Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Kutuzov will definitely come to the front line, and the sooner he takes over the troops, the better.

Going forward, in the village of Tsarev-Zemyshe, Kutuzov would probably take over the troops there. The messenger he had sent ahead had already informed him of the situation, and Barclay and Bagration would not have any objections.

It's just that Barclays might be worried that someone will gossip after arriving at the front line, and may make small moves when the situation is unfavorable, or when the situation is very advantageous.

That’s right, I was talking about Count Bennigsen. This time, after he was persuaded by Kutuzov, the two of them set out on the journey together with their entourage, and now they are very close.

Solovyov actually went to the monastery with Nikolai Rostov to take a look. From here they could also see the village in front. The army had already started cheering and some were shouting "Ura". Something must have happened.

Rostov was looking at the road. A fat old man with a white cap and a red brim was riding a good horse with a red mane. He did not look like someone who could not ride a horse.

Pierre, however, was probably worried that he would not be able to mount a warhorse, so he tried to get Petya into the cavalry regiment he sponsored, which was a disguised form of protection for the young man.

Of course, Count Nicholas probably has no intention of caring about the sale of his family's property in Moscow now. The old count is currently haggling over the selling price with others. Their family's situation is probably not much better than that of Solovyov's father-in-law, Prince Vasily.

They are also in debt, but they are luckier in that they don't have annoying relatives coming to divide their property, and no lawsuits are always a good thing.

"Your Excellency, I think you should look at the road. It seems that Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov is coming."

Solovyov didn't care about this. After Kutuzov arrived, he would definitely summon all the army group commanders and army and division commanders. His base was not far from here, so he would be able to meet them soon.

I just don’t know how Andre’s father is doing recently. If he hadn’t fallen off the horse, he probably wouldn’t have died immediately.

After all, Louisa's father broke his arm, but he luckily survived and lived a few more years.

Elderly people who fall in traffic accidents always need to be carefully examined.

If fate permits, Solovyov does not want to see the elderly kill the young. There are many people around him, and even he himself is on this dangerous list.

Many of these young and middle-aged backbones have joined the army. They are also fathers, brothers and sons of others. Now, because of Napoleon's invasion, they have to go to the battlefield.

Because of this, Solovyov was probably more concerned with the terrain.

The area around the church is not very good. Although it is good for defense, it is easy for the enemy to cut off the retreat, and it will be very difficult to organize a retreat.

For the Russian army, now it is necessary to fight hard, but also to ensure that they have as much strength as possible to be used in the next battle.

"The monastery and the church are not good. We should build our position somewhere else, preferably blocking the main road and protected by a river."

From this point of view, Borodino is a very suitable place. In 1812, someone would fight a battle here. In 1941,
Solovyov thought about it and thought it was probably the famous scene in "Mark 80, Rapid Fire" where the son supervised the old man fighting in the trenches, and even the engineers from Moscow had to join the battle.
This may lead to another detour, but the current situation is that robbery is still a very common behavior when the French cross the border, and most of the famous thieves in Europe are among them.

Only the old soldier Massena didn't come. If he knew about the complete set of amber decorations in the Amber Room, or the luxurious life of Russian nobles, the luxurious objects they owned,
Separated by the Moscow River and given the terrain along the way, it seems that a battle can still be fought.

There didn't seem to be any problem in arranging that place, but most of the village belonged to Davydov, an old friend whom I had met when I was in the Guards. He was in trouble this time.

It seems that this "little nose" was born in his father's estate in Borodino village, and the hatred was full.

Dissatisfaction with the retreat was still common among officers and soldiers who had their own property along the way.

"If the French were allowed to reach Moscow, we would all be doomed."

"Why do you say that?"

Count Nicholas had little contact with Solovyov, and he was not that smart. Fighting in a war relied more on courage, so he could not really understand the thought process of this young lieutenant general.

"In Vitebsk and Gomel, we burned the Paskevich estate first. Then Vitebsk. Now it's not just Smolensk, I'm afraid Prince Andrew's house in Bald Hills will also be burned. Next is Borodino, and when we get to Moscow it will be our home."

"I still don't understand."

"The French will fight and rob as they go, and I'm afraid everyone will have a share. When we get to Borodino, we'll fight and bleed the French, but don't worry about whether any of them can be considered my relative."

Rostov seemed to understand only half of what was being said, and Solovyov's adjutant, the Cossack Bao Hong, who was standing beside him, also knew the expression on his face.

The young man is a good person, but he doesn't seem to be very smart. However, such a soldier can probably be relied upon in times of danger.

It’s just that Count Nicholas once had an experience where he was wounded and fell off his horse during a frontline battle and was picked up by friendly forces. The situation is much better now than it was then.

Bao Hong didn't know about this. Solovyov was not familiar with Count Nicholas, so he naturally wouldn't mention this matter. Maybe his friend Denisov was better, and that person was even in the team welcoming Kutuzov.

What Solovyov was thinking about now was how to choose the battlefield. If the rearguard battle was arranged properly, the French could still fight in Mozhaysk before they reached Moscow.

After all, abandoning a large number of wounded to the French is not a wise decision now.

If it were in Switzerland at that time, when Suvorov led his group of young and capable people to fight and retreat, it was the old soldier Massena who was more martial and took in all the wounded abandoned by the Russian army. Many of them were able to return to the team after recovering from their injuries, even though it was after the Battle of Zurich and the French army's own supplies were very tight.

If the wounded were abandoned to the French now, the treatment they would receive would probably be very poor. If they met the French military doctors, it would be okay, but if they met the soldiers, they would probably use bayonets to solve the problem.

Napoleon's army did not do anything to treat the prisoners in Smolensk, and even if Dr. Larrey protested, there was nothing he could do, after all, medicines had to be supplied first to the French officers.

The French army's supply is much worse than that of the Russian army.

Although Solovyov liked to use some cruel tricks in war, he was not so ruthless that he would not watch people who still had hope of being saved die. Therefore, he also thought about this problem, and even talked to Kutuzov about it when he met him.

Inside the village, a strong peasant woman was waiting for the arriving distinguished guests in the farmhouse with bread and salt. At this moment, Kutuzov, accompanied by Barclay and Bennigsen, was receiving cheers from the soldiers. This kind of welcome was obviously the best support for the prestigious veteran.

"Since we have such good brothers, sir, we can still fight."

Barclay actually knew that Kutuzov's strategy in Austria seven years ago was consistent with his own approach. Even in the cold winter of 7 to 1806, the Russian army's strategy was no different.

But now the battlefield is within Russian territory, and some people probably won't agree with such an approach.

After all, not everyone is that cruel.
However, now, the minds of these people seem to have been shot into sieves, and there are werewolves everywhere on the table. Although Solovyov is smart, he may not be the one with the most minds.

Kutuzov still had time to receive the generals who were in the village. He even had to listen to Denisov, who was a little excited and maybe drunk, saying that he could bring a small team to harass and disrupt Napoleon's transportation lines between Vyazma and Smolensk.

But his uncle, General Kirill Denisov, was a friend of Kutuzov, and Denisov himself was familiar with the area as if it were his own backyard, so it was somewhat feasible.

After that, he exchanged pleasantries with Andrei and discussed the action plan with Konovnitsyn.

As for the action plan in the area from Tsarevo-Zemyshe village to the monastery, Kutuzov was willing to listen to everyone's opinions. Although the pro-war faction still wanted to have a good fight, they were also somewhat dissatisfied with this place.

Therefore, these people in the village now began to perform the traditional skills of Tsarist Russia and compete with each other in front of the commander-in-chief.

They were so familiar with the process that it was even more smooth than before the Tsar.

After all, Alexander had an unpredictable personality, and Paul was moody. Combined with the bad-tempered Peter the Great and the extremely abstract Peter III, it was probably only during the reigns of a few empresses that things were normal.

Mrs. Soloviev was still looking at the terrain near the monastery. If he were here, based on what his father-in-law had told him before, even during the reign of the country bumpkin Empress Anna, when Katya's grandfather was in power, the Dolgorukov family was collectively in trouble, and their situation was better than it is now.

There is no way. Times are always changing. At that time, there was not even Solovyov's father. There was probably only his grandfather, a profiteer who was good at smuggling, and a few older uncles.

After Kutuzov received group after group of people, he also wanted to meet several generals who had performed outstandingly in the past.

Solovyov was among them, and to be honest, when continuing the transfer, it was always necessary to listen to opinions from all sides.

As for sleeping, he didn't have that much time to sleep now. Even with a piece of cable stuck in his ear, it didn't affect his ability to hear what others were saying.

He is really an expert at pretending to be deaf and dumb. Even if he uses superstitious methods to treat toothache, at such an old age, he can actually hear very clearly.

Moreover, he could also tell whether the adjutant around him was a man or a woman.

Even though Durova had a tomboyish look and an ordinary-looking figure wrapped in her uniform, he could actually guess it.

But he couldn't figure out why this young man came to work as a messenger.

But this is secondary. What should make him happy is that the young generals under Bagration will come one after another.

"Misha, you look good now. When we were fighting the Turks, you ran the farthest and made the greatest contribution, but you didn't capture many fortresses."

"I always choose to take a detour, as long as the enemy does not threaten my lines of communication."

"That's why, when I was in Petersburg, I even heard that there was a demand for a young commander-in-chief."

"The great men of Petersburg say anything in their salons. They may even say now that I was optimistic about Count Kutuzov. In fact, they may have made up a lot of stories about your current situation."

"Misha, what if it was you?"

"They would probably say that Solovyov is so proud of women that he can't devote all his energy to military command. He is not Madame Pompadour, who is said to be able to interfere with Louis XV's deployment, but this is probably a fallacy."

"I knew you would say that. Although you are young, you know these people too well. And you look like this. You must have gone to check out the terrain and haven't had time to rest, right?"

"Yes, I discussed the personnel arrangements with Barclay during the day, and then I went to the monastery with a hussar officer. But it seems inappropriate to fight here, and it is not convenient for our retreat."

"Well, if we want to retreat, we always need a reason."

"But now we are too close to Moscow. It seems we have to fight the enemy here."

He even looked to the side. Since Bennigsen was not there, he could speak boldly.

Seeing this, Kutuzov also laughed.

An old and fat fox and a little fox can still get along well with each other.

"I think Napoleon would not choose to continue the pursuit in rainy weather. After all, the road from Smolensk to Vyazma is not a very good transportation line, and the mud will also affect the efficiency of the army's operations. But if it is a sunny day and the ground is dried up, he will probably say, 'This is the sun of Austerlitz' and continue the pursuit. If we want to deploy our troops, we must also be in a place suitable for our deployment."

It seems that Borodino is indeed more suitable, but there are many troubles, and Napoleon will never let his opponents develop comfortably.

PS: The enemy is always cunning and powerful. Although they may be mentally retarded in terms of strategy, their abilities are still there, so naturally, they will not have an easy victory. (End of this chapter)