Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

If Barclay knew that Bagration could still hold meetings and discussions, he would probably envy the atmosphere and environment.

Although once the 2nd Army held a meeting, it was easy for different situations to occur, ranging from high-sounding talk to childish bickering, but because there was no Tsar in the army, it was easier to deal with it, at least one army commander could control it.

It was different on his side. There were inevitably some troublemakers both above and below him. The relatively honest Wittgenstein took the 1st Army to the Baltic coast.

The army commanders at home are still okay, but the people in the headquarters and the Tsar’s own entourage are simply here to perform a group crosstalk.

If Secretary of State Shishkov had not had Arakcheev on his side, things would have been in chaos long ago.

He was also under a lot of pressure, especially from Bennigsen, who loved to tell tales and engage in intrigues.

Bennigsen found nothing wrong with von Thor's shoddy construction. After all, the core fortifications in the designated area for the decisive battle were of very poor quality, which was fatal.

After Barclay himself saw it, he even shook his head. After all, if a decisive battle really had to take place here, it might be better to let the soldiers of the five infantry armies of the 1st Army dig a new set of trenches, and add some areas that had been reinforced by engineers, then there might be some hope of saving the area.

You can imagine how bad this place is.
The Tsar himself did not look happy, and at this time he did not take the initiative to propose any commander.

Although according to the Tsar's own intention, Colonel Barclay de Tolly would serve as the commander-in-chief of the Russian front line, various factors were involved and Alexander was not a decisive person.

Needless to say, Paul had to rise from the coffin in the tomb of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Even if Grand Duke Constantine had made the decision, he would have been very decisive.

It's just that the four brothers have a very good relationship, and the Grand Duke himself has no interest in the throne because of the coup that year, so it is impossible for him to have such an idea.

The saying that the royal family is the most ruthless also exists in some places in Europe. For example, there have been incidents in the courts of Vienna and Madrid. Before George III went crazy in London, the relationship between father and son was not good either.

The Luo family's court in St. Petersburg has always been friendly and respectful to each other, which seems to be quite different.

Therefore, Barclay's position remained suspended. He was still the Minister of War and the commander of the 1st Army. In fact, he obtained the command of the entire army with Alexander's tacit approval. However, because Alexander had not decided who would be the commander, he did lack prestige.

The candidates for commander-in-chief proposed by these people in the court alone are dizzying.

In addition to the three army group commanders Barclay, Bagration and Tormasov, there were a few other candidates, such as the two veterans Bennigsen and Kutuzov. Some people even suggested that Langeron, who was the commander of the 1st Army in the Danube Corps, should be the commander-in-chief.

There was no other reason. During the previous Polish campaign, Langeron served as acting commander-in-chief, Bagration served as deputy commander-in-chief, and Solovyov was the chief of staff. This combination caused the French a lot of trouble. Although they had to retreat to the Neman River in the end, they did not suffer a major defeat and the strength of the Russian army was preserved.

The person who proposed this plan was Alexander's confidant, Peter Volkonsky, who was also a royal aide and aide-de-camp. In fact, he had been the de facto Chief of the General Staff since General Sukhteren started teaching in the Engineer Fortress.

He proposed this plan because he had a good relationship with the three people and their abilities were also guaranteed.

"But, Petya, the Count of Langeron is a Frenchman, and that is not very good."

This was the Tsar's own answer, and it seemed that he was also aware of the current situation.

If it was a previous war, it would have been easier to send a French royalist as acting commander-in-chief.

But this time the battle was fought domestically, and Langgeron's identity was very sensitive.

Moreover, this combination looks very strange. Even Alexander knows that these three people are not suitable to hold their respective positions at this time.

Bagration's situation is not good. His actions are too aggressive. If it were the stage of active attack, it would be fine. The current strategy and his way of action are different.

Even though he was the Tsar's cousin-in-law, the favorite general of two generations of Tsars, the only regimental commander of the Guards who was not a royal family member, and his loyalty was not a problem.

As for the last choice, everyone in the army knew about the green-eyed guy. Although he had a good chance to be chief of staff, this was the job he hated the most.

Especially after he took independent command of the army and led the Finnish Division and the Macedonian Corps to achieve brilliant results on two battlefields in the south and the north, it was obvious that his appointment would probably be at the position of corps commander, and he could accumulate experience to become the commander-in-chief in the future.

Since this combination is not suitable, we can only continue to discuss the previous five candidates.

Peter Volkonsky's intervention actually had some ideas. He personally did not want these people to fight in a mess, which would also interfere with the command at the front line.

But that was how it was at court, and he had learned this from the officers who had participated in the Italian expedition when he was the general on duty under Kutuzov.

Suvorov once told the Austrian generals that Hannibal was able to win battles in Italy because there was no interference from the "Military Committee".

There are no "committees" in Russia now. Speransky's reforms completely changed all committees into departments, and also created new government structures such as the State Council and the Council of Ministers. The cabinet has also undergone significant changes, and it seems that that kind of interference has disappeared.

However, the people around the Tsar always intrigue against each other.

Fortunately, Solovyov had been sent out to lead troops, if he had seen the lively scene around the Tsar.

It's so fun, it's like electing a great general of Fuyuan, and all the people are showing off their magical powers.

Considering that the director's husband is He Xin, it doesn't seem surprising that he brought some second-hand Russian "pseudo-history theories" to China.

Why are some things so abstract?
The stereotype that the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia were half brothers is about to be deepened.

However, Volkonsky's move was a successful distraction.

Alexander was still willing to let Barclay serve as the commander-in-chief, but there were too many objections. The incident in which a group of senior lieutenant generals opposed Barclay's promotion to general was still fresh in people's memory.

This didn't work, so he put the matter aside for the time being.

Or maybe it's just his personality, he makes people around him anxious when they see him.

When Arakcheev saw this situation, as a loyal confidant of the Tsar, he naturally had to stand up and speak out.

"What Prince Volkonsky said always makes sense. At this time, the command of the army needs to be guaranteed."

Then he winked at Grand Duke Constantine. Although the Grand Duke was reckless, he understood his meaning.

"Brother Emperor, the army also needs a commander-in-chief now. At least before the new commander-in-chief is decided, coordination among several army groups needs to be ensured." Since these two said so, Alexander finally expressed his opinion.

At first, he just sat there, thinking about what to do next.

Now he also had to make up his mind that at least Barclay would serve as temporary commander-in-chief.

If you play well, you will be promoted to a regular employee. If you don’t play well or if there are complaints from below, you can find someone else.

This is a typical Alexander tactic, and he still has to strike a balance now.

"Let Barclay command the actions of the two armies now, and make other plans when Tormasov's Third Army approaches the battlefield."

Having said that, others had no choice but to put aside their opinions.

Especially Bennigsen, some people did support him. If he took the position of commander-in-chief, Alexander would be uneasy.

It's not a problem of his personal ability, but that he once participated in the regicide. Those people were dealt with, and the one with the lightest mistake was also sent to seclusion. Only this general from Hanover was still able to remain in the core power structure of the army.

His performance in Persia and Sweden ensured that he would continue to serve in the army.

However, it would not be appropriate for him to be the commander-in-chief.

If we look at the candidate, it would be better to let Constantine come. At least he has the court status of vice emperor, which was given to him by Paul. Besides, his younger brother is absolutely loyal and has no idea about the throne.

Just looking at it this way, he is more like King Zhuang of Chu. After all, apart from general Jueying Zhihui who doesn't care about romantic things, King Zhuang of Chu has a very good relationship with his younger brother Zifan.

The fact that the official selection has been put on hold is a gesture to all the generals. If you perform well, you may have a chance to get the position of commander-in-chief.

"Now, we are going to Moscow to see what has become of our people."

This is a way to get out of this situation, and it also confirms one thing: no one in the palace should interfere with the military command in the near future.

Barclays has been given some power for a period of time, but this power is not stable, and he still has to rely on his own hard work to eventually become a regular employee.

This is probably a situation unique to Russia. After much turmoil in the court, no suitable choice can be made.

But a decision was made after all. Barclay was temporarily free from the constraints of the court. He could also send Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Lavrov to take over the command of the Guards, while Yermolov served as acting chief of staff.

It was at this time that Yermolov soon received a letter to the General Staff from Prince Bagration.

The 2nd Army did not know what had happened to the 1st Army. Bagration's letter was also addressed to the General Staff, and it was very clear.

"Sir, the 2nd Army is preparing to escape the French pursuit from south of Minsk and rush from Mogilev to Vitebsk to join us."

"Bagration finally wrote to me"

Although the two often disagreed, Barclay still needed the general's support, and at this time, it was always more beneficial to concentrate the troops.

But he changed his mind and realized that the French army's current situation was to chase after their two armies.

Perhaps Tormasov's 3rd Army was further south and would be less affected. The intensity of the pursuit by the Austrian and Saxon armies was definitely not as strong as that of Napoleon.

However, they were separated from the two main armies by swamps and forests, and it was not known when they would be able to rush over and join them. They even had to give priority to cooperating with the Danube Army to defend the Kiev line.

Fortunately, Schwarzenberg was always slow in action and was really useless. It was unlikely that Reynier would gain any advantage in the battle with the Russian army.

They would pull away eventually, but not now.

The pressure on his side was also very great, and the sooner Bagration could come, the better. However, after looking at the map, he also became worried.

Based on the enemy movements included in Bagration's letter, Napoleon's army would probably try to continue the pursuit and cut off the connection between the two army groups.

In this case, we may still face tough battles.

After regaining command, he also had a clear idea of ​​what was going on.

At least the two younger generals, Nikolai Tuchkov and Osterman-Tolstoy, would listen to him, and according to the current marching sequence, they would take turns to cover the main force of the army's retreat to the east.

When the two of them arrived, they saw Barclay sitting there with a sullen face, looking worried.

"Mikhail Bogdanovich, what are you thinking about?"

"You are all here just in time. Please sit down. We are going to continue moving eastwards, first to Vitebsk. Bagration said he would meet us in Vitebsk, but they are still far away, and Minsk is threatened by the vanguard of the French army, so they have to turn to Mogilev."

"Mogilev. But it's still far away. If the French get there ahead of time, the road will be cut off again."

"Sasha, that's it. If the French reach Mogilev and there is no time to build a pontoon bridge there, it is probably impossible for them to join forces at Vitebsk."

Now that's it, Barclay also has a headache and looks even balder.

"We may need to make a plan. You two should take turns to provide cover and pay attention to the situation on our left wing. Not only the possible contact and detour by the French, but also our troops must maintain the order of the marching column. It would be better if the friendly forces could come up in time. We have already divided a lot of troops. Platov and Dolokhov's retreat was cut off, and now they have gone to Bagration. This is still good, because they can come back immediately in the future."

It was a different story for Wittgenstein and Essen who were trapped near Riga. Because they were covering the front of St. Petersburg, unlike the 2nd and 3rd Armies, they were still trying to get closer.

In short, a deployment was made, and the 1st Army also experienced some small battles. Finally, because the French marching speed slowed down, they temporarily got rid of the enemy and gained some initiative.

However, the tough battle is probably still ahead. (End of this chapter)