Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c38.s8.5

v3.c38.s8.5

Shafi now set himself to weakening his formidable rival. He had already begun intrigues for seducing Muhammad Beg's captains (esp. the Mughalias), and this plan was continued with vigour. His confidants, Afrāsiyāb Khan and Gosāin Himmat Bahadur, confirmed his belief that so long as Hamadāni lived his own position as the head of the Government could not be safe. But Hamadāni could be crushed only with the help of Māhādji Sindhia,[*] whose fame as the friend of the English and the mediator of their treaty with the Peshwa had raised him to the highest place among the indigenous Powers of N. India. Shafi therefore sent Himmat Bahadur to Sindhia's camp in Malwa for contriving this alliance. The negotiations, however, took long to mature.