and the two had evidently formed a vague friendly understanding against Dara. But their plans
now took definite shape in the shadow of the
Emperor's approaching death. Curiously enough,
on almost the same date (middle of October)
both brothers suddenly remembered that they had
not corresponded with each other for a long time
past; their brotherly love welled out; and each
wrote to the other a letter mentioning in a neutral
tone the news of Shah Jahan's illness. But each
letter was carried by a confidential messenger who
was charged with certain oral communications
which it was unsafe to put down on paper. The two letters crossed each other on the way. Murad also wrote (19th October) a letter to
Shuja proposing an alliance, and it was sent
through Aurangzib's province, who helped the
courier to proceed to Bengal and entrusted to
him a letter of his own to the same purport.[1]
The correspondence thus beganTheir frequent correspondence and also with Shuja. went on briskly. To hasten the and also with carriage of letters, relays of postal runners were estabished between Guzerat and the Deccan. Murad stationed two men every ten miles all the way from Ahmadabad to the Deccan frontier, (end
- ↑ Adab-i-Alamgiri, 169a and b, 170b. Faiyaz-ul-qawanm, 433-434, 417.
