Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Napoleon left Davout as the rear guard, and the main force of the army went towards Mozhaysk. It seemed that Kutuzov did not pursue, which was very beneficial to the French army.

However, the baggage they were carrying now included a lot of loot, and the food rations were only enough to sustain them for less than 15 days.

If food ran out, Napoleon probably wouldn't be like some boss who liked other people's wives and could solve the problem by borrowing the head of a loyal grain officer.

But as an elite Roman, he also practiced the Guards and was always able to lead sufficient supplies.

This was a characteristic of the Severan dynasty and the beginning of the Roman Guards gradually getting out of control, but it was not a big problem as long as they were given more money and food.

Moreover, the Guards now have a complete lineup and can ensure discipline and order. Those French expatriates who left Moscow with the French army for fear of Russian retaliation are also in the army.

The situation is very delicate. If the French army continues for a long time, it may lose order and become an army of beggars.

After leaving the banks of the Luza River, Napoleon did not recover until he retreated to Mozhaysk. This time when he was in danger and facing the Cossacks, no one knew what he was thinking.

But if the Mamluk guards had not played a game of fighting in front of the battlefield to delay time, Napoleon himself would probably have been in big trouble.

However, his round trip wasted a lot of time, and there was no chance to make up for it.

At first, Kutuzov only knew that he had run away, and didn't know where the French would go in the end, so he used his authority as commander-in-chief to send a group of messengers to various nodes along the way that might be attacked by Napoleon. The farthest messengers even went west to Kiev. In addition, there were also messengers to Tormasov and Chichakov, notifying them to be prepared.

Kutuzov also knew that after Tormasov learned that Napoleon was escaping, he would probably get rid of Schwarzenberg in front of him. It should not be difficult to get rid of this slow-moving guy.

At that time, the joining of this fresh force without too much loss into the battle would completely change the situation on the battlefield.

Compared with Napoleon's huge army at the beginning of the war, with a total force of more than 60 and even 45 front-line combat troops, the main force of Napoleon's army has now been greatly weakened.

Moreover, during their retreat, they had to face the pursuit of Miloradovich and the actions of the Cossacks mobilized by Platov.

The French soldiers who fell behind did not have a chance to return to the army like they did when they entered Russia. Their comrades would leave a blank space for them on the roll call list, hoping that they could catch up with the army.

Soldiers who fall behind will eventually fall into the hands of the Russians.

Martial was an old soldier who had fought in several wars. He was just a sergeant in Ney's 3rd Army, but he had a good heart and always helped his comrades.

The situation he saw now was very bad. He could only help his comrade carry one set of luggage, and it was already the best he could do to keep one person following him and not fall behind.

By this time, many French soldiers had obviously lost confidence because the battle of Maloyaroslavetsis had ended in failure.

"Damn it! We're doomed if we keep going like this."

"Sergeant Martial, what makes you think this?"

"It's not because of anything else, sir. If the brothers can carry their guns and grit their teeth like they did when they rushed into Moscow, we might still be able to defeat the Russians."

"If everyone were as honest as you, we might be able to win another battle."

Apparently the lieutenant had no intention of refut- ing him, for he was really popular.

Among the French, many complained about having no food or water, and they also took many prisoners.

The French troops in the front had to put on an act because the marshals and generals were still very strict.

Some Russian prisoners could not walk anymore, so they just urged them to move forward and even gave them some food. Apart from that, even if some prisoners could not walk anymore or ran away, they didn't care.

If I want to leave myself a chance to survive, I will probably need the Russians to testify.

Just like the man with glasses who was protected by Captain Lambert, although he was wearing civilian clothes, his temperament showed that he was a gentleman.

It was because he saved the captain that he was finally saved from being shot in the vegetable field.

The plan on that occasion was to shoot the “arsonist”, but if they were actually caught, that would be another matter.

The people in charge of guarding also changed from soldiers from the 1st Army to those from the 3rd Army.

"You look like a pre-revolutionary nobleman. Although you don't wear powder, I have seen many Russian nobles. I was a soldier before Austerlitz and I have seen many Russians. I have seen many captured prisoners and in Tilsit. Why don't you say anything?"

Pierre didn't want to bother with this talkative Frenchman. He was very tired now, and he was only able to hold on by relying on the captured veterans to keep each other warm and encourage each other.

But since Sergeant Martial kept talking so much, he did have to say a few words.

After all, this honest but talkative sergeant even gave himself a piece of bread on the road, which looked relatively fresh from the baking in Moscow.

"You may call me Pierre, as Captain Rambert does."

"Pierre, a French name. You must be a master. You speak authentic French and sound like you are from Paris. I came from the provinces, but the masters in Paris are not as kind as you. You must be a master who believes in God devoutly and treats servants very well. But here, we don't call them that anymore. Everyone is Mr. Pierre, Citizen Pierre, and we are all equal. The emperor will lead us to victory. But it's different now. It's like this after we came to Russia. The brothers in my platoon were all good guys, but half of them were killed under the fortress in the Battle of Moscow."

"You take good care of your fellow brothers."

"Yes, sir. Now it has become like this. Two of them fell behind today. If I go back to look for them, I will be spotted by your cavalry wandering around. It is not possible to go back with a few brothers. This is the only way. It's good to go this way. Now we are always on the road to Mozhaysk. If we can reach Smolensk before the snow, I think I can go home. Don't look at me now because I have a big beard, but I haven't married yet. Do you have a wife?"

"My wife is dead. Now I am single like you."

"Ah, I know that you gentlemen, or in our France, the wives of those gentlemen, all dress up beautifully and hook up with men outside. If this gentleman or gentleman is kind and honest, like you, Mr. Pierre, I'm sorry, I'm just stating the facts. If you want to have a sip, there is also the old man holding the dog next to you. I have some here. I can't get used to Russian wine, it's too strong. Our French wine is better. You can find it in Moscow, but it was taken away by the officials. I only have one bottle left, and I'm so unlucky that it was broken when I ran out of Moscow." He was so long-winded that Pierre found it a little funny.

"Oh, don't laugh, that's how I got the mark on my pants."

And he continued to speak, and Pierre could only listen.

"Like I said just now, the women in the master's family are always like that. As for us French people, we love sisters more than brothers, that's true. What can they do now? Officials have also started to get a lot of things for themselves. Generals and marshals, on the contrary, have restrained themselves because they get a lot from the emperor and don't have much money in Russia. That's it. They say they are out to make revolution, and in the name of revolution, they all want to make themselves high-ranking officials and embezzle money. In Vitebsk, we caught an official who could speak our French, and he was like that. There may be such people in Russia and France. If I get married in the future and have money, I will let my children go to school, but I can't let them be such bastards."

"You have a good idea, but you have to find a wife first, Mr. Martial."

"Yes, where can we find a wife? Actually, I think Polish women are good. I heard that your Russian women are very beautiful, but they have very violent personalities, not as submissive as Polish women. Whether they are noble ladies who are with our officials or peasant girls who are with us soldiers, Polish women are good, and the emperor likes them, but his Polish woman doesn't look pretty either."

"So what do you think?"

"When I was stationed with the Germans, I met the emperor's Russian relatives and their family. The young count, the emperor's adopted nephew, had a good wife. It's rare to have a young and beautiful wife who can be so tolerant when she sees her husband bringing a woman back from outside."

"This is not the case in Russia. Perhaps one day when you are in the village, you will meet a Russian girl whose character is not what you imagined. And if you give me your rations, what will you do with yourself?"

Martial didn't care about that. When he came into contact with the prisoners, he usually didn't meet anyone who spoke French fluently.

"In a few days, our lieutenant's horse will probably die, and we'll have to eat horse meat. It may not be fresh, but it's still something to eat. And I'll tell you the truth, in a few days, it probably won't be us old soldiers who still have some discipline to guard you. If it's the Poles or the Germans, you'd better run away if you get the chance. If they see someone as a burden, they will..."

Martial didn't say it, but he made a throat-cutting gesture to Pierre. If Pierre didn't look at him with some kindness, he would have been frightened.

"You see what I mean? If you can run, you must run into the ditch beside the road."

"But my friend is here too. I can't abandon him."

"Old soldier, you are really a kind-hearted man. It's getting late, and I need to take a nap. I have to travel tomorrow morning, so don't come running around here. The guards around here are very strict now."

But after Martial lay down, he sat up again and said to Pierre.

"Mr. Pierre, how do you say 'Don't shoot' in Russian?"

"Nестреляйте! If you're talking about this, just remember to say 'Nete'."

"Thank you, sir. I should go to bed now."

So this guy was lying there heartlessly holding a rifle and a bottle of vodka and snoring.

But this man was not a bad person. He even reminded Pierre to run as quickly as possible if he could, as the French army was now losing order.

This was even considered a violation of discipline, because the French soldiers who fell behind and the escaped prisoners always provided the Cossacks with useful intelligence reflecting the latest movements of Napoleon's army.

That's how Miloradovich and Platov followed the French as they advanced towards Mozhaysk.

The main force of the Russian army chose a parallel line to monitor the actions of the French.

Although the French army occupied the main road and the Russian army took the small road, the French did not dare to fall behind easily. If Russian soldiers fell behind, they could be picked up by the militia along the way. After being picked up, they would have the opportunity to return to the front-line troops.

In this way, the Russian army can still ensure their strength, but this is not the case for the French.

Napoleon himself knew that people would fall behind every day, even the cavalry.

With the arrival of rain, there were some muddy sections of the road, which caused many of their cannons to get stuck in the mud.

Many of the French army's artillery now were light artillery, and many of the 12-pound guns had been abandoned on the roadside and could not be saved.

What's worse is that on the previous battlefield, from Borodino to Mozhaysk, there were a large number of unburied corpses on the road.

The environment in these places is harsh and plague may break out at any time.

The Russian army was also prepared. They began to burn the unburied bodies of people and livestock in Moscow. They didn't even have time to identify their identities and just buried them hastily.

When we count the people who were never found again, it is likely that the missing ones were indeed dead.

When the French troops left Mozhaysk, the same situation occurred here. There were corpses in varying degrees of decay on both sides of the street. After all, it was not winter yet.

“It’s really awful.”

The Russian troops who saw this could only pass by here in a hurry and take protective measures according to the advice of the generals who commanded them.

Thank God, few people got sick when passing through here.

The French in front have caused a huge disaster because of their recent lack of hygiene, and more and more people in the army are getting sick.

In addition to humans, horses are also like this.

Perhaps Caulaincourt said the disaster began with the snowfall, but if we want to say the exact moment, it is probably now on the way of retreating from Mozhaysk. (End of this chapter)