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among them Ranjit Singh, the young chief of a powerful clan, who, by his military ability, address, and tact, attracted the Shah's attention. When his army was returning to Kabul in 1798, for the time unmolested, twelve of his guns stuck in the bed of the Jhelum river. He sent an order to Ranjit Singh to recover them for him, in which case he would consider his wish to be appointed Governor of Lahore. He recovered eight, sent them to Kabul, and as a reward received what he aspired to, a royal investiture as Governor of the capital of the Punjab. The joint Sikh Governors belonging to other clans having reoccupied Lahore on the departure of the Shah, Ranjit Singh in 1799, by combined diplomacy and force, ousted them, and established himself there with his own clan and allies.