But behind the revolt lay graver complications. It was rumoured that King Henry, in the hope of compelling his son to abandon his project, had not only stirred up Geoffrey of Lusignan and the other rebels and secretly furnished them with help and money, but had also instigated Raymond of Toulouse to join them against Richard.[276] However this may be, Raymond did, while Richard was busy quelling the revolt in Saintonge, capture “certain merchants from Richard’s land” who were travelling through the land of Toulouse; some of them he imprisoned, some he blinded and mutilated, some he put to death.[277] On hearing of this Richard, after again destroying the defences of Taillebourg,[278] marched into Gascony and there collected a great force of Brabantines with which he invaded the county of Toulouse.[279] In a short time he took Moissac and several other castles of Raymond’s, harried all the northern part of the county with fire and sword,[280] and captured, among many other prisoners, a certain intimate friend of Raymond’s, Peter Seilun, who had long been Richard’s enemy and is said to have instigated the imprisonment of the Poitevin merchants. Richard placed this man in close and harsh confinement and refused all Raymond’s offers of ransom for him. Raymond now began a system of treacherous warfare against Richard, laying ambushes for him and his soldiers, and setting men on the watch, in towns and castles, to seize anybody who belonged to the following of either Richard or Henry. By this means two knights of Henry’s household, who had been on pilgrimage to Compostella and for some reason or other went round by Toulouse on their way home, were captured and imprisoned. After a while Raymond let one of them go—seemingly on parole—to Richard with a message that both should be set free, if Richard would liberate Peter Seilun in exchange. Richard, however, on learning that they had been captured when pilgrims, declared that “no prayers and no price” should make him a party to such a transaction; “it would be an intolerable offence against God and His holy Apostle S. James, were he to give a ransom for men whose character of pilgrims was in itself sufficient to entitle them to their freedom.”[281] Meanwhile Raymond had complained to Philip Augustus of Richard’s invasion of Toulouse, as being a breach of the agreement made between the two kings when they took the Cross, that no interference with each other’s lands should take place till after the Crusade.[282] Philip appears to have gone “into those parts” in person, hoping to pacify the belligerents; and to him the captive knights, finding they could get no help from Richard, told their story. Philip seemingly regarded the matter in the same light as Richard; he bade Raymond release them “not for love of the king of England or of Count Richard, but out of love and reverence for S. James.” Raymond, however, still insisted on the condition which he had originally demanded.