Lehal Library

Maharajah of the Punjab 201 the chiefs liable for military service in lieu of their jagirs. They were obliged to furnish fully equipped troops at short notice. The third part consisted of the forces of the misls which, like the Kanhayas, the Nakkais, and some others, were allies of the Durbar. The total fighting force which the Durbar could put into the field at this time was about thirty-one thousand men. The reorganization gave a clearer picrure of the forces available and fixed the responsibility for putting them into the field. Once this had been done, Ranjit Singh prescribed the most exacting standards of effo iency in march, manoeuvre, and marksmanship. He spent three to four hours of his day with the troops, and seldom did a day go by when he did not reward a gunner or a cavalier for good performance. Since he usually accompanied his armies to battle, he was able co encourage individual acts of bravery by rewards of land and pensions.