Winter is coming. Ahmad Khan sends ambassadors to John with an offer to surrender and pay tribute to The Horde. John refuses and is ready to go to war. Facing the river, John guarantees Khan that he will get nothing. Ahmad is utterly offended and swears that he will kill the Prince of Moscow.

The Horde comes to Moscow, but John refuses to pay them and cuts off one of their ambassador hands. Returning to Khan, he reports that Moscow will no longer pay tributes to The Horde. An outraged Khan decides to go to war. John is ready for war, but realizes that fighting The Horde could cost him his life. Sophia supports her husband and believes that he will be able to conquer any army.

John decides to release his brothers from captivity but they have already run to Novgorod, a freedom-loving city which is openly against Moscow. They want to begin a war to get what they are entitled to after the death of Prince George. Gathered in the Novgorod council, under the leadership of the ruling Novgorod widow Marfy Boretskoy, they begin killing all those who stand in defense of John.

Shortly after the wedding, Sophia becomes pregnant. Her pregnancy brings drama and her closest servant makes a deal with the Catholic Church to poison the princess. A terrible earthquake comes and destroys all of wooden Moscow. After George's death, the brothers begin to divide the remaining land of their inheritance, but Ivan decides that all Russian lands should be managed from Moscow.

The Grand Duke Ivan III comes to Rome with the Byzantine ambassadors. They take notice of a young girl and Pope Paul offers her for marriage to the Prince. The people see the union as a cunning plan of the Vatican to unite the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. John III sees this marriage as an advantage for strengthening the state.