‘Is Shah Shuja to be taken alive?’ asked the raja.
‘Yes. I want to avoid shedding my sons’ blood. I wish him brought before me to answer for his crimes.’
‘Is there any news of your other two sons, Majesty?’ asked the Uzbek Khalilullah Khan, whose scarred face testified to his hard and loyal fighting at the side of Aurangzeb against his fellow countrymen in his northern campaign.
‘The information on Murad is still patchy and vague. Some reports state that he has proclaimed himself emperor in Gujarat — that the khutba has been read in his name in the mosques and he has ordered coins to be struck to mark the start of his reign — others that he has murdered his revenue minister — Ali Naqi, a man who was always loyal to me — for protesting against his treasonous acts. They say Murad himself ran him through with a sword. There are also rumours that Murad plans to attack and loot Surat and then, when he has filled his war chest, to march from his capital at Ahmadabad to rendezvous with Aurangzeb as he moves up from the Deccan. Murad has apparently sent his women and children to safety in the fortress of Champanir, which means he anticipates a long campaign.’
‘Surely if Prince Murad has already crowned himself emperor, he intends to fight Prince Aurangzeb, not join forces with him?’ asked Raja Jaswant Singh of Marwar, running a finger along the hilt of the dagger hanging in its jewelled scabbard from a gold chain round his waist.
‘I think not. Our scouts intercepted one of Aurangzeb’s messengers riding north to Ahmadabad. He was carrying a letter bearing Aurangzeb’s seal and addressed to Murad. Listen to what it says.’ Shah Jahan motioned to an attendant to hand him the document. ‘Our scheme for seizing the throne is now under way. Together we will trample the idolaters and infidels who bring shame upon the name of Islam and Moghul alike and enforce the word of the one God in this sinful country. You, my dear brother, have joined me in this great enterprise and I hereby reaffirm my promise to you that when we have prevailed — as we will, for our cause is just — your reward will be the provinces of Punjab, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Sind to govern without let or hindrance as your own, let God be my witness. When we meet, as we are pledged to do before reaching Agra, we will debate further about how we will bring these glorious things to pass and send our enemies to perdition.’ It may be a forgery, intended deliberately to fall into my hands and to mislead me. Aurangzeb is devious enough for that. But I think it’s genuine. Aurangzeb is playing to Murad’s conceit and vanity. He knows that Murad is much closer to Agra than he is and I suspect the reason he is insistent on their joining forces before reaching here is to avoid Murad’s arriving before him and thus seizing some kind of advantage militarily or politically. What Aurangzeb’s intentions are towards Shah Shuja I can only guess. But one thing I’m absolutely certain of — we must prevent either Aurangzeb or Murad from reaching Agra. I therefore intend to despatch another army south under you, Raja Jaswant Singh, to seek them out and confront them, either singly or together. God and right are on our side — not theirs.’
Shah Jahan sat down and for a moment closed his eyes. Dara knew that he was exhausted. Despite his continuing weakness he had sat up through much of the night with himself, Suleiman, Jai Singh, Jaswant Singh and his other commanders, studying maps and discussing logistics — how many troops were ready to move, how long it would take to muster further units, how many cannon he had, how many war elephants there were in the imperial stables and how many more could be provided by his Rajput allies. Only a few weeks ago Shah Jahan had been on his sickbed but now, even if it was draining any reserves of strength remaining in his frail body, his steely determination was inspiring confidence in others. Dara could see it in the counsellors’ faces. He felt it in himself.
He rose to his feet and raised his arms. ‘Long live my father, the emperor. Zinderbad Padishah Shah Jahan!’ As the council’s spirited response echoed around him, his own spirits rose further. As his father had said, their cause was just.
‘Father, Raja Jai Singh is here.’ Dara’s voice broke into Shah Jahan’s slumber. Despite his recovery, he sometimes dozed after his midday meal — itself a much less sumptuous affair than when he had been in his prime. Just some chicken baked in the tandoor and a little saffron rice. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Shah Jahan sat up on the gold brocade couch on which he had been lying, his mind quickly focusing. In recent weeks he’d received few reports of the progress of Suleiman’s army. ‘What’s Jai Singh’s news? Why has he come in person?’
‘I don’t know yet. I’ve not seen him. I was in the haram resting with Nadira when an attendant told me of his arrival. I thought you and I should hear his report together. I’ve sent word that he should join us in your private audience chamber in a quarter of an hour.’
In fact it was only ten minutes before a qorchi announced the ruler of Amber to the imperial father and son. As the raja entered he looked as urbane and well groomed as ever, his luxuriant moustaches faultlessly curled and pomaded, his cream robe spotless. Despite the best efforts of attendants in an adjacent chamber pulling the strings of a great punka of peacock’s feathers so that it swayed back and forth like a giant butterfly’s wing above the emperor’s head, the audience chamber was hot and airless, but Jai Singh wasn’t even perspiring.
Anxious and unable to read from the raja’s face what his news was, Dara in an unaccustomed breach of protocol spoke before his father. ‘Is your news good or bad, Jai Singh?’
Slightly taken aback, the raja responded, ‘A mixture, Highness.’
‘Well then, Dara,’ said Shah Jahan, ‘Jai Singh must let me have his report of events in the order they happened so that I can judge them for myself.’
‘I will, Majesty.’ The raja bowed, recognising in Shah Jahan’s words an implicit rebuke to his over-eager son. ‘We made swift progress in our flotilla of barges down first the Jumna and then the Ganges, pausing only occasionally to exercise the horses and at Allahabad to take on more weapons and stores and to rendezvous with Dilir Khan. It took us less than a month to cover five hundred miles before — acting on information brought to us by a local vassal who had himself rowed from his riverside fort to intercept us — your grandson gave the order to disembark near Varanasi. In doing so, he followed the advice of myself and Dilir Khan, as he did in leaving some of the heavy equipment behind and setting out immediately to intercept Shah Shuja and his men, who the vassal had told us were moving west, parallel to the north bank of the river about twelve miles inland.
‘During the late evening of the next day, some of our scouts returned to camp. They had been sweeping well ahead of our main body when they saw at a distance what looked like campfires burning. Dismounting and creeping closer they found Shah Shuja’s camp quiet and scarcely a sentry posted. Hearing their report, we agreed in a war council to break camp just after midnight and attack Shah Shuja’s army at dawn as they prepared for the day ahead. Mindful of your strictures not to shed the blood of your family, Prince Suleiman ordered us to avoid firing on what looked like command positions and to seek to capture rather than kill Shah Shuja.
‘All went well until we were pushing through some scrubland less than a mile or so from Shah Shuja’s camp. An agonised scream tore the air and our leading scout suddenly pitched from his saddle. His terrified mount galloped back towards us, reins dangling. For a moment we thought an unseen sentry had killed the scout but then, as the horse got closer, we saw great bleeding slashes on its rump as it pushed its way into and through our ranks, unsettling our own horses, followed by a great male tiger. He was the cause of the wounds and the scout’s scream — not an enemy attack. On seeing our numbers the tiger veered away back into the night. However, the hubbub had roused the few sentries Shah Shuja had posted. They began to yell warnings.