Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The next day, Napoleon saw Kutuzov retreating and could not keep up with him.

The French army also suffered heavy losses in this battle, although the losses were said to be minor in the Grand Army's communiqué. The French army was severely damaged and opened the door to Moscow.

But the gate to Moscow is actually in Mozhaysk.

The Russian retreating column quickly escaped danger, and after seeing the Guards, the French army did not dare to pursue.

After all, the "fire sticks" in the hands of these guys are flying props made by the emperor's cheap nephew, which can accurately hit the target from a long distance.

Even the emperor, whose marksmanship was so poor, improved his hit rate when shooting ducks with this thing.

He loved the new queen very much, she was young, energetic and in good health, but he decided to invade her country. It was a good thing that the two of them were not together at this time, otherwise, with the prince's strong temper, they would probably not only fight but also get into a fight.

In fact, the French soldiers were always a little confused about entering Russia, but considering that the queen was a good person and her brother was the Russian Tsar, they must have a good relationship between siblings, and the war broke out because Alexander was jealous that the emperor married his sister.

This idea is strange, but it has been spreading widely recently.

The French were always gossipy about some strange things. They gave up the pursuit not only because of the flying props, but also because of the strict formation of the Russian army.

In this way, the Russian army continued to retreat. After leaving the rear guard, Solovyov also found himself in an embarrassing situation, that is, before the start of Borodino, he could be said to be the commander of the main force with the strongest troops.

But after this battle, the 8th Army's two grenadier divisions, one infantry division, and two cuirassier brigades all suffered heavy losses. In fact, it is a question whether they can still exert their current combat effectiveness in the next battle.

Kutuzov summoned him to discuss some issues.

The commander-in-chief set up his temporary base in Feili Village, which was very close to Sparrow Hill.

In the past, the largest mansion on the Sparrow Hills was the official residence of Katya’s grandfather, the first-generation Krymsky Prince. Now it has been sold to Prince Yusupov’s family.

It's a really nice location, but if Moscow goes too far, probably the prices will come down.

Solovyov actually thought that after the war, he would ask his father if he could buy the Sparrow Hills estate.

This place is great and close to Moscow University. He suddenly had a strange idea, which is not to serve in the army after the war, but to teach at a university.

Karamzin admired his memory very much. He could remember a lot of things easily, and what he wrote was quite organized.

If the two people's opinions were not so different, he would probably be invited to complete the "History of the Russian State" together. However, given the bad reviews Solovyov gave to Ivan the Terrible and Boris Godunov, it is better not to think about it.

I'm afraid that the two of them will have a big fight over which is the more Russian tradition, serfdom or personal dependence.

This historian has probably been evacuated now.

"I can see Sparrow Hill in the distance. I think you are reminiscing about the sweetness of your wedding."

"Alyosha, if you want a wife, I have sisters, but they are too young."

"Ah, your most beautiful rose should marry Speransky. It's really unexpected."

"You said that about the former Secretary of State, but they are together because they are spiritually compatible with each other. As for some strange things, Alyosha, you should not mind them."

Yermolov was somewhat joking when he spoke, but it was indeed a bit awkward for the two of them to talk like this at this time.

Solovyov did hold his wedding at his villa on the Sparrow Hills, and if you climb up from here, you can still barely see that place.

Speaking of Sparrow Hills, that place was indeed a happy one. Now that Napoleon was behind them, if they were to let him in like this, it would probably not make them happy, for it would destroy not only his own memories, but also those of others.

Yermolov saw that his face looked a little bad, and he knew that his joke had gone too far.

At times like this, it’s more important to talk about serious matters.

"Misha, what do you think we should do?"

"If the place in Istrinsky could store water, I would have a way, but unfortunately there is none."

The role he put himself in looked like the great-grandson of his Polish friend. When he got here, he couldn't help but sigh at the strong genes of the Rokossovsky family, as many relatives had similar faces.

"Are you trying to block something with a flood?"

"Sometimes we really have to release water, but if we do that, many places along the Moscow River will be affected by the flood. It sounds like it's not much better than setting fire. Another possibility is that we have to find a suitable position here. But Fili Village or other places are not suitable."

"You think so too? But the commander-in-chief wants to fight here."

"The premise is that we need to slightly block the enemy at the front pass and make them fail to deploy their positions before we can take advantage of this terrain. But Platov."

Thinking of this Cossack leader, he could probably only understand the situation when he was attacking.

Bagration had been evacuated to Vladimir, and it was no good talking about anything now.

As for the defender battle, we will probably have to rely on Miloradovic in the future.

"If you're worried, we can go to the commander-in-chief."

Kutuzov has now become a field marshal because of the Battle of Borodino. This is a promotion given to him by Alexander. This honor has gradually become less and less since Alexander's time. It is not as easy to promote a field marshal among the soldiers as it was in the past.

It’s just that the title of first-class military officer is often given to some useless old men as an honorary title, and Kutuzov may not be among them.

After all, he is still able to take charge of the situation, but he is just pretending to doze off on the stool.

These people sat in several groups around him, apparently having group discussions.

Solovyov also heard some people talking about turning Moscow into Zaragoza.
Fortunately, it is not a case of "transforming Moscow into Madrid", but it is not good at all.

You can also hear Rostopchin passionately saying that he would lead the militia to live and die with Moscow.

This was quite impassioned; if he had proposed setting fire to Moscow, Solovyov would have suggested starting with his house.

As for Bennigsen's talk about how to organize a defensive battle, Solovyov could see that Bagovet beside him was a little disdainful.

Bagovet's disdain probably led to Tuchkov's troops changing their position from the forest to the high ground, which resulted in a tough battle on this side.

If the ambush had been used properly, even the 1st Grenadier Division alone could have inflicted heavy damage on the Poles.

Now the chief of staff's words made people feel that he wanted to compete with Kutuzov for power. Kutuzov himself was disappointed. The current situation was not enough to fight a good battle to defend the city. The important thing was to win the war in the end.

He felt relieved when he saw Solovyov and Yermolov coming back.

"You two are here too. We are discussing what to do next."

Yermolov said that this place was not suitable, but Kutuzov pretended to be angry and showed an attitude of dissatisfaction, as if he was going to have a battle here.

Just like Bennigsen is now talking about the patriotic enthusiasm of the Russian army, two old foxes are fighting here.

The fat fox Yermolov also noticed it, and he elbowed Solovyov.

Now he understood, and he had thought about what was going on between the two before.

Bennigsen has always been like this, and Solovyov, as Paul's former bodyguard, was on high alert because he participated in the assassination.

If a price had been set that day and he had been asked to sell Alexander to Napoleon, Solovyov would have felt that it was possible.

However, Bennigsen was not as shameless as he imagined, and defeating Napoleon was always an attractive option.

As winter approaches, if he can finally win according to the previous deployment, Bennigsen will be lucky.

"Commander-in-Chief, what should we two say?"

"Misha, I want to hear what you have to say. You have always had some ideas."

Miloradovich did not like to participate in such occasions, and because of Platov's mistake, he had to leave at the end.

Most of the generals Kutuzov trusted were also injured. When Barclay was speaking, some generals probably didn't want to listen to what he said, and were easily besieged by de facto friendly forces. Instead, the seriously injured Bagration tended to protect him.

So, Solovyov is here, he has a lot of ideas, maybe one of them can be of some use.

"I think at this time, we should not make a decision based on momentary emotion."

Solovyov has been with Kutuzov since he was a teenager. The old marshal is well aware of his growth. If the field marshal could have lived a few more years, he would probably have guided him personally. Even Bagration would be envious of such treatment.

Kutuzov knew that he had not learned Suvorov's ways, but instead had become somewhat smooth-talking, and this characteristic was more like himself.

But the meaning is very clear, that is, don't fight a decisive battle outside of Moscow. It is definitely wrong to act on impulse at the moment.

"So how do we do it?"

"I think we can always strike at the enemy's supply line. If their supply is reduced, we will have a better chance of winning."

"Well, your idea is good, Misha. But we need to study it now and can't just listen to one side's opinion."

"But it will also become a vegetable market, like the countryside in Ryazan, or there will be a group of peddlers shouting."

"A bunch of peddlers."

Kutuzov and Yermolov wanted to laugh when they heard this.

The shouting of a group of peddlers can indeed show that during the meeting, all parties had a "full" exchange of opinions.

"In this case, we should have made a decision. We just need some generals to attend a meeting."

Kutuzov got into a carriage, and, escorted by his son-in-law and several adjutants, left the place for the village of Fili, to the home of the peasant Andrei Savostyanov.

Solovyov himself was in no hurry to go there. Kutuzov would probably summon a few generals who were attending the meeting from the village in a while.

The five generals who hold relatively important positions, namely Bennigsen, Barclay, Dokhturov, Yermolov and Osterman-Tolstoy, will definitely go.

Plus Kutuzov's chief adjutant Kaisarov, the quartermaster general von Toll, and perhaps some others.

In the end, Kutuzov summoned a few more people, including Konovnitsyn, Uvarov and Raevsky.

"Commander-in-Chief, are these the people?"

"If we ask Soloviev to come, that will be one more person."

“Why not add another one?”

"It sounds like there's no problem asking him to come over, and then another one. This way we can make a decision in the end. If there's no stalemate, it seems like I should be the one to express the final opinion."

So, Solovyov and Stroganov were invited.

There is one advantage of Count Stroganov coming here. After all, the couple are good friends of the Tsar and his wife. Their leadership skills are average but they are relatively reliable.

In addition, if we call these two and add Ostermann Tolstoy, there will be three people who look like cultured people. It would look a bit funny to sit among a group of old foxes and fierce generals.

Solovyov didn't expect that he could add more scenes to himself. He went to eat first, but he just shaved his head and ate some sauerkraut and beef stew.

"You have a good appetite, Your Excellency. The commander-in-chief also wants you to come over. Also, here is a letter from the emperor, who wants to confer an honor on you."

Solovyov had previously received many medals, including the Order of St. George, Second Class, in recognition of his outstanding performance in Sweden.

Among the high-level medals, the only ones he has not yet received are probably the First Class Order of St. George and the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle.

But after seeing it, I have to say that Alexander is really a brilliant person when it comes to ingenuity.

On the one hand, Solovyov was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, Second Class, and on the other hand, Katya was awarded the Small Cross of St. Catherine, in recognition of her husband's military exploits and his wife's contributions.

As for himself, when he arrived at the scene, Kutuzov already knew that he would definitely support the idea of ​​retreating, and calling on Stroganov, who was neutral, would almost solve the problem.

No matter how the vote is cast, Kutuzov will probably have the upper hand. As for the fact that Bennigsen and Yermolov can recall two versions, although it is a bit strange, it can also be seen that their opinions are different.

As for his choice, he would probably have to go there after dinner.

When Kutuzov really had something to do, he would not pretend to be confused. Even if he really wanted to doze off, he would hold on for a while.

And if someone says something that doesn't satisfy him, he can just doze off, which is his usual method. (End of this chapter)