It only needed the outbreak of fresh disturbances in Italy to show how imperfect had been the so-called pacification of the Saxons. When Charles was drawn away beyond the Alps by an attempt to revive the Lombard kingdom, his absence was immediately taken advantage of by the Saxons, who rose in revolt against the Franks. Even the fortress at Sigiburg was hard pressed. An imposing army was gathered by Charles at Worms in 776, with which he crossed into Saxon territory and again occupied Eresburg. His authority was soon restored. Bands of Saxons comprising whole families came to the Frankish camp as humble petitioners and willingly allowed themselves to be baptized. There were evidently two parties among the Saxons, one willing to carry out the conditions of peace, the other ready by any subterfuge to reject them. The irreconcilable faction finally lost heart and withdrew. In 777, Charles held in Paderborn his first general assembly; here appeared Saxons from all parts of the land and solemnly pledged themselves willingly to give up their freedom and their property if they denied the Christian faith and broke their oath of allegiance. But such verbal assurances were not more binding than they had been before. More expeditions (779 and 780) were necessary, and in 780 specific steps were taken to intensify the ecclesiastical organization already felt as a burden by the unwilling converts. The land was divided into parishes, and provision was made for systematic preaching and for the administration of baptism. Along with the expansion of the Church, the secular organization of the Franks went hand in hand. The country was placed under the supervision of counts, the leading Saxon chiefs being appointed to the positions. In one of the capitularies assigned to this time, the slightest deviation from Christianity is treated as a most serious crime. The murder of a deacon is punished by death, while an assault on a count only entails confiscation of property. Similar severity is exercised against those who are guilty of sacrilege, who break into churches, or who violate the rule of fasting.