Aurangzib had arrived at Aurangabad on nth
November, 1657, and set himself
Aurangzib at Aurangabad: his preparations for the war of succession:
to the task of preparing the way
for his own succession to the
throne. He had one eye turned
on Mir Jumla at Bir and another
on Shah Jahan at Agra. The idea of his marching to Ahmadnagar to overawe the Bijapuri
officers was definitely abandoned. On 28th
October he had taken a very necessary precaution by sending a force under Malik Husain to
Handia to seize all the ferries of the Narmada
and prevent correspondence between Dara and
the Mughal officers in the Deccan. He also
wrote friendly letters to the Gond Rajahs of
Deogarh and Chanda, through whose territories
his road to Agra lay. A few men in his camp
who had tried to send news to Agra w^ere punished and carefully watched, and a secret courier
was expelled. At the same time he urged his
forms an alliance with Murad and Shuja.
friends to collect news: "We
should be on the watch to get
news from all sides. His
alliance with Murad was made strong and its
terms clearly defined. Letters were frequently sent to Shuja, both by way of Agra—which route was unsafe, being in his enemy's hands,—and also through Orissa. But distance forbade any useful
Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/385
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CHAP. XIV.]
AURANGZIB'S PREPARATIONS.
355
