Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The count undoubtedly became a clown, but the situation in Moscow was such that many people had already left before the French arrived.

The main force of the Russian army was about to retreat, with only Miloradovich remaining in the rear. He was arguing with Murat and threatening that if Murat did not agree with him, he would burn down Moscow and fight to the death with the French.

In the face of this statement, Murat hastily called back his messenger, who had only gone two miles to Napoleon, and temporarily agreed with Miloradovich's opinion.

Speaking of which, this guy Murat is just a stupid big monkey. He was fooled by Bagration in Shengraben, and Solovyov almost arranged for him to fall into thirty-six tricks in Poland and East Prussia. Now it's his turn again.

All the fellow disciples in this school were trying to fool one person, that is, Murat's hair grew fast, otherwise they would have been plucked out bald.

It bought time for the army and the people in Moscow to evacuate, which is a great achievement.

To be honest, at this point, he deserves a march all his own.

When he reported the news to Kutuzov who had already broken camp, the old marshal was very satisfied. He showed the letter to Solovyov who came to his side.

"What do you think, Mishka? It seems that Murat is still so easy to deceive. You guys are all disciples of Alexander Vasilyevich."

"After all, he is my child's uncle."

Kutuzov actually took a while to react, and then he remembered that Solovyov, who should still be a young man, was known as the "Flower General" before he got married. He was probably most proud of his passionate relationships with some French women, some of whom were romantic (Madame Recamier and Pauline), some of whom were friendly (Madame Lebrun and her daughter), and of course there were relatives (stepmother and Empress Josephine).
At this time, some people still had the heart to tell such jokes, and Kutuzov also joined in the joking sequence.

"I hope your child will not be infected with stupidity by this uncle. Stupidity is contagious, especially among the French."

"If we fight them again, I think we should avoid a direct battle with my uncle, the emperor's brother-in-law, and wait until his strength weakens before taking action."

Solovyov's attitude was clear, and Kutuzov nodded in agreement.

"But before that, we have to give up Moscow and go to Ryazan. You were supposed to go there. But we also have to consider that there are still a large number of wounded in the city, nobles and civilians who have not been evacuated in time, and many people need to be evacuated. Mishka, my dear child, as your elder or as the commander-in-chief of the army, I hope you can complete this task and let as many people in the city leave Moscow as possible. After that, you will go to Ryazan and conduct a survey there. We also need a large camp. After replenishing the troops, we will have to fight back. At that time, you will probably be needed."

"Yes, Mikhail Illarionovich, I will do as you wish."

"Do you know about Andre's situation?"

Solovyov was not aware of Andrei's situation. These days he was busy fighting with Bennigsen and mobilizing the troops after withdrawing from Borodino, and he ignored the situation in this regard.

"he got hurt?"

"The letter his adjutant sent me said that he looked very bad, but he is still holding on. It's probably because of his strong vitality that he always wants to see his family, including his father, sister, wife, and children."

Kutuzov was also full of regrets. After all, he was more optimistic about Andrei, who had a strong character and good conduct.

Solovyov was somewhat materialistic due to his background and the circumstances, even though he married a princess of a noble and prestigious family.

In Kutuzov's opinion, this kid was probably more like himself when he was younger, but because he was taught by Suvorov, he seemed more positive.

However, because the old Duke himself did not fall off his horse and suffer a stroke, it was a relief for Andrei not to hear the news of his father's death, but it was a torture for the old Duke.

I just don't know whether they have reached Moscow yet. Kutuzov gave Solovyov the authority to go to Moscow, not only to carry out the arduous task of evacuating the remaining people and wounded soldiers in the city, but also because he had many relatives in Moscow.

Although Solovyov always said that he was a countryman from Ryazan, many of his relatives, including his grandfather's branch and the descendants of his great-uncle Fyodor, stayed in Moscow. Except for those with titles, many of the rest worked as stewards for the great nobles.

In fact, this "Butler Intelligence Network" is still very useful in Moscow.

Solovyov could now ride to Moscow, and he set out with only an orderly and a few hussars, which would allow him to move more quickly.

Many Russian troops took a detour from Moscow and headed for Ryazan Avenue, and a small number passed through the city.

In Mozhaysk, they had to abandon thousands of wounded soldiers to the French. The final outcome for them would be very bad, as the French would not even be able to take care of their own wounded.

In addition, there was a lot of bad news, such as Rostopchin, the panicked old man, was calling on the militia to fight the French at Poklonnaya Hill and other places.

The fool Solovyov heard the news that some wounded soldiers were still in Moscow. Since Kutuzov changed a decision in Gzhatsk, he evacuated the wounded whose conditions were relatively stable to nearby towns instead of keeping them in Moscow. This allowed tens of thousands of wounded soldiers to leave the city.

But there are still thousands of people sent here every day. Solovyov now feels a little embarrassed. Count Rostopchin has no idea what he is doing. It may be normal for him to have only fanatical patriotic enthusiasm. He may be sincere in talking about sacrificing his life under the city of Moscow, but who knows if he is schizophrenic now?
By the time he arrived at Red Square, the crowd was sparse and the place looked chaotic.

When they saw a general, some people gathered around.

"Sir, do you really want to give up Moscow?"

"What are you doing here?"

The medals he wore were also very eye-catching and could be seen from his clothes.

"Don't panic, I'm here from Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov on business with Count Rostopchin."

"Sir, what's going on ahead?"

"Our troops are indeed leaving Moscow, but we can't leave you all to the French. Those who can leave now and find relatives in the countryside or other cities should prepare their own cars to escape! But I also want to say that we gave the French a lot of blood in Borodino, and when winter comes, they will be finished! We will definitely come back!"

When he finished speaking, he saw a young man coming over. It was his nephew Veniamin Solovyov, one of his cousin's children. "Uncle Mishka, you came to Moscow, but we should fight the French."

"Venya, my dear nephew, you must know that we can't defeat Napoleon in Moscow. They will eventually be defeated!"

But he couldn't tell the details, so he had to go to Rostopchin's official residence.

It is unlikely that he will be given the opportunity to visit relatives at this moment, as he always has to find this neurotic count, who was also a popular figure around Paul back then.

Rostopchin himself, who had gathered together some of the nobles who had not yet left, talked a great deal about dying with the French on the "Seven Hills" in Moscow.

But others could see that he was a little panicked.

The last external enemy to reach Moscow was the Poles, and there are probably still Poles in the French army today.

There were many things he wanted to do when facing Napoleon.

However, the few nobles sitting next to him who had not left yet were still in a stable state of mind.

Especially the two Ivans, Ivan Tutomin, he was a fourth-rank civil servant, the director of the Moscow Orphanage, and was directly responsible to the Empress Dowager's charity department.

He was determined because there were many children in the orphanage who needed care. In addition, there were more than a thousand wounded people and refugees from all over the place who were accommodated in other institutions outside. He would not leave because it was his duty.

He has no children of his own, but he is very determined.

The other Ivan, Ivan Yakovlev, was determined to leave, but he wanted to wait until the French were about to enter the city, and then his whole family would leave.

But he, his living companion, and their two sons (the youngest son is Alexander Herzen) are also in Moscow at this time.
Given his status as a master, the French would probably not do anything to him if they met him. Instead, they could use his status as a master to protect some people or do something.

But Pierre was not here. After returning to the official residence, he changed his clothes and asked his servants to take their belongings and flee to the master's estate in the countryside. No one knew where he went.

Rostopchin had been turned down twice by Kutuzov and Bennigsen the previous night, and had become the object of ridicule by the young generals. Seeing Solovyov coming, he felt that things were even more troublesome.

It was not for any other reason. When Solovyov was still on duty in the palace, the count knew that the emperor had a clever adjutant who could have made a living by relying on his looks, but in the end he quickly became a general based on his ability.

Many people are now unsure about what will happen in Moscow.

Rostopchin was a little nervous now. When he saw Solovyov coming here, he even took his hand and said.

"You are here, is it because the commander-in-chief changed his mind? We all know that you gave the French a bloody defeat at the Salient. If you could stay in Moscow and command the militia,

"No, Governor. I am here on the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, but I am not here to defend the city. Those who can leave here should leave. Besides, the wounded who can still move, please arrange it as soon as possible. There is still some time. Whether you send them to Vladimir, Murom or Ryazan, there is still some time."

Rostopchin was a little panicked. Such a general came and the final order was to retreat.

"What can we do? Are we going to leave this place to the devil?"

"I still have to call that devil uncle!" Solovyov looked down on Rostopchin, but he had to try to calm him down. "But no matter what you do, you must first let the remaining citizens and wounded soldiers in the city leave as much as possible."

"Sir, but the orphanage is not available. You know this is a welfare facility established by the Queen Mother. If there were some large vehicles before the war, it would be difficult for the children, wounded soldiers and refugees here to leave. I will stay here. If anything happens, there will always be an official here to negotiate with the French, so that things will not get out of hand."

Solovyov had never met Tutolmin, but the Queen Mother had mentioned him. He was a highly respected senior civil servant in the welfare system and a retired veteran military officer.

"You are right, but we are here. It is hard for me to say what the French will do. After all, the Governor has already mentioned what the French have done in Europe. But if they eventually lose order..."

The fourth-rank civil servant remained unmoved and still insisted on his opinion.

As for some other people who have not left yet, there are still problems at this time.

"Young General, where should we go then?"

"If possible, you can leave Moscow via the roads of Vladimir and Ryazan, as well as the carriage tracks there. The tracks on the Tver side are not yet completed, and the roads are not very convenient to travel on. Of course, when you want to leave, everyone should take a more convenient route. If you have relatives or friends, you can go there to seek refuge with them."

"Your mother-in-law left quite recently, as far as I know. Of course, you were still in the army at the time, fighting the French."

"But my cousins ​​are still here. Some of them are landowners, some are civil servants, and some are housekeepers for their masters in the countryside. Of course, this is the fastest way to get to the countryside of Ryazan. If you are willing, my father's estate in Ryazan has enough food to feed many people through the winter. From there, you can also go to more distant places to seek refuge with relatives. In Russia, people everywhere are still very welcoming."

This is true. Russians have always been hospitable, and the nobles especially like to hold banquets at home.

But this was just an order for them to evacuate, and the rest was just to execute it.

In addition to being busy with the commander-in-chief's orders, he also had his own relatives to deal with.

But there is a way. Solovyov knows that most of his relatives are housekeepers (commoners) and managers of nobles (nobles).

Their family was made up of four brothers who were followers of Menshikov. Although the eldest son never married and the second son had no offspring, there were two families left, and his generation was large and powerful, plus a group of adult or teenage nephews, who could always be put to use. (End of this chapter)