Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c36.s8.39

v3.c36.s8.39

For two days there was an exchange of fire with the fort. It was ineffective, and Ahad was too faint-hearted or too wise to attempt an assault as the prince had rashly suggested. The tide now turned decisively against the imperialists. The condition of their camp was hopeless: “mutinies broke out in our army from the enmity between the Turks and the Afghans (the latter prompted by Zābita Khan), the refusal of Ghāzi Khan and other [Mughalia] captains to work as there was no money for paying their soldiers, and the tumult created by Hurmat Khan, the chief favourite of Abdul Ahad. After Tārā Singh had arrived and joined the Patiāla Rajah, most of the Sikh sardars lately engaged by the prince suddenly deserted him, being lured away by Amar Singh’s gold.” [G. Ali, iii. 134.] To crown the Delhi minister’s misery, another Sikh army, its number swollen by rumour to two lakhs of men, was reported to be coming in response to Amar Singh’s appeal for help.