Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Since ancient times, these cities in Russia have been easily affected by fires.

Even the fire that broke out in Podolsk, Kiev a year ago, although it only caused damage to part of the city and could be determined as an accidental fire based on post-fire on-site inspections, also burned down 2000 houses.

Places that are close to each other are also more easily destroyed. The fire always starts in the connected wooden buildings. Once it starts, it is not just a small area, but will soon burn everywhere. There are still too many combustible materials in places like Moscow.

The first places to burn were some areas along the Yauza River, followed by the "Chinatown", or literally "Khitangrad", which is still a relatively old place in Moscow and even retains the low city walls built during the Golden Horde to prevent possible invasions by Timur.

But since it is an ancient place, there are naturally more wooden buildings.

And this time, once the fire started, it was always difficult to put out.

After all, the Molotov cocktail that Solovyov tinkered with was very useful when it came to igniting fires, and the Cossacks thought it was great.

When they first arrived in Italy, they only saw some of the grenadiers using this thing, and they quickly drove the Poles out.

Now it is their turn. In the city of Moscow, of course, no Molotov cocktails are stocked. Many Cossacks even use bottles of vodka, wine and rum, which they have been filling themselves in recent times.

The power varies, some are more powerful than others.

The fire in Chinatown spread quickly and caused quite a bit of chaos.

Then there was Luzhniki, which is separated from the Sparrow Hills by the Moscow River, and some other places. Many places in Moscow also caught fire one after another.

The French soldiers' robbery was organized and premeditated, but it was also true that the Moscow Governor Rostopchin sent people to the city to cause damage.

Although he did not burn down his house in Moscow, in a move quite like performance art, he burned down his estate in Voronovo and armed the serfs there, preparing to organize a militia to fight against the French.

This is considered to be courageous of him, but if the fire continues to spread like this, it is only a matter of time before it burns down his house in Moscow.

Count Rostopchin still spent money, after all, these places accounted for a considerable proportion of his property.

What about some other places?

Now more and more places are burning. Some French soldiers are taking advantage of the chaos to loot. In the midst of this chaotic situation, some people are coming here to put out the fire and maintain order.

Pierre saved a little girl from the fire, and it was a French soldier who was moving things who told him the location.

But there was even more disorganization. Napoleon, who was in the Kremlin, could see that these places were burning.

"It is shocking that these descendants of the Scythians would burn down their own city."

For the French, there was no need to burn the city. Although a large amount of supplies in the city were burned, many of them still fell into the hands of the French. Some imitations of French weapons in the armory are still well preserved. There are even some Russian Solovyov breech-loading rifles and ammunition stored in a royal arsenal.

If Solovyov knew about the chaotic management situation of Rostopchin, he would definitely go to his house to order another one.

If the evacuation had started earlier, the new weapons in the gunpowder magazine could have been emptied.

Napoleon made his judgment based on this fact. To be more specific, there were too many wooden buildings in the city of Moscow, and the destruction of fire-fighting equipment was only the beginning of the loss of order, and not all places were on fire.

There are always some places that are luckier, and some places where there are people in charge.

Dr. Jean Larrey was at the orphanage and saw Director Ivan Tutomin, who was putting out a fire with some Russian wounded soldiers who were still able to move. Not only was he in charge of the children in the orphanage, but there were also many wounded soldiers here.

In order to find a place for the French wounded, Dr. Larrey used his authority as a senior military doctor to mobilize two battalions of French troops to help put out the fire.

The orphanage was able to survive the fire not only because of good luck, the fact that the sabotage missions assigned by Rostopchin were far away from here, but also because after seeing the open flames, the French and Russians rushed to put out the fire.

Although the children in the orphanage were still crying, they were finally safe for the time being.

"Doctor, thank you for the French soldiers you sent. I still want to protest. You have collected too many taxes. I also saw people setting fires nearby. They didn't look like Russians, although your officer just said we set the fire. But I can say responsibly that although there are some hussars in the Russian army wearing blue clothes, those wearing blue uniforms are all French soldiers. Our Russian cavalry can ride horses and move like the wind."

After all, Tutomin was an old officer who had suppressed Pugachev. He understood the situation, so the protest would not stop.

Dr. Lare could only shake his head. After he organized to put out the fire, he began to send people to protect the remaining houses so that at least people could live there in the future.

The fire is still burning and is even showing signs of intensifying. On this side of the Moscow River, many places have started burning. In some places where the fire is more severe, the rolling heat waves, with some wind to help, will probably form a "fire storm". In that case, a large area will be burned, and it will be no joke if it sweeps across.

Therefore, many French soldiers were urged by their superiors to put out the fire, but this was still far less efficient than their looting efficiency.

That's how it was, and soon people could see Moscow burning from a distance.

Some groups of refugees who had not walked too far were not harassed by the French. When they saw this, they no longer cared about the fact that they were fleeing, but instead paid attention to the situation in those places.

"Look! Moscow is on fire!"

Many people had become numb after leaving Moscow, but the fires now aroused people's curiosity again.

"Burn them all, don't leave them to those devils."

Some people say so, and they are indeed more worried that there are many "atheists" among the French, and some people like to do tricks to desecrate the church, such as abandoning a dead horse on the altar.

There were other means, including robbing the Russians of their proud treasures, breaking up the precious metals and looting the jewels.

But this is Moscow after all. For some people who started fleeing last, their belongings left in the city may have been burned down by now.

"But it's our home." Naturally, some people saw the core urban area on fire, and those living there began to worry about their homes. But now it's good enough that people are still alive. As long as people are alive, there is still a chance.

At night, looking in the direction of Moscow, Count Rostov and his family, who were resting at an inn on the way to Yaroslavl, also saw Moscow burning on the plain dozens of miles away. The flames even burned half of the sky red.

"Oh my God, Moscow is burning"

People saw the situation there from their windows or in the village. It was a scene that they would probably rarely see in their lifetime. The ancient capital of Russia had burned down like this.

Some devout girls and old ladies, as well as young ladies and wives, were praying, praying that the disaster would go away quickly, but this was just a religious sustenance.

At night, Moscow burned even more fiercely.

Napoleon was unwilling to leave even at this time. As a victor, he obviously did not want to leave Moscow without staying a night.

As for the current chaotic situation, the officers of the Guards, as well as the marshals and generals around him, all want Napoleon himself to leave. The emperor is in great danger here.

What was even more outrageous was that the heat waves in some places directly shattered the glass of the Kremlin. When the heat waves hit them, the scorching air even made the generals present feel as if they had returned to the days in Egypt and Syria.

From the Kremlin, Napoleon could see "Chitangrad" burning, followed by Germantown, where the Germans used to live. When some places near the Kremlin began to burn, Arbat Street also became engulfed in flames.

As the fire continued, the French were able to hold out for a while at first and put out some of the open flames.

Now, except for Dr. Larre and Dean Tutormin who successfully put out the fire in the blocks around the orphanage, many places in the city were affected and the fire was getting worse.

As for the extinguishing of the open fire around the orphanage, it was probably because the French soldiers set a fire in the middle. If it had happened on the grassland, the collision of two flames would have made the fire extinguishing faster.

But within the urban area, this is probably not a very effective method. Although it works in the orphanage, it may not work elsewhere.

If the armory had caught fire, the fire would have been even more outrageous.

In some places, the French had even surrendered to the fire. After they were devastated by the fire, some of them began to flee.

In other words, the officers required the soldiers to stay at their posts. In some places that were not affected by the fire, there were still many French soldiers.

As for Podolsk.
The distance here is too far, and there are some trees blocking the view, so people here cannot see the burning situation over there. Only the bright lights in the distance can be vaguely seen on the horizon.

Moscow is burning, and the situation is now even more grim.

There were stronger winds during the night, not even from the predicted firestorm, which always blew outside Moscow.

Russia is a place where some meteorological weapons are always passively triggered. By the next day, the fire in Moscow seemed out of control.

Napoleon could no longer resist and had to move towards the Moscow River along a safe area beside the Arbat Street.

The Kremlin seemed to be fine, but many places on Arbat Street west of the palace had been completely burned down.

The once bustling Arbat Theatre, which was still performing plays until shortly before Moscow was occupied by the French, is now just a pile of black wood, with perhaps some of its frames still visible.

They were all burned, yes, they were all burned.

Moreover, the fire is still ongoing. Part of the French army now has to temporarily station in a relatively safe place. They only dare to extinguish some open fires nearby to temporarily ensure their own safety.

Napoleon himself simply came out along the Moscow River and found a palace of the Tsar to stay in, which gave him a temporary place to stay.

But the heat was still felt, and even now sweat was pouring down his face.

"His Majesty."

"Dirocco, don't worry about anything else. We probably have few opportunities in our lifetime to see such a spectacular and terrifying scene. But I don't believe Nero would sing at a time like this. If that's true, he must be crazy."

Having said that, Napoleon himself is still frightened. He did not expect the Russians to be so cruel.

Although an adjutant from the military hospital who came from Dr. Larrey told him that Director Tutomin had protested to him that the French were setting fire to the city.

In fact, the information that was summarized contained information that was unfavorable to both parties.

In Napoleon's view, if the fire could be extinguished, he would then find out the culprit, but it could not be the French side, so he would always put some pressure on Alexander.

As for the "miracle" of the orphanage, he would probably make use of it.

What he wanted more now was actually peace talks, and he didn't give much thought to the aftermath of the fire.

It is no wonder that the French in Borodino and Mozhaysk only killed but did not bury them. Many corpses and broken weapons and equipment were left there. The villages and towns were turned into ruins. Along the way, either those destroyed by the Russians or those destroyed by the French in the war.

Now it is Moscow's turn.
Napoleon was still looking at his generals, all of whom were at the window. The fire in Moscow became even more intense after they arrived at the palace.

It seems that it is a luxury to be stationed in the Kremlin.

At the same time, for the Russian troops outside the city, the fire was a blessing in disguise.

As their attention was diverted to the blazing fire in Moscow, the French did not notice Kutuzov's maneuver on the Ryazan Road towards Kaluga, and they also misjudged the direction of the Russian rear guard's movement, completely losing sight of the Russian army. Except for the contact between Miloradovich and Murat, there seemed to be no movement of the Russian army. (End of this chapter)