On 23 February, the Persian army broke camp and entered the valley between the Alimardan & Jamna rivers. Encamping north of the village of Kanjpura, Nader rode out to inspect the enemy's position himself. Upon returning to camp, Nader summoned all the officers in the army for a speech. Later in the day, news reached Nader of a large contingent of Mughals marching through Panipat with the purpose of joining Muhammad Shah's army. The man leading this contingent was a confidant of Muhammad Shah and high ranking statesman of the Mughal Empire, Sa'adat Khan. Nader began devising a stratagem based around using Sa'adat Khan's approach in order to lure the main Mughal army across Alimardan river and into the valley before Kanjpura village where he intended to give battle from an advantageous position. The long-awaited Sa'adat Khan entered the Mughal encampment to much jubilation; however, the bulk of his column (some twenty or thirty thousand soldiers) was still en route.