The Moghul

fear."
    Jadar watched as the keepers began measuring the rations of meat to reward the chitahs . And he reflected over the secret envoy received early that morning from the commander of the fortress at Mandu, the northern outpost of the Deccan. . . .
    "Your Highness is respectfully advised the situation is worse, much worse, than told in the reports sent by Ghulam Adl." They were alone in Jadar's tent and the envoy was on his knees, prostrate, terrified at his obligation to bring ill tidings to the son of the Moghul. Ghulam Adl was the general in charge of the Deccan, who had abandoned Ahmadnagar to Malik Ambar and retreated north to Burhanpur. His official reports still maintained an air of bravado, claiming a few reinforcements were all that was required to drive the rebels to final extinction.
    "We have asked Ghulam Adl for troops to help defend Mandu, but he cannot leave Burhanpur," the envoy continued. "The Deccanis have surrounded the city, but they do not trouble themselves with a siege. They know he cannot move. So they have sent eight thousand light cavalry, Maratha irregulars, north across the Narbada River to plunder outlying districts. They are approaching Mandu, and will be at the fortress within the week."
    "Why doesn't Ghulam Adl call up troops from among the mansabdars . They've all been granted their annual allowance for maintenance of cavalry."
    Mansabdars were nobles of the Moghul empire who had been given rank by the Moghul and were allowed to collect revenue from a specified number of estates and villages, allotted lands called jagirs , as a reward for service and loyalty. They collected taxes for the Imperial treasury in Agra, which allowed them a portion to maintain cavalry and equipage at the ready. Assignment of a jagir always carried the responsibility of maintaining a specified number of troops and cavalry, which they were obliged to muster when requested by the Moghul.
    "The mansabdars have no men to muster, may it please Your Highness." The envoy's face was buried in the carpet, showing to Jadar only the dust-covered back of his turban. "Conditions have been severe over the past year. Crops have been bad, and many mansabdars could not collect taxes because of the Deccani raids. Many have not paid their cavalry for over a year. The mansabdars still feed the horses that have been branded and placed in their care. But they have not fed the men who must ride. Most of those have returned to their villages. There can be no army without coin to lure them back. The mansabdars are fearful of Malik Ambar now, and many have secretly agreed with him not to muster even the troops they still have."
    "How many Deccani troops are encamped around Burhanpur?"
    "Our spies report as many as eighty thousand, Highness. Ghulam Adl dares not leave the fort in the center of the city. He has no more than five thousand men still remaining loyal, and his supplies are short."
    Jadar had ordered immediate solitary confinement for the envoy, lest the news reach the camp. Now, watching his chitahs feed, he calculated his next move.
    I have to requisition silver coin from the treasury at Agra, and hope a supply caravan can still get through. In the meantime I'll muster the remaining cavalry from the mansabdars , on the threat their jagirs will be confiscated if they fail to deliver. It won't raise many men, but it will slow defections.
    But if we're to recall the men still loyal, we must have silver. To raise the thirty thousand men we need, men who've not been paid for a year, will require at least five million rupees, fifty lakhs . I must have it by the time we reach Burhanpur. If we can hold that city, we can raise the army from there.
    "Malik Ambar sued for peace three years ago because his alliance came apart." Vasant Rao spoke again, watching Jadar carefully, knowing that the prince was deeply troubled, had imprisoned a courier that very morning for which there could only be one reason—then released pigeons that flew north.
    "And his alliance will come apart again. If we sow enough fear." Jadar seemed annoyed at the delay as the waiting chitahs were re-harnessed and the last carcasses of blue nilgai were loaded onto the ox-drawn wagons for return to the camp. "You still haven't learned to think like a chitah ."
    Jadar signaled the hunt was finished and wheeled his horse back toward the camp. Vasant Rao rode a few paces behind, asking himself how long that regal head would remain on those royal shoulders.
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