Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/180

 The first siege of Qandahar had failed for

want of heavy guns and material. The honour of the attempt to be Mughal arms required the repeated. The next three years were spent in preparations on a scale worthy of the grandeur of the task. Big guns were cast, provisions accumulated at convenient depots on the route, thousands of camels assembled for transport, the friendship of Baluch chiefs purchased along the line of communication from Multan, and money and munitions stored at the base at Kabul.

Aurangzib had been appointed to command the expedition. From his government of Multan he had sent men to explore the routes to Qandahar, and at last selected the Chacha-Cho- tiali-Pishin line as the shortest. For years his agents had visited the Baluch country and