498 A HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES I 
 
pushed into Byzantine territory to repeat their tactics against the French,
while the Greek inhabitants who had been alienated by the disorders during
the passage of the western army were not going to oppose the Turks and may
have been willing to cooperate with them in some instances. This time, however,
Louis did not put credence in the emperor's news, and he refused to give
in to fear of the Turks. Thereupon the imperial messengers produced other
letters listing injuries which the king and his army had been responsible
for in Byzantine territory and serving notice that Manuel could not restrain
his men from vengeance in the future. The Franco-Greek alliance, on which
so much time and effort had been spent, had become extremely shaky, particularly
since the German defeat in Asia Minor had removed one source of anxiety from
the Greeks. 
 At Ephesus Conrad became ill and failed to recuperate quickly enough to
continue with the army. When Manuel and his wife heard this they invited
Conrad to come to Constantinople to con valesce. There is no doubt that Manuel
was very glad to separate the two western sovereigns and to have an opportunity
to strengthen the old agreement with Conrad against Sicily and Hungary, now
that the German emperor was powerless to threaten Con stantinople, and Conrad
on his part must have been happy to exchange the lesser place which he had
to accept in Louis's army for the attentions lavished upon him at the Greek
court. Byzan tine diplomacy had reversed itself. Now it was the German sover
eign who was wooed by the court while the French king marched at the head
of his army through Asia Minor. Manuel himself acted as Conrad's physician
until the illness had been cured; and the difficult winter season, passed
among the amenities of life in Con stantinople, was fruitful in strengthening
pre-crusade ties between the Byzantines and the Germans, but not in promoting
unity among the crusading armies. 
 Meanwhile the French army had continued on its stubborn way. The first contact
with the Turks came in a successful skirmish on Christmas eve near Ephesus.
After this heartening incident winter weather, with torrents of cold rains,
began in earnest. On the way to Laodicea ad Lycum the crusaders found Turkish
forces blocking the ford of the swollen Maeander river and using their usual
tactics of harassing the army as it advanced; but after two days the Turks
were finally routed and the crusaders came to Laodicea on Janu ary 3 or 4,
I 148. The French rightly felt themselves in a kind of no man's land where
Turkish forces could appear suddenly and,