Cortez was delighted at the willing compliance of the king in playing the rôle of a puppet in his hands, and he wondered because “great lord as he was, that being a prisoner as he was, he was so much obeyed.” On his own initiative, Montezuma addressed his chieftains, telling them that the Spaniards were sent by Quetzalcohuatl, and begging them to be obedient to Cortez in every respect, urging them to accept their position of vassalage to Spain. This was the signal for another great collecting expedition among the Aztec feudatories, the chief contributor being Montezuma himself. The chronicler’s powers of description are exhausted in enumerating the wealth that poured into the hands of the eager adventurers. There was no scruple in taking what was left after the regular tribute of vassalage had been paid. The commander, however, was very unwilling to proceed to the distribution, and when he could resist his soldiers’ demands no longer, it was found that the greater part of the three and a half million dollars’ worth of metal had been retained by the leader and the captains. He met their complaints by telling them that they all would be very prosperous and rich, because they would be the masters of rich cities and mines. As a more practical argument, he went among the soldiers giving them secretly gold ornaments, and making individual promises of reward. Meanwhile the rapacity of the adventurers and their open display of their wealth did not bring so much odium upon them as their forcible efforts to convert the natives. A Christian chapel was placed in the chief temple, an action which seems to have contributed to destroy the illusion among the people that there existed some relation between the newcomers and their god Quetzalcohuatl. The undisguised enmity soon came to a head in plans for a revolt that included a general massacre of the Europeans. When information of the plot was conveyed to Montezuma, who seemed worried at the fate of his strange guests and advised their leaving the city, Cortez spoke of the destruction of his ships and told the king that, when ships were prepared, the latter must go with them to see their emperor. Workmen were sent to Villa Rica to prepare the vessels, but it was probably with no serious intent beyond the purpose of deceiving the prisoners.