Page:History of India Vol 4.djvu/297

Rh Bhao entered the fort along with Biswas Rao, and took possession of all the property and goods that he could find in the old repositories of the royal family. He also broke in pieces the silver ceiling of the Diwan-i-Khas, from which he extracted so much of the precious metal as to be able to coin 1,700,000 rupees out of it. Narad Shankar Brahmin was then appointed by Bhao to the post of governor of the fort.

The Durrani Shah, after his engagement with Datta, which terminated in the destruction of the latter, had despatched Najib-ad-daulah to the province of Oudh with a conciliatory epistle, which was, as it were, a treaty of friendship, for the purpose of fetching Nawab Shuja-ad-daulah Bahadur. Najab-ad-daulah accordingly betook himself by way of Etawa to Kanauj; and about the same time Nawab Shuja-ad-daulah marched from Lucknow, and made the ferry of Mahdipur, which is one of the places in Etawa situated on this side the river Ganges, the site of his camp. An interview took place in that locality, and as soon as the friendly document had been perused, and the Nawab's heart had been comforted by its sincere promises, he came to the fixed determination of waiting on the Shah, and sent back Raja Beni Bahadur, who at that time possessed greater power and influence than his other followers, to rule as viceroy over the kingdom during his absence. When Nawab Shuja-ad-daulah approached the Shah's army, the prime minister, Shah Wali Khan, hastened out to meet him, and, having brought him along with him in the most courteous and respectful manner, afforded