Sherif ud din continued double dealing; he feigned friendship for Kurguz while working as an enemy in secret. On noting Ogotai’s action, an adherent of Ongu gave Kurguz certain papers in Sherif’s own hand, which proved the entire recent trouble to be the sole work of that trickster. When he learned this, Ogotai did not wish the vizir to go back to Persia lest he suffer from Kurguz. Sherif was rejoiced to escape, but some friend warned Kurguz not to lose sight of an enemy who would take the first chance to destroy him. Kurguz got permission to take with him Sherif, whose presence, as he said, was important. The taxes had not yet been brought to Khorassan and collectors might charge some of these to Sherif in his absence. Kurguz went back to Tus and there fixed his residence. He summoned promptly the chief men in Khorassan and Irak, as well as the Mongol commanders, and marked his accession to power by a festival which lasted some days, during which the new ordinances were issued. He sent his son with officials of finance to take from Chormagun’s officers control over districts in Azerbaidjan and in Irak which they were ruining by exactions. Every noyon, every officer acted with absolute power in the region or city where he functioned, and seized for himself the main income of the treasury. These petty despots lost their places and were forced to restore even large sums of money. Kurguz protected the lives and the property of Persians against Mongol officers, who now could not bend people’s heads when they met them. The warrior lost power to vex peaceful people along roads over which he was marching. Kurguz was both feared and respected. He raised Tus again from its ruins. On the eve of his coming there were only fifty inhabited houses within its limits. When he had chosen it as a residence Persian lords came to live in that capital and within a week land rose a hundred-fold as to value. Herat too reappeared out of ashes and fragments. After the ruin and sack of that city in 1222 its site had been occupied by very few persons, but in 1236, when Ogotai commanded to raise up Khorassan, it was planned to repeople Herat, once so prosperous. An Emir, Yzz ud din, whom with one thousand families Tului had transported to Bishbalik from Herat, received now command to come back with one tenth of his following. These people at first had much difficulty in finding subsistence, through lack of draught cattle. Men of all ranks had to draw ploughs in the manner of oxen. Earth tillers were forced to irrigate land out of water pots, all canals being choked up and ruined. When the first harvest was gathered, twenty strong men were chosen to bear each twenty menns of cotton to the country of the Afghans, and sell it. They did so and brought back implements for tillage.