Source: @mulamutha
विस्तारः (द्रष्टुं नोद्यम्)
At this very time, when Holkar advised Dattaji to take help from Najib Khan, one finds the Peshwa writing to Dattaji to deal with Najib Khan sternly, urging him to ‘crush him’ and that helping him is akin to feeding milk to a serpent’. Nanasaheb’s long letter of 21 March 1759 to Dattaji, shows the way the Peshwa was thinking and his overall Maratha policy in the north.
Do not consider the claims the present Wazir. You have written: Mansur Ali’s son (Shuja-ud-daulah) will pay fifty lakhs, and if permission is granted I will offer him the post of Wazir and use the money to pay the sarkar’s debt. Naturally, it is appropriate to conduct a major campaign and retire debt. In the past, we appointed Ghaziuddin (Imad). However, how many clauses of the treaty did he fulfil? When Dada (Raghunath rao) was in Delhi, Mansur Ali Khan’s son had promised to hand over Kashi to us. If we give him the post of Wazir, he must hand over Kashi and Prayag as well as pay fifty lakh rupees. It is not a big amount to get the Wazir’s post in Delhi. However, the payment should not be paid over two or three years. He must pay it in one year and he must hand over both the places. You should be convinced that he will do so. If the (present) Wazir tries to indulge in some deceit, Shuja should come on this side of the Ganga and get the job done with us. However, if you agree on this, and then he will pay over two or three years or not agree to give Kashi and Prayag, then you should not give him the post.
I say this because he is a rich man, has a strong army, a powerful artillery and he is a friend of the Jat. He will become difficult to manage. He is a Mughal, he will not hesitate to go against us if it is convenient to him. Despite these shortcomings, if he pays fifty lakhs and we get Kashi and Prayag, you should go ahead. If he does not give Kashi but agrees to hand over Prayag and fifty lakhs, you can still go ahead. He behaves like a prince and he stays beyond the Ganga. There is no life left in Delhi. Abdali is also interested in Delhi alone.
Earlier, Delhi had a lot of wealth and territory. The Patshah had power. That is the reason Mansur Ali Khan was keen to become the Wazir. Now the Patshahi is full of bad behaviour, has no treasure and no territory. It is merely like a man born rich. Investigate properly and then send a clever man to Shuja, and after considering everything, and working through the Jat and Govind pant, give him the post if he pays fifty lakhs and hands over Prayag. You have written that you will give the Mir Bakshi’s post to Najib Khan for thirty lakh rupees. Know this, Najib Khan is entirely a cunning and wicked man.+++(5)+++ His relations with Dadasaheb are vitiated. If you place him in Delhi, you may consider that you have placed Abdali himself there. He is be-imaan (without honour) and wicked. To allow him to grow is akin to feeding milk to a serpent. At the first opportunity, he must be extirpated.
If Shuja does not agree to our terms, renew the agreements that chiranjeev Dada had with Ghaziuddin. Then, in combination with him and the Emperor, if you head for Bengal, the pressure will be enormous. You should head for Bengal. From here, chiranjeev will come from Bundelkhand to Prayag. The second option is to convince the Wazir, to make Shuja the Mir Bakshi. If the Wazir refuses to come with you, go alone and take Shuja-ud-daulah with you and head for Bengal. Free the province. Take Kashi-Prayag from Shuja-uddaulah and share half of Bengal and Bihar with him without further payment. This is the third option. Select the one that seems to have greater chance of success. Right now, you are at Lahore. There is plenty to do there. You may have to stay there in the monsoon. Once you return to Delhi, you can do all these things. One must get fifty to seventy-five lakh rupees to retire the Government’s debts.