On reaching Lake Ilmen, Ivan divided his army into four parts. The first was commanded by his brother, Andrei Menshoi, and others; on the right wing was his brother, Andrei Bolshoi, the Tver voevoda, and Prince Michael; on the left wing was his [[470]]brother, Boris, and in the center, where he himself was, was Prince Patrikaieff. He sent a part of the army to take possession of the Gorodische, and also of the monasteries, before any one could burn them. This was done successfully. The rest of the army laid siege to the city. In Ivan’s first campaign a dry summer had assisted, but the time was now winter, hence the troops could go anywhere freely; lakes, rivers and morasses were solid. The Grand Prince and his men marched on the ice of Lake Ilmen and halted three versts from Novgorod, at the village of the boyar Lashinski. Not relying on frost alone, Ivan built a bridge over the Volkoff, thus ensuring connection with all the parts of his army.
What could the city do against this dreadful power which beset it on all sides? In the first war with Moscow the city had considerable forces, but now we find them not even attempting to fight in the open. Every energy was turned to defending the walls and the fortress. They tried at first to strengthen these defenses, and even made a strong wooden wall near the new bridge. If Ivan had attacked without waiting, he might have found much resistance, and would have lost, it may be, many warriors; but he was not in a hurry. He calculated on how long Novgorod could resist in this difficult position. It was not without reason that during the first war, and after it, Ivan had seized the most active and capable leaders opposed to him. There was not one weighty person now among the leaders; and it would have been very difficult for any man of power to appear in the anarchy which was raging in the city at that time. Assistance from outside was impossible. No aid came from Kazimir. One method alone was left open to Novgorod people: negotiations with the conqueror. They could only bargain for conditions as best as they were able, and then beg for mercy. In fact the chronicler in describing this campaign touches mainly on this point.
Novgorod had sent to Torjok to obtain from Ivan a safe-conduct for envoys. He commanded to detain the first messenger. They sent then a second, and a third man. Only on November 8, when thirty versts from the city, did Ivan give safe-conduct. An embassy of ten, with the archbishop as leader, then came to him. The archbishop rendered homage to Ivan, calling him sovereign, and Grand Prince of all Russia, in the name of the abbots, the [[471]]priests, and all the seven churches of Novgorod. He asked him to be gracious to his inheritance, to put away sword and fire, and to restore to the city those boyars who had been taken to Moscow. After the archbishop, other members of the embassy spoke in the same sense. The request to free a few boyars taken to Moscow was ill-timed, when the very existence of the city was in peril. Feodor, an envoy, added a request that the Grand Prince would command his boyars to discuss conditions of peace with them.
Ivan made no answer, but invited the envoys to dine with him. Next day he appointed Prince Patrikaieff and two boyars, the brothers Borisovitch, to talk with those envoys. As was the wont of that time, the Novgorod envoys divided the articles for discussion: One man asked that the Grand Prince be gracious to Great Novgorod, his heritage, set aside wrath, and sheathe the sword; another asked that the boyars detained in Moscow should be liberated; a third proposed that the sovereign should come to Novgorod not oftener than once in four years, take one thousand rubles each visit, and whatever his lieutenant and posadnik could not judge he should judge on his coming, and not summon Novgorod men to Moscow for trial. A fourth requested that the lieutenant of the Grand Prince should not interfere in the courts of the archbishop and posadnik. It was asked also that servants of the Grand Prince be judged not in the Gorodische, but in the city. In conclusion it was requested that the Grand Prince declare why it was that Novgorod should give homage.
All these questions were laid before Ivan. On the following day, at his order an answer was given, also in sections. Prince Patrikaieff made a general introduction, then the other two boyars continued. Touching Novgorod’s denial as to using the word “sovereign,” by this denial, they said, Novgorod had given the lie to Ivan and insulted him. The Grand Prince was astounded that the archbishop and the envoys asked freedom for men then detained for robbery and violence. In conclusion, Prince Patrikaieff added that if Great Novgorod wished to do homage to the Grand Prince, it knew for what it was to do homage. The envoys were dismissed with this answer.
December 4 the archbishop and envoys returned. They expressed Novgorod’s regret for having denied the word “Gosudar.” Then followed Ivan’s answer: “If ye acknowledge your fault [[472]]and ask what rule there is to be in our heritage, Great Novgorod, our answer is: We wish the same government in Novgorod as in Moscow.” The envoys departed. December 7 the archbishop came with the same envoys and five other men. They begged that the Grand Prince’s lieutenant should judge with the posadnik. They proposed an annual tax of half a silver grieven for each plow. “Let the Grand Prince rule the dependent cities of Novgorod through lieutenants; but not remove men from Novgorod territory, or take the lands of boyars, and not summon men from Novgorod to Moscow, or make them serve in the Lower Country.”
The Grand Prince answered through the boyars: “I have said that I wish the same rule in Novgorod as in Moscow, and now ye point out to me how to act. How would that be my rule?” After that they begged him to explain his will, since they knew not how he ruled the “Lower Country.” The Novgorod boyars knew well what Moscow rule was, but they feared the final word, and feigned not to understand the discussion. At last the sentence was pronounced by Ivan through his boyars: “Our rule is this: There is to be neither Assembly nor posadnik in Novgorod. We are to have the whole government, and the districts and villages are to be managed as in the Lower Country.”
This answer was like a thunderbolt, but was softened somewhat by the promise not to remove people from Novgorod, or touch the inheritance of the boyars, and to leave courts in their present condition.
They discussed the words of the Grand Prince a whole week in the city at stormy meetings. Finally the party of moderate men and the adherents of Moscow triumphed. They sent the same envoys to say that the Assembly and the posadnik were abolished. But they repeated their petition touching land, and the removal of people from Novgorod, that is, a summons to Moscow, and service in the Lower Country.
It is clear that the Novgorod boyars had sacrificed their government, and were working then for class interests only. The Grand Prince granted their requests, but when the envoys asked an oath from him he refused sharply. They asked then that his boyars take an oath. This was refused also. They begged that his future lieutenant take the oath. This was not granted. Moreover, Ivan detained the envoys in his camp a whole fortnight. [[473]]He wished to weary the Novgorod men, and bring them to perfect agreement. He knew that there was a large party that still opposed him, and cried out at all meetings that they must fight Moscow to the uttermost.