land, he ordered that everything which had been taken from the
inhabitants be restored to them. Then they proceeded to the
outskirts of city called Rusa,[120] where a crowd of Greeks, both
aristocrats and commoners, rushed to greet the noble man, offering
all kinds of merchandise. They made camp there three days before the
feast of the Lord. Bohemund then left his retinue behind and set out
for Constantinople, together with a few of his knights, to confer
with the emperor. In the meanwhile Tancred was in charge of the army,
and when he saw that food was difficult to purchase with empty
purses, he decided to leave the major routes and move along the less
frequented ones, where a greater supply of necessary items for
everyone might be found. Therefore he lead them from the public way,
out of consideration for the poor, and entered a valley abundantly
supplied with different kinds of food. There the people piously
celebrated Easter (April 5, 1097). When Alexis heard that Bohemund
was coming to meet with him, he ordered that he be given the most
respectful welcome, and that he be given quarters just outside the
city wall.[121] When he arrived, he was invited to speak with the
emperor; he went and was received in secret.

Meanwhile Duke Godfrey, together with his brother Baldwin and the
count of Saint-Gilles, each leading a strong group of men, reached
the outskirts of Constantinople. The perfidious Alexis, who once was
thought to be eager for support against the Turks, gnashed his teeth
in the bitterness of his anger, and pondered on a means to bring
about the total destruction of the large army that was, as he thought,
about to attack him. But God, whose force drove this pious army,
watched over them so well that no occasion presented itself for the
scoundrel to harm them; furthermore, cut off from all possibility of
doing harm, the wretch was stricken with great fear. The people of