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Page 424
into which she flew could not have been bettered by King Henry himself. Richard knew when he had met his match. He began to talk of his niece, Alinor of Brittany, as the bride, but Joanna's continued resentment was no inducement to a sunny temper either.
The beginning of the new year was no improvement on the ending of the old. Richard organized the army to march on Jerusalem but, having seen the terrain and fortifications of the city and having listened to the arguments of the Templars and Hospitalers, the King realized that an attempt to take Jerusalem could only fail, destroy his army, and thus destroy any hope of good peace terms with Saladin. His rational refusal to attack very nearly destroyed the army anyway. The French, feeling betrayed, left Richard's command and placed themselves under the rule of Conrad of Montferrat.
Richard moved the remainder of his army to the city of Ascalon, which Saladin had pulled down into rubble. Encampment among the shattered bones of the buildings and employment as haulers and builders was not likely to raise the morale, even though Richard set to and worked at the meanest tasks himself, hauling stones and carrying equipment right along with the men. Simon understood the King's purpose, but he did not appreciate it; he too hauled stones and carried equipment. While thus employed, Richard had come to another distasteful conclusion. It would be necessary to abandon Guy de Lusignan's cause. With the support of the French as well as the Latin princes, Conrad would have to be acknowledged as King of Jerusalem.
It was a somewhat less painful decision that it might have been because Richard was able to offer Guy the island of Cyprus. The Templars who had had it in charge found its rebellious population more trouble than they were worth. Guy, however, understood the way the minds of the Cypriots worked and was, more-

 
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