Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/350

320 Knowing the prince's incapacity, Shah Jahan

had tried to remedy the mischief by sending to him. Ali Naqi as his revenue minister and chief counsellor. This officer, conscious of his own ability and honesty, and proud of enjoying the Emperor's confidence, looked down with scorn on the flatterers and boon companions who form- ed Murad's Court. He was strict even to harshness in conducting the government, and his honesty and vigilant care of the public revenue raised against him a host of enemies among those who wished to profit by the prince's ignorance and extravagance. As the whole administration was under Ali Naqi's control, he was also envied by the other nobles posted in Guzerat. His draconic punishments left him without a single friend in the province.

And soon his enemies got their chance. The news of Shah Jahan's severe illness and retirement to impenetrable privacy, as well as of Dara's virtual usurpation of the Imperial authority, reached Murad towards the close of