Fall of the Mughal Empire v4.c56.s15.1

v4.c56.s15.1

After his cowardly flight from the advancing British army at Koil without striking one blow, Perron wrote from the way (on 1st September) two lying letters to Colonel Pedron, urging him for the honour of the French nation, never to make terms with General Lake, but defend Aligarh obstinately as he (Perron) “hoped in a few days to send back the English General as fast as, or perhaps faster than he came”. He assured Pedron that in a few days a vast army sent by him would arrive on the plain of Aligarh, and that Ranjit Singh of Lahore “had crossed the Satlaj with an army of 25,000 men and would join Perron in 14 or 15 days”. All this time the Indian world knew that Ranjit Singh had definitely rejected Perron's proposal for an anti-British alliance. [As. An. Reg. for 1804, State P. 258-260. PRC. ix. 65A.]