The Sultan watched as his guardsmen chased the Jaunpuri spy from the courtroom. How much the spy had been able to learn from the Delhi Sultanate was of some concern to Nusrat, who was still planning to attack Jaunpur. It had been some time since the amulet had been spotted there, but the chance to reconquer some lost territories whilst also checking the thief had not returned there was too good to pass up. With the spy no longer a problem, the Sultan returned to the initial purpose of the meeting, which was to gift the province of Shekhawati to Nagaur in order to maintain his subjects’ loyalty. Nagaur had been a very useful march subject for the past ten years and the rewards of land would keep them loyal for some time to follow. Whilst there were some in the court who could still remember the conflicts between the two nations, these were now firmly in the past, the Sultan proclaimed, to nods and cheers of agreement from both sides.
The governor of Margalla left the room as the court took in what he had said. The people had been so impressed with the wandering Guru and his teachings that his religion, “Sikhism” as it was known amongst the locals, was now the dominant faith of the province. The Lodis had always tried to practice tolerance of all faiths and beliefs and so the Sultan had decreed that as long as the people still paid their taxes, the people of Margalla would be allowed to keep their new faith. The improved centralisation of the Sultanate’s bureaucracy would help the Delhi court keep an eye on this Guru and his teachings, a decision could wait for now. The Sultan’s mind was on a speech he was due to give, inviting his people to show their resilient nature ahead of the forthcoming war with Jaunpur - although he had not made his plans known, he was still convinced this would be the best course of action for both the Delhi Sultanate and recovering the amulet. Nusrat Lodi went about his business that day, continuing to formulate plans which he would share with his generals when the time was right.
In his chambers that evening, the Sultan lay awake frustrated with himself. The plan had always been to fight Jaunpur and Multan before the latter could make any allies. Nusrat had been ready to declare a war as soon as the previous truce with Jaunpur had expired, instead he had spent the last six months seeing his plans go up in smoke. His plans to attack Jaunpur and Multan had been dealt a blow when Sistan had signed an alliance with the latter, but the attack on Jaunpur was still due to go ahead when a deputation arrived from Transoxania, asking for the assistance of Delhi in fighting a war against Uzbek. Faced with the choice of accepting the call to arms or suffering a loss of prestige, the Sultan had of course had to honour the existing alliance, which was where the problems had really begun. First of all, nobody in court, or in the army, knew where Uzbek actually was; secondly, nobody in court had heard of Uzbek’s ally, the “Great Horde”, which sounded rather intimidating in name at least, and nobody knew where it was either. What was encouraging for the people of Delhi was that according to the reports, Transoxania and Delhi outnumbered Uzbek and the Great Horde, and that despite not knowing how to get to either of those two nations, Delhi could attack the third enemy in the war, Afghanistan. The Delhi army had been split in half, Ibrahim Viqar ul-Mulk would take one half to Karor, Mubarrak Shah Jehan had been sent to besiege the fort at Roh. Despite the victory that seemed likely on paper, the Sultan cursed a missed opportunity to attack Jaunpur, although he hadn’t heard of the amulet for some time. He offered a prayer as he fell asleep, a prayer that the opportunity would not pass him by again.
Irfan Nadeem unpacked his things, being sure to hide the chest containing the amulet. He had felt relieved about not going west after escaping Sirmur - the buzz in Jaunpur was that Delhi had gone to attack Afghanistan. Having been on the move for several months, Irfan had chosen to settle in Lucknow for the time being, its proximity to Jaunpur via road and the Gomti river would serve him well if he needed to make a swift escape. With Delhi occupied in the west on behalf of Transoxania, this looked unlikely for now. The following morning he watched the sun rise in the distance and thought about his next moves. Since inheriting the amulet from Yusuf Singh he had been on the move for some time, and he wished for nothing more than a return to his existence as a farmer in the mountains. Perhaps it was time for him to offload the amulet onto someone else, he thought as he basked in the warmth of the sunlight.
The commanders gathered around Birgis Qadra Khan as he began issuing new orders. Ibrahim Viqar ul-Mulk had been struck down with camp fever as his forces occupied Afghan territories, and had passed away in the night. Birgis would lead the campaign from here. Although he had been the popular choice, Birgis Qadra Khan was not the most experienced of leaders compared to his predecessors, and he hoped that the war would not go on for too long. The Delhi invasion had been a rather charged and passionate affair against a state that had been a rival of the Sultanate since gaining independence from the Timurids. The rivalry had been simmering for some time on the borders, but with the recent fall of Kabul the tensions had turned ugly, with the Delhi soldiers sacking the enemy capital. Fearing yet more needless devastation when Afghanistan was already beaten, Birgis instructed his senior general to take his men to Kangra in the mountains to suppress any thoughts of independence amongst the locals.
To the relief of Birgis Qadra Khan and his Sultan, the war with Uzbek was a short one. Merely a couple of years after the hostilities began, Transoxania had won a decisive victory, claiming much territory for themselves as well as forcing Afghanistan to cede Bannu to Delhi. Nusrat Lodi had been thankful to Transoxania for the new province, which was one less place that anyone with the amulet could hide. With no more distractions to the west, the Sultan would surely turn his attention east again the following morning.
As he slept that night, Nusrat found himself being woken by a knock at the door, a messenger telling him to come to the balcony of the palace. The Sultan looked into the night sky and to his dismay saw a comet. Nothing had ever definitively linked comets to bad fortune for the people, but the Sultan knew there was no way of convincing his people that this was an omen not to invade Jaunpur. He returned to his chambers in a saddened state, and wished for no further bad news when he woke the next day.
Jonaraja Granth stepped into the courtroom, and stood facing the Sultan. Delhi had grown desperate for a man of his silver tongued statesmanship and he had gladly answered his lieges call. It would be a busy first day for him, with the Sultan matching a declaration of rivalry from Vijayanagar to the south with one of his own. The Sultan did take the time to welcome Jonaraja Granth to the court, pleased to have some assistance after a busy few months. He had issued orders for the construction of a new workshop in Lahore, as well as reissuing his uncle’s policy of efficient tax farming. In addition, he had been called to adjudicate against the sufis amongst the Sultanate, but in doing so had found a new sense of kinship with the Rajputs. Nusrat was glad to have Jonaraja in court, and he hoped to have made a new friend in his advisor. At least someone else could now help with court business while he continued the search for the amulet of Malik Bahram Lodi. The Sultan smiled to himself as his business concluded for the day, having found a new sense of optimism that the amulet could be recovered.
The Sultan listened to the bards telling the tale that would now be sent out around the kingdom, a new heroic tale of his great-grandfather Malik Bahram Lodi that would boost the prestige of the ruling dynasty in the eyes of his people. Such an epic would surely be remembered for generations to come, Nusrat told himself. The tale of Malik Bahram Lodi may also prove a useful morale boost to any communities who would feel the impacts of the upcoming war with Jaunpur. Relations with Malwa and Bengal were at a high thanks to new marriages with the ruling dynasties, and Jaunpur still did not have many allies to call upon that posed any real threat to Delhi. The army was now stronger than it had ever been, numbering nearly twice what it had under Bahlul Khan Lodi, which would certainly tip the balance in favour of Delhi. Whilst watching the army go through it’s practices, the Sultan had observed one or two things to the new general Birgis Qadra Khan, who was quick to appreciate the tactical nous of his liege. It seemed to all involved that Delhi was ready for war, all that was required was the declaration of Nusrat Lodi. All that Nusrat needed was a report of the sighting of the amulet.
Irfan Nadeem breathed a huge sigh of relief as the deal was concluded, and left the meeting to head back to his farm. The inconvenience of having to fear a Delhi attack was no longer his problem, and he could look forward to returning to the life he had once led before the night that Yusuf Singh had given him the chest - he had never even seen the amulet, he had simply believed his master that there was an amulet in the chest. Irfan had not told the new owner of the chest, Jasprit Kaif, of the untold curse of those who held the amulet, namely that they would spend their days on the run from the Delhi armies. Inside the building, Jasprit Kaif stared at the chest, looking at the outline of the subcontinent, and wondering just why Irfan Nadeem had given such a valuable looking object away in haste. Nevertheless, if his masters were correct about its contents, then Kaif had just acquired something that could make them very rich indeed.
The Sultan took in the reports from across the north of India with a rather furrowed brow. The first phase of the war had been a complete disaster, with Multan having avoided being wiped out by the initial Delhi attack, followed by the hire of an army from Mewar by the enemy. The Sultan was happy to see that Bengal and Malwa were making gains to the east, but the enemy had concentrated itself rather heavily on Delhi. To make things worse, the next messenger brought news of the Delhi army being defeated in battle by the combined enemy forces in Multan. Not only had Delhi failed to take over the fort in Multan, but their routed, heavily depleted armies had little morale and if caught, they would surely be massacred. The gathered courtiers looked nervously at the Sultan, who could feel the pressure. This was supposed to be the war that would see Delhi eclipse its eastern rivals, retake a sizeable chunk of lost territories, and most of all (to the Sultan at least), see the recovery of the amulet. So far none of this was happening, and it seemed that everyone would gain at the expense of the Lodis in Delhi. The Sultan took a moment to steady himself before announcing his next move.
Since the arrival of the new military advisor the war had started to turn in favour of Delhi, they had been brought in to bring some extra steel to the men of the armies after the defeat at the battle of Multan. Whilst this extra discipline had yet to manifest itself in battle - the enemies had gone to occupy the northwestern provinces, whilst Delhi had gone on the offensive in the east. Further good news came from the coastlands to the south, where Gujarat found itself attacked on all sides. The gains in the war had helped the defeated soldiers to recover their morale, and the attackers at the siege of Jaunpur were reporting water shortages in the enemy capital. The upturn in fortunes had seen the smile return to Nusrat Lodi, who gave thanks for the victories, and hoped that the amulet was still where he had last heard it to have been; in Jaunpur itself.
Jasprit Kaif held his robes close to him, and hoped that nobody looked too closely at the contents of his cart as he fled the city in haste. He had heard of reports that the provincial governor was about to surrender the capital, and was getting out while he still could. His bosses had told him to remain in Jaunpur until they could come to meet him and ascertain the value of the chest, but they had been unable to get through the blockade and had returned to their base of operations. Kaif had been stuck inside the city, and so had gathered his possessions together, before leaving he sent a note to his employers, telling them of his desire to head to pastures new. Perhaps, he thought as he left the city, this was why the previous owner had been so keen to get rid of it.
The glow of the Sultan as he politely but firmly refused the offer of help from Malwa was a sight for all in the Delhi court. Whilst it was a polite offer, Nusrat Lodi knew his own destiny, and would need no assistance in running the war or in ruling his people. The war was still ongoing, but there would surely only be one winner now. Jaunpur had fallen, and the enemy forces had suffered a heavy defeat at the battle of Nagaur, some cynics said it was because Delhi had avoided the engagement and left it to the command of Malwa and Bengal, but Nusrat had been far more interested in eliminating Gwailor and Multan from the war in order to cripple Jaunpur when it came to signing a peace treaty. For Nusrat Lodi, the uncertainties of the last couple of years were a thing of the past, and the war had been a welcome distraction from home affairs. The full ramifications of the decree purifying the tax laws of inconsistencies had yet to be fully understood as the previous years had been mostly taken up with the war. There were others who were uneasy at the Sultan's easy attitude at the cult of the Guru, who had converted the population of Bhattiana to their religion, but the Sultan’s continued policy of letting them believe whatever they wanted as long as they paid taxes to him would hold for now. Their taxes had funded the war, and it was a war that Delhi would soon win.
The court stood stunned as the Vijayanagari diplomat delivered the insult he had travelled all the way from the south to deliver, a reminder that despite its dominant position in the north, Delhi still had many enemies and needed to be on its guard. The war with Jaunpur was still in its final throes; Multan had been forced to annul their alliance with Sistan but emerged relatively unscathed - the Sultan wanted to be ready to attack again whilst there was nobody there to defend them. With Jaunpur fully under occupation to the east, the final resistance was coming from Gwailor, where the defenders had simply refused to surrender despite the walls having been breached several months earlier. Once it fell, there would be little to stop Nusrat Lodi from taking as much land as he wanted, although it would be made all the more sweeter if the amulet was found first.
Jasprit Kaif and his cart rounded the edge of the desert and watched the fireworks from the cities in the distance. With no instruction from his masters, he had yet to settle down since barely escaping Jaunpur, and was still on the move. The celebrations were all coming from the north, which could only mean that peace had been made, and Delhi had won a resounding victory. It was time for Jasprit Kaif to head somewhere quieter, and away from the attentions of the Lodis, the celebrations would provide a very handy distraction as he journeyed through the night.
Ali Hussein woke with a sore head some time in the morning - he didn’t know exactly when, the sun had not yet passed overhead, but it was certainly much later than he would normally start his work in court. The Sultan and the court had celebrated the victory over Jaunpur heavily, and the parties had gone on late into the night for several days now. Nusrat had kept a low profile, announcing that there would be a new workshop in Central Doab, and watching the army display its latest integrated “pike and shot” formations. Delhi was now a powerhouse in the north of India, but despite the advances there were still those who thought that the Sultan and the government still made poor choices in the running of the country - Ali was sure that there were many who would disagree with this statement given the recent expansion and reoccupation of the former heartlands of the Delhi Sultanate. Ali stumbled groggily into court to continue his day job - collecting even more taxes for the Sultan - and hoped that nobody would ask any difficult questions; he couldn’t even remember how many glasses of wine he’d had last night, and would prefer that the day was over sooner rather than later so he could return to his bed.
The governor of Margalla left the room as the court took in what he had said. The people had been so impressed with the wandering Guru and his teachings that his religion, “Sikhism” as it was known amongst the locals, was now the dominant faith of the province. The Lodis had always tried to practice tolerance of all faiths and beliefs and so the Sultan had decreed that as long as the people still paid their taxes, the people of Margalla would be allowed to keep their new faith. The improved centralisation of the Sultanate’s bureaucracy would help the Delhi court keep an eye on this Guru and his teachings, a decision could wait for now. The Sultan’s mind was on a speech he was due to give, inviting his people to show their resilient nature ahead of the forthcoming war with Jaunpur - although he had not made his plans known, he was still convinced this would be the best course of action for both the Delhi Sultanate and recovering the amulet. Nusrat Lodi went about his business that day, continuing to formulate plans which he would share with his generals when the time was right.
In his chambers that evening, the Sultan lay awake frustrated with himself. The plan had always been to fight Jaunpur and Multan before the latter could make any allies. Nusrat had been ready to declare a war as soon as the previous truce with Jaunpur had expired, instead he had spent the last six months seeing his plans go up in smoke. His plans to attack Jaunpur and Multan had been dealt a blow when Sistan had signed an alliance with the latter, but the attack on Jaunpur was still due to go ahead when a deputation arrived from Transoxania, asking for the assistance of Delhi in fighting a war against Uzbek. Faced with the choice of accepting the call to arms or suffering a loss of prestige, the Sultan had of course had to honour the existing alliance, which was where the problems had really begun. First of all, nobody in court, or in the army, knew where Uzbek actually was; secondly, nobody in court had heard of Uzbek’s ally, the “Great Horde”, which sounded rather intimidating in name at least, and nobody knew where it was either. What was encouraging for the people of Delhi was that according to the reports, Transoxania and Delhi outnumbered Uzbek and the Great Horde, and that despite not knowing how to get to either of those two nations, Delhi could attack the third enemy in the war, Afghanistan. The Delhi army had been split in half, Ibrahim Viqar ul-Mulk would take one half to Karor, Mubarrak Shah Jehan had been sent to besiege the fort at Roh. Despite the victory that seemed likely on paper, the Sultan cursed a missed opportunity to attack Jaunpur, although he hadn’t heard of the amulet for some time. He offered a prayer as he fell asleep, a prayer that the opportunity would not pass him by again.
Irfan Nadeem unpacked his things, being sure to hide the chest containing the amulet. He had felt relieved about not going west after escaping Sirmur - the buzz in Jaunpur was that Delhi had gone to attack Afghanistan. Having been on the move for several months, Irfan had chosen to settle in Lucknow for the time being, its proximity to Jaunpur via road and the Gomti river would serve him well if he needed to make a swift escape. With Delhi occupied in the west on behalf of Transoxania, this looked unlikely for now. The following morning he watched the sun rise in the distance and thought about his next moves. Since inheriting the amulet from Yusuf Singh he had been on the move for some time, and he wished for nothing more than a return to his existence as a farmer in the mountains. Perhaps it was time for him to offload the amulet onto someone else, he thought as he basked in the warmth of the sunlight.
The commanders gathered around Birgis Qadra Khan as he began issuing new orders. Ibrahim Viqar ul-Mulk had been struck down with camp fever as his forces occupied Afghan territories, and had passed away in the night. Birgis would lead the campaign from here. Although he had been the popular choice, Birgis Qadra Khan was not the most experienced of leaders compared to his predecessors, and he hoped that the war would not go on for too long. The Delhi invasion had been a rather charged and passionate affair against a state that had been a rival of the Sultanate since gaining independence from the Timurids. The rivalry had been simmering for some time on the borders, but with the recent fall of Kabul the tensions had turned ugly, with the Delhi soldiers sacking the enemy capital. Fearing yet more needless devastation when Afghanistan was already beaten, Birgis instructed his senior general to take his men to Kangra in the mountains to suppress any thoughts of independence amongst the locals.
To the relief of Birgis Qadra Khan and his Sultan, the war with Uzbek was a short one. Merely a couple of years after the hostilities began, Transoxania had won a decisive victory, claiming much territory for themselves as well as forcing Afghanistan to cede Bannu to Delhi. Nusrat Lodi had been thankful to Transoxania for the new province, which was one less place that anyone with the amulet could hide. With no more distractions to the west, the Sultan would surely turn his attention east again the following morning.
As he slept that night, Nusrat found himself being woken by a knock at the door, a messenger telling him to come to the balcony of the palace. The Sultan looked into the night sky and to his dismay saw a comet. Nothing had ever definitively linked comets to bad fortune for the people, but the Sultan knew there was no way of convincing his people that this was an omen not to invade Jaunpur. He returned to his chambers in a saddened state, and wished for no further bad news when he woke the next day.
Jonaraja Granth stepped into the courtroom, and stood facing the Sultan. Delhi had grown desperate for a man of his silver tongued statesmanship and he had gladly answered his lieges call. It would be a busy first day for him, with the Sultan matching a declaration of rivalry from Vijayanagar to the south with one of his own. The Sultan did take the time to welcome Jonaraja Granth to the court, pleased to have some assistance after a busy few months. He had issued orders for the construction of a new workshop in Lahore, as well as reissuing his uncle’s policy of efficient tax farming. In addition, he had been called to adjudicate against the sufis amongst the Sultanate, but in doing so had found a new sense of kinship with the Rajputs. Nusrat was glad to have Jonaraja in court, and he hoped to have made a new friend in his advisor. At least someone else could now help with court business while he continued the search for the amulet of Malik Bahram Lodi. The Sultan smiled to himself as his business concluded for the day, having found a new sense of optimism that the amulet could be recovered.
The Sultan listened to the bards telling the tale that would now be sent out around the kingdom, a new heroic tale of his great-grandfather Malik Bahram Lodi that would boost the prestige of the ruling dynasty in the eyes of his people. Such an epic would surely be remembered for generations to come, Nusrat told himself. The tale of Malik Bahram Lodi may also prove a useful morale boost to any communities who would feel the impacts of the upcoming war with Jaunpur. Relations with Malwa and Bengal were at a high thanks to new marriages with the ruling dynasties, and Jaunpur still did not have many allies to call upon that posed any real threat to Delhi. The army was now stronger than it had ever been, numbering nearly twice what it had under Bahlul Khan Lodi, which would certainly tip the balance in favour of Delhi. Whilst watching the army go through it’s practices, the Sultan had observed one or two things to the new general Birgis Qadra Khan, who was quick to appreciate the tactical nous of his liege. It seemed to all involved that Delhi was ready for war, all that was required was the declaration of Nusrat Lodi. All that Nusrat needed was a report of the sighting of the amulet.
Irfan Nadeem breathed a huge sigh of relief as the deal was concluded, and left the meeting to head back to his farm. The inconvenience of having to fear a Delhi attack was no longer his problem, and he could look forward to returning to the life he had once led before the night that Yusuf Singh had given him the chest - he had never even seen the amulet, he had simply believed his master that there was an amulet in the chest. Irfan had not told the new owner of the chest, Jasprit Kaif, of the untold curse of those who held the amulet, namely that they would spend their days on the run from the Delhi armies. Inside the building, Jasprit Kaif stared at the chest, looking at the outline of the subcontinent, and wondering just why Irfan Nadeem had given such a valuable looking object away in haste. Nevertheless, if his masters were correct about its contents, then Kaif had just acquired something that could make them very rich indeed.
The Sultan took in the reports from across the north of India with a rather furrowed brow. The first phase of the war had been a complete disaster, with Multan having avoided being wiped out by the initial Delhi attack, followed by the hire of an army from Mewar by the enemy. The Sultan was happy to see that Bengal and Malwa were making gains to the east, but the enemy had concentrated itself rather heavily on Delhi. To make things worse, the next messenger brought news of the Delhi army being defeated in battle by the combined enemy forces in Multan. Not only had Delhi failed to take over the fort in Multan, but their routed, heavily depleted armies had little morale and if caught, they would surely be massacred. The gathered courtiers looked nervously at the Sultan, who could feel the pressure. This was supposed to be the war that would see Delhi eclipse its eastern rivals, retake a sizeable chunk of lost territories, and most of all (to the Sultan at least), see the recovery of the amulet. So far none of this was happening, and it seemed that everyone would gain at the expense of the Lodis in Delhi. The Sultan took a moment to steady himself before announcing his next move.
Since the arrival of the new military advisor the war had started to turn in favour of Delhi, they had been brought in to bring some extra steel to the men of the armies after the defeat at the battle of Multan. Whilst this extra discipline had yet to manifest itself in battle - the enemies had gone to occupy the northwestern provinces, whilst Delhi had gone on the offensive in the east. Further good news came from the coastlands to the south, where Gujarat found itself attacked on all sides. The gains in the war had helped the defeated soldiers to recover their morale, and the attackers at the siege of Jaunpur were reporting water shortages in the enemy capital. The upturn in fortunes had seen the smile return to Nusrat Lodi, who gave thanks for the victories, and hoped that the amulet was still where he had last heard it to have been; in Jaunpur itself.
Jasprit Kaif held his robes close to him, and hoped that nobody looked too closely at the contents of his cart as he fled the city in haste. He had heard of reports that the provincial governor was about to surrender the capital, and was getting out while he still could. His bosses had told him to remain in Jaunpur until they could come to meet him and ascertain the value of the chest, but they had been unable to get through the blockade and had returned to their base of operations. Kaif had been stuck inside the city, and so had gathered his possessions together, before leaving he sent a note to his employers, telling them of his desire to head to pastures new. Perhaps, he thought as he left the city, this was why the previous owner had been so keen to get rid of it.
The glow of the Sultan as he politely but firmly refused the offer of help from Malwa was a sight for all in the Delhi court. Whilst it was a polite offer, Nusrat Lodi knew his own destiny, and would need no assistance in running the war or in ruling his people. The war was still ongoing, but there would surely only be one winner now. Jaunpur had fallen, and the enemy forces had suffered a heavy defeat at the battle of Nagaur, some cynics said it was because Delhi had avoided the engagement and left it to the command of Malwa and Bengal, but Nusrat had been far more interested in eliminating Gwailor and Multan from the war in order to cripple Jaunpur when it came to signing a peace treaty. For Nusrat Lodi, the uncertainties of the last couple of years were a thing of the past, and the war had been a welcome distraction from home affairs. The full ramifications of the decree purifying the tax laws of inconsistencies had yet to be fully understood as the previous years had been mostly taken up with the war. There were others who were uneasy at the Sultan's easy attitude at the cult of the Guru, who had converted the population of Bhattiana to their religion, but the Sultan’s continued policy of letting them believe whatever they wanted as long as they paid taxes to him would hold for now. Their taxes had funded the war, and it was a war that Delhi would soon win.
The court stood stunned as the Vijayanagari diplomat delivered the insult he had travelled all the way from the south to deliver, a reminder that despite its dominant position in the north, Delhi still had many enemies and needed to be on its guard. The war with Jaunpur was still in its final throes; Multan had been forced to annul their alliance with Sistan but emerged relatively unscathed - the Sultan wanted to be ready to attack again whilst there was nobody there to defend them. With Jaunpur fully under occupation to the east, the final resistance was coming from Gwailor, where the defenders had simply refused to surrender despite the walls having been breached several months earlier. Once it fell, there would be little to stop Nusrat Lodi from taking as much land as he wanted, although it would be made all the more sweeter if the amulet was found first.
Jasprit Kaif and his cart rounded the edge of the desert and watched the fireworks from the cities in the distance. With no instruction from his masters, he had yet to settle down since barely escaping Jaunpur, and was still on the move. The celebrations were all coming from the north, which could only mean that peace had been made, and Delhi had won a resounding victory. It was time for Jasprit Kaif to head somewhere quieter, and away from the attentions of the Lodis, the celebrations would provide a very handy distraction as he journeyed through the night.
Ali Hussein woke with a sore head some time in the morning - he didn’t know exactly when, the sun had not yet passed overhead, but it was certainly much later than he would normally start his work in court. The Sultan and the court had celebrated the victory over Jaunpur heavily, and the parties had gone on late into the night for several days now. Nusrat had kept a low profile, announcing that there would be a new workshop in Central Doab, and watching the army display its latest integrated “pike and shot” formations. Delhi was now a powerhouse in the north of India, but despite the advances there were still those who thought that the Sultan and the government still made poor choices in the running of the country - Ali was sure that there were many who would disagree with this statement given the recent expansion and reoccupation of the former heartlands of the Delhi Sultanate. Ali stumbled groggily into court to continue his day job - collecting even more taxes for the Sultan - and hoped that nobody would ask any difficult questions; he couldn’t even remember how many glasses of wine he’d had last night, and would prefer that the day was over sooner rather than later so he could return to his bed.