assigned to them; their main support was the
cash allowance paid from the Treasury. If,
therefore, by reason of the shortage in the
regulation number of their retainers, a part of
their former salaries was debited against them
and the amount recovered by deduction from
their pay in future, the officers would be worse
off than before. The operation of the order
would decrease the strength of the army, which
was a dangerous contingency in "a province on
the frontier of two rich and armed rulers." Shah Jahan had decreased the stipend of armed
followers from Rs. 20 per month to Rs. 17 or even Rs. 15.and raises the pay of troopers. Aurangzib protested against this
order, saying that a horseman
who got less than Rs. 20 a
month could not possibly keep
himself in proper fighting trim, especially as,
under Murshid Quli Khan's metayership settlement, rent was now paid in kind and the rent-receivers had to undergo heavy expenditure in
watching and storing their share of the grain.
The price of horses (he added) had greatly risen
in the Deccan, and to make up the full complements of all the officers in the terms of Shah
Jahan's new order would require the entertainment of 9,000 additional mounted retainers by
the officers. As the result of Aurangzib's protest
Page:History of Aurangzib (based on original sources) Vol 1.djvu/226
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196
HISTORY OF AURANGZIB.
[CHAP. IX.