Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Count Kutuzov, the oldest general in Russia, did cause trouble for the emperor.

To some extent, what Prince Vasily Kurakin and other St. Petersburg nobles said was true.

It's just that she was a little too exaggerated when she spoke. There were some people who couldn't even get on horseback. Many nobles in St. Petersburg were like this. In fact, some of them were not as good as Natasha.

He fell asleep during a meeting. Sometimes he was really pretending to be confused. I have seen him do this several times before.

Of course, I am 67 years old now, so I am naturally older and can fall asleep sometimes.

The only fair comment is probably "a blind old man".
He received the appointment while he was on his way.

For him, it is naturally a heavy responsibility, but it is different from the situation when Paul asked Suvorov to come out.

Suvorov just disagreed with Paul's approach. Paul himself seemed narrow-minded, but he was very tolerant when dealing with things and did not find fault in the end.

Nicholas was like Paul at times, but Alexander was not.

The Tsar seemed to be very tolerant, but sometimes he was also narrow-minded, and he still had some impression of Kutuzov's previous behavior.

But now if we want to choose a coach who can implement the strategy, the only option is Kutuzov.

On the way, Kutuzov met General Bennigsen, who was unaware of his new appointment, and the two prepared to go to the front together to take over the army.

At first, the arrogant Count Bennigsen opposed the proposal, but Kutuzov eventually softened his attitude by grinding coffee for him and discussing strategy with him in a heart-to-heart manner.

At the same time, after the Russian army ended the rearguard battle in the villages of Valentino and Lubino, it finally temporarily broke contact with the French army and continued to advance eastward along the two roads of Smolensk, preparing to find a place to rest.

They didn't know what the French were doing at this time, but after arriving in Vyazma, their dissatisfaction with Barclay and their calls for fighting became louder and louder.

For this reason, Barclay found it difficult to control the army for a while. Fortunately, Kutuzov was coming, which finally relieved him from this position.

In this way, he and Yermolov could concentrate on commanding the 1st Army.

However, considering that Bennigsen was appointed chief of staff, Barclay was not happy with this arrangement.

When he was in Finland before, he had witnessed Bennigsen's means of fighting for power. In addition to Bagration's attack on the Aland Islands and Solovyov's cross-ice raid, which were personally approved by the Tsar, this count from Hanover, general of cavalry, was also a person with a strong desire to show off.

It’s just that sometimes he is smart, and sometimes he is smart as hell, and he always wants to carry out his own ideas.

Before the war broke out, Count Shuvalov, who had fought side by side with Barclay in Finland, complained about this matter. Although Bennigsen did not interfere with the plan approved by the Tsar himself, he intervened a lot in the actions in the north.

Barclay had already crossed the ice and was in Sweden at that time, otherwise he would have encountered more trouble.

Now, Count Bennigsen has come, which may not be a good thing for anyone, as he likes to collude behind the scenes.

If he hadn't already retired from the business, some people would probably still think that this guy's favorite thing in the past was to run small conspiracy groups.

If he is willing to make trouble, it will be a very troublesome matter, and it also has a kind of arrogance.

At this moment he invited Solovyov to have tea to discuss the operations of the Smolensk campaign.

After all, this kid's hostility should be the least among all the generals.

"If you ask me, everyone had questions at the time, but for some reason, I can't comment. Of course, this tea is good and looks like it's new."

"Black tea imported from India. Although you drink tea like a Khitan, you always like black tea."

"This is a personal hobby. You really shouldn't have acted that way, but it's not easy to find a reason. It's just that the person who came is Count Kutuzov. After all, Mikhail Illarionovich has this prestige among the generals."

"But the Chief of Staff is Count Bennigsen. I guess since you come from a family of aides-de-camp and guardsmen, you probably don't have a favorable impression of him, right?"

Solovyov was reluctant to talk too much about what happened back then, but Paul's assassination did have a profound impact on him.

Although Bennigsen's own cunning had never been used on him, he still felt a certain disgust for it.

But after Barclay said that, Solovyov couldn't figure out what he was going to do.

After all, in this place, everyone is very cunning, even his two capable senior brothers are the kind of people who are rough but meticulous.

Well, considering Bagration's gambling habit and his baby-faced, big-breasted wife, he's probably the image of Zhang San.
Miloradovich, on the other hand, fought his way in and out of the French army seven times.

These two are also good at practical combat. The biggest punching bag of their sect is his brother-in-law Murat in another sense, the French Imperial Marshal and the current King of Naples, who was really beaten by them several times.

The opinions expressed by Barclay may be a trick to mobilize the masses, and he didn't want to respond to this.

But Bennigsen's tricks are bound to continue in the future, and he is the kind of person who particularly likes to tell tales.

Solovyov didn't know what Turkmenbash was, otherwise he would have a headache if he met such a person.

"But at this time, there must be a chief of staff. But I can't say anything about him taking the position. We have to take it one step at a time. We also know that the decisions made by the court committee can sometimes be strange. They did this perhaps because Count Kutuzov is a general with similar ideas to yours, and they need to find a guy who is willing to take the initiative to balance it out. Maybe the emperor doesn't want us to keep retreating. We have already given up Smolensk, destroyed Vyazma, and next is Mozhaysk. Some people may say that we are afraid that we will have to meet the enemy in Sparrow Hills, but is that a place for fighting?"

By the way, the house on the top of Sparrow Mountain is now the property of Prince Yusupov's family, but it used to be the official residence of Katya's grandfather.

"Yes, you know the place better. After all, Prince Krimsky used to be the owner there. What should we do now?"

Barclay also noticed that Solovyov did not respond but interrupted.

This kid is smart to begin with, and now he is showing his instinct to resist.

"If there is one of us who is opportunistic and always wants to climb up the social ladder, and once he is in power, he will flatter his superiors, exclude his colleagues, and be unfriendly to his subordinates, always looking for opportunities to persecute others, and even try to curry favor with you when you are in power, then this kind of person may be very annoying and shameless. Even some of the people we know would not be like this, probably only someone like Prince Vasily Kuragin. No, he has to maintain the dignity of the nobility and would not be so despicable."

"If there are more despicable people like this, it might be worse." Barclay only knew Solovyov's attitude. He must hate Bennigsen, but his words sounded like they were directed at another group of people.

Solovyov thought to himself that this was a bald fox. If he were on the French side on the battlefield, he would also be a difficult guy to deal with. There are always times when political factors and military morale will constrain military command.

In Barclay's eyes, isn't he also a fox?

And some things may be different from what you expect.

Solovyov rode away from Barclay's headquarters on horseback and prepared to return to his own base. The marching column of the 8th Army was close to the troops of the 1st Army and was always in a connecting position. This was also because the current deployment of the Russian army had changed.

Before the war began, a lot of new recruits were stuffed into the 7th and 8th Armies, and old troops were withdrawn. That stage was always a bit of a headache.

Now, to be honest, Barclay intended to bring the Third Army into the action, on the side of the Second Army.

If they still went to Borodino, the 8th Army's position would probably be right at the bloodiest part of the battlefield, and also at the place that the French hoped to capture.

If we could move faster now and find the location of the monastery or some other place, maybe things would be better.

Now he could also see some Hussars moving about, and there was even one with a moustache who looked familiar.

It was Nikolai Rostov, and his presence here at this hour was a curious coincidence.

But for Hussars, life is always like that. In the end, they marry a wife for some reason. Either Hussars and Hussars are brothers forever, or they often make friends.

It seems that his hussar brothers have almost died out.

"Your Excellency, are you Count Solovyov? My father has mentioned you. We are both from the same hometown of Ryazan."

"You are quite familiar with me. We are acquainted, but not intimately acquainted. When I went to your house there were only the count and his wife, your sister Natasha, and your brother Petya."

"Yes, although you have been in Petersburg, you remember it clearly. I am here now and am preparing to join the squadron. You should be in the 2nd Army, so why are you here?"

"Talking about something with the Commander-in-Chief, and it seems pretty good. You yourself are the squadron leader, but the recruits following behind you don't even look like they have uniforms."

"This is inevitable. Some farmers say that we officials are conscripting men all day long."

Solovyov thought that Rostov's troops were not under his jurisdiction. He was familiar with every regiment of the 2nd Army, which always formed a sharp contrast with Barclay's side.

If it's a matter of reputation, when Barclay wanted to recruit soldiers, he always used the method of conscripting able-bodied men. If it were Bagration, young nobles and free people who volunteered to join the army, as well as serfs, would all be willing to go.

It will also affect morale. If Russia wants to reform in the future, it cannot use the whip as a means of punishment. If it does so, there will probably be no hope.

But the place where he conscripted the men was probably the village belonging to the owner of Tongshan Manor.

Now, next to the marching column, there were always carriages of nobles or civilians on the road, and all of them were heading to Moscow.

The army may take the wounded away and leave them in Mozhaysk or Moscow. Some lightly wounded soldiers may return to the team, but the situation in Smolensk is not good.

I talked with Barclay today. Before, at Bagration's place, I found that these people were very cunning, except for cavalry officers like Nikolai Rostov, who probably had a simple and lively personality because of their family tradition.

Finally they didn't have to compete with each other and could even have a conversation. They were just about to separate at the intersection ahead.

"If you want to establish merit, you can also join an independent team to act, and this way you can attack the enemy flexibly."

"It's a good idea, but it's like hunting."

"Go hunt an old wolf, but the French are also cunning and cruel, like wolves and foxes, and maybe some kind of mastiff, which is always troublesome."

"I hope I have this good luck. But in the Hussars, I will probably have to rely on the arrangements of the commander in chief. They are not like you, as a general, who has a lot to consider."

"If we were all gentry and farmers, we probably wouldn't have to worry so much."

Then Rostov mentioned his experiences at Bald Hills.

"You are right. Sometimes some people are just weird, but ignorance is always caused by the evil of the environment. You will always encounter some weird things."

However, Solovyov did not have any idea of ​​"advancing" the plot with the meeting between Count Rostov and Miss Maria, and there were many changes.

He dealt with Pierre a lot on a daily basis, as he and his father always had to communicate with Pierre about business and industrial management matters. They had known each other when they were in Paris, second only to their acquaintance when he and Andre were on duty together in the Guards.

"But there is nothing wrong with doing this. I'm just surprised that if we were marching in the south, there would be no such thing."

"It's a bit strange. The troubles that Miss Maria encountered should also happen in other places."

"People still need education, but you don't seem to like discussing these issues."

"I know you and Pierre are friends, and it might be better if I talk to him. I just want to live a happy life and get married."

However, his family's current economic situation can be said to be very bad. Although they can still maintain a decent aristocratic life, they are not like the old count when he was in office in Ryazan in the past, and he was able to settle many things.

If he were to marry a bride, a wealthy heiress would probably be more suitable.

Even Balashov, who was considered a wicked villain by Solovyov, could marry a wealthy woman. For Nikolai, who just did not marry his cousin in the end but still let her live with him, it was nothing.

What's more, if we follow the original story, Tolstoy's father wanted to make his poor cousin his legal wife after his wife died, but was rejected in the end.

This problem is considered a minor matter in the aristocratic circle. (End of this chapter)