plenipotentiary, together with the most solemn oaths for a Hindu to abide by any settlement that he might make. The Durrāni wazir, Shāh Wali Khan, a kind-hearted man as well as a cool and far-sighted statesman, was willing to accept a large ransom from the Bhāu instead of antagonizing the Marathas for ever. But in the Shah's council-chamber his pacific advice was borne down by the vindictive fury of Najib Khan and the fanaticism of the Afghan soldiery, who refused to lose this opportunity of waging a holy war and slaying infidels on a gigantic scale, which would give them measureless spiritual merit.* As their mouthpiece, Qāzi Idris, urged his master, "Fix your eyes on your Faith, and let not any greed of money influence you in this matter, because the merit of jihad would be lost thereby.... This world is for a few days only.... Fear not the enemy, fear not the lack of money for your army expenses. Fear God rather." On hearing this speech, the Durrāni captains cried out with one voice, "The Qāzi has spoken the truth. In this holy war, we shall follow your wishes in every eventuality. Whether we are hungry or with full stomachs, we shall not lessen our exertions." Then Ahmad Shah said, "Recite the prayer for battle; the idea of making peace is given up." The baffled Maratha envoys were dismissed.