After obtaining reinforcements from Germany Frederick moved against Milan. The same barbarities which had marked the siege of Crema were repeated, and the Emperor could not prevent his troops from retaliating in kind. He made a vow not to wear his crown again until Milan was destroyed. The Milanese well knew that he would carry out his pledge to the very letter. As the year drew near to its close they saw to their dismay that he was not withdrawing his army as was his usual custom at the approach of winter, and that the siege was to be continued. It lasted all winter, but on March 1, 1162, the exhausted city sent messengers to Frederick, tendering its submission and pleading for merciful treatment. Frederick sternly replied, “I demand your unconditional surrender”; whereupon the supplicants abandoned themselves to their fate. Three hundred knights brought the keys of all the castles and gates, and thirty-six municipal banners were laid at his feet. All persons of rank took the oath of allegiance. The entire population of the city came barefooted into camp with halters round their necks, ashes on their heads, and crosses in their hands, pleading for mercy. As the long procession was passing the Emperor, the state chariot, bearing the huge banner of the city adorned with the portrait of Saint Ambrose, was demolished, and the pride of Milan was humbled in the dust. Wailing and wringing their hands, the people prostrated themselves, begging for mercy in the name of Christ. Every one wept. Even the stern faces of the German knights were moistened by tears; for the severity of the penalty, richly as it was merited, touched them. The Emperor alone remained unmoved. Milan’s repeated acts of treachery, and its lust for power, required exemplary punishment. “Your lives shall be spared,” he said, “but the city, with the exception of the churches, shall be destroyed. Lodi, Cremona, Pavia, and Como shall perform the work, and you Milanese must find homes among these four cities.” Remonstrances and prayers alike were of no avail. The work of destruction began at once and the sister cities exultantly revenged themselves upon their haughty oppressor. Soon Milan was no more, and the other cities leagued with it voluntarily surrendered. They, too, were destroyed.