________________
268
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
( SEPTEMBER, 1921
At this time orders reached them from Ibrahîm Qutb Shah, directing them to leave Kaulâs and join him for some other expedition, leaving a small force in Kaulas. The army of Kandhår, seizing this opportunity, marched on Kauls and reached it on Muharram 9.100 There they defeated the Qutb Shahi troops and plundered and wasted Kaulâs and all the surrounding country and then returned to Kandhår.
The king and his army remained in camp before Narnála for nearly a year, 191 fighting daily and clearing the jungle and improving the approaches to the fortress. They levelled knolls and filled up the hollows and dragged the siege guns by means of elephants and bullocks close to the walls of the fortress. They so battered the walls with artillery that they breached them in many places, and ever and again a body of the defenders would sally forth and fight valiantly with the besiegers.
While all this fighting was in progress, Changiz Khân, mindful of the saying "War is fraud ", bethought him of a device and caused Khyaja Mubammad Lârî to write a letter to Tufal Khân representing himself to be a merchant with horses and merchandise for sale, and asking for admission to the fort. The wretched Tufâl Khân gave him the required pass and thus admitted the enemy into his house. Changiz Khan gave Khvaja Muhammad Lari a quantity of goods and supplied him with written assurances, sealed with the royal seal, for the núikwdris of the fort, promising them places, rewards and other marks of the royal favour if they would forsake Tufal Khân and transfer their allegiance to Murtaza Nizâm Shah.102
The minister's wise device succeeded where force of arms had failed, and the Khyâja, in the guise of a merchant, entered the fort.
Outwardly he was a merchant and behaved as such, but secretly he was engaged in seducing the ndiks from their allegiance and by means of money, gifts, and promises of the royal favour succeeded in corrupting most of them and was enabled to inform Changiz Khân that he had won the ndiks over. Spies, however, informed Tufal Khân of the pretended mer. chant's actual employment, and Tufal Kbân imprisoned the Khwaja and arrested several of the ndikwants whom he distrusted. Some of the ndikwaris made their escape over the wall and joined the royal army, and these events caused the greatest confusion among the Beraris, and Tufal Khin's army was thoroughly disheartened. At the same time Asad Khån destroyed most of the bastions and the enceinte of the fort with his guns, and this added to the despair and perplexity of the garrison. They filled the breaches with straw, rubbish, skins and packsaddles, and resisted the besiegers feebly and confusedly, but fate laughed at their efforts.
(To be continued.)
180 May 11, 1573.
101 Muta Niram Shah grew very weary of the siege of NarnAla and, on hearing of the birth in Ahmadnagar, in A.H. 981 (A.D. 1573-74) of his son usein, was on the point of raising the siege and returning to Ahmadnagar. Hio vile favourite, the boy Husain, afterwards entitled sahib Khan, with whom he had recently become acquainted, urged him in the same direotion. Chengiz Khan's stratagem came just in time to save the situation.
103 Firishta says that " merchant named Afghan," that is to say, probably, an Afgban merchant, arrived in Murtaza Nizam ShAh's camp at this time with horses and other merchandise from LAhor. He represented that he had brought these in fulfilment of an order from Tural Khan and begged that he might be allowed to take them into the fortress. Changis Khân granted him the required permission on the condition that after disposing of his marchandise he gave up trade and entered the service of Murta & Nisam BhAh. The condition was sooopted and the merchant entered the fort. With him Changiz Ko An sent an agent, diaguised as a merchant and well supplied with money wherewith to bribe Tufal Khan's offioms. Thje agent was probably Kvaja Muhammad Lari.-F. ii, 267.
