Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

There was a time when Napoleon's armies were considered invincible.

But now, it doesn't look that good.

In the end, one quartermaster was executed in Smolensk, and the second quartermaster told Napoleon with facts that it was indeed very difficult to collect grain.

When the French army wanted to collect grain in Germany, the local population was dense, and outside the forests and roads, there was often fertile land that had been cultivated, making it easy to harvest, and even collecting meat was not difficult.

These German princes were extremely poor and were inevitably conscripted. They had to rely on others and live in fear. After all, in their area, they had seen many armies of different types. Although the revolutionary army was a new thing, considering the French's previous performance, it was inevitable that something would happen.

When it comes to Russia, the situation here is much worse. Moreover, because the Russians did not have a region like Germany before, they never stopped fighting for a long time from the time when the Holy Roman Empire existed to the end of the Holy Roman Empire.

Russia's hinterland has rarely experienced war over the past hundred years, except for occasional harassment of the border by Crimean Tatars.

Therefore, when they saw the French doing this, they naturally resisted fiercely. After the serfs saw clearly what the French were doing, they rarely helped them.

Even though there were many serf rebellions in Russia during that year, few of them involved the French.

This is also a strange tradition in Russia. The serfs still believed that the Tsar was deceived by treacherous ministers, so people often blocked the imperial envoys at intersections.

However, compared with the Tsar who ate the whole family bucket later, Paul, Alexander and Nicholas, the father and son, were still able to accept some of the "people's" opinions, but the scope was slightly different.

It is inevitable that some people would have some fantasies about the Russian royal family, especially when Paul was in power and the Three-Day Edict was issued.

When Paul went out, he was surrounded by peasants. It was because of what he did, which was somewhat subjective in considering the problems of the peasants. In the past, except Peter, probably no emperor had personally taken care of these matters.

The Russian peasants’ demands were too low. They would be relatively satisfied if even a good emperor was willing to listen to them and say a few good words to them.

Therefore, if the French come and do not make some fundamental changes, even if they are implemented, the Russians will not feel that these Frenchmen will bring them any benefits.

Instead, they were labeled as "French devils" for their food collection and other things done during the retreat.

At times like this, it is inevitable to be besieged.

Napoleon now saw that his way to the south had been blocked, and he had suffered a huge defeat in Yelnya.

After a short rest in Smolensk, the French army set out on the journey westward again.

And now there is even worse news. The warehouses in Vitebsk have been occupied by the Russians, and the only territory the French can control is part of Lithuania.

But because of this place, Lithuania has always been Napoleon's bargaining chip in diplomatic negotiations, and Alexander didn't want to give it up at all.

Napoleon's diplomatic level was indeed outrageous because of his personal arrogance, and his tricks have come to an end now.

When they arrived in Smolensk, even he knew that Alexander would not negotiate.

Therefore, he was also planning his retreat. The "retreat" allowed by Maloyaroslavets was just the beginning.

At the same time in Yelnya, Kutuzov was still lying on the sofa.

"That's good, we can see him off, but it's not good not to hit him and let Bonaparte feel the pain."

Although he did not want to fight, considering political factors, the field marshal, Grand Duke of Smolensk, now confirmed his position.

"We still have to pursue them, but how should we fight the war now?"

"Commander-in-Chief, I have been thinking about a question these days. Can we strike from several directions?"

Kutuzov called together all his men to solicit their opinions. Except for Miloradovich and Platov, who were in hot pursuit, everyone else was present.

Solovyov's strike plan actually requires good communication conditions to be completed, and another factor must be taken into account, that is, the combat effectiveness of the two armies. If Napoleon's army is still a certain size
Although Kutuzov's estimate of the number of people was correct, he still did not expect the number of French soldiers who were actually capable of fighting.

Only half of the total number of people were left, and many of them had thrown away their weapons. They looked more like an army of beggars.

It may not feel inappropriate to talk about Napoleon Bonaparte, the leader of the French Beggars' Gang, at this time.

The soldiers of the 1st Army who passed by him had lost their spirit and spirit, and even Marshal Davout's use of discipline found it difficult to control them.

Although the war was lost, he stubbornly refused to admit it.

This is not wrong. Since the Revolution, whenever the French army encountered setbacks on the front line, something would happen in the rear.

After Napoleon came to power, he went from one victory to another, which somewhat spoiled these people.

But compared to the Japanese, who burned down the courtyards of diplomats when they failed to get a treaty with compensation, the French were more inclined to make a big news, perhaps even overthrowing the monarch.

Moreover, they are very familiar with this kind of thing, not only in the old revolutionary areas, but also in Kudieta.

Everything he has to consider always involves politics, so there will be deviations in military matters.

The Russian army was considering launching attacks in multiple directions. It would probably be disadvantageous if they directly eliminated Napoleon.

But going to Europe in the future would always come at a great cost, and Napoleon would not even agree to a peace treaty that seemed relatively decent.

"So that is your idea, that the final battle will be at the Berezina?"

"I think it can be there. The 2nd Army took this direction when it retreated, and the route that poses less of a flank threat to the French is around here. Wittgenstein is coming from the north, Chichakov is coming from the south, and our main force is chasing them while threatening their retreating southern wing. If they hesitated, they would probably be surrounded by us. I think Napoleon will now consider his first operational objective on the Dnieper River, but I can't see clearly which route he will take."

Even if Napoleon only had 20,000 men, his threat was still great. Since the Guards still maintained their combat effectiveness, it was not so easy to deal with him. Solovyov's idea was to send him away, but this would inevitably lead to protests.

The person who stood up today is Mr. Wilson, the representative of the United Kingdom.

"Why not just surround him? I can see from this deployment that we have a chance to pin down this beast."

"There is no need for that. The enemy will always retreat to that opening when they have a chance to escape. Besides, there is no one present except yourself, Mr. Wilson. Of course, I do not mean to offend. This is also a fact. Our actions are carried out according to the actual situation in Russia and the requirements of our Emperor, not according to the requirements of the British Cabinet."

When you say this, you have already carefully chosen your words.

George III was now completely insane, with the Prince of Wales as regent. However, due to the factional disputes within the UK and the dissatisfaction of Princess Charlotte, the second in line to the throne who had just reached the age of engagement, with her father's weak stance, the relationship between father and daughter was not very close.

At the same time, the British also had to face the threat from Americans in the New World.

Although the British army was able to approach Washington, the more reliable news was that the US Congress finally approved the invitation of General Moreau, who was living in Baltimore at the time, to command the US army.

Moro's level can be said to be that of a goalkeeper who is a general capable of commanding a large army.

If they really wanted to fight him, without Wellington and Moore, the British probably wouldn't have anyone suitable to hold him down.

Moreover, there are quite a few pro-French elements in the US military who are willing to form an army modeled after the French army. It would be great if the outcome there could be decided by 1813.

Solovyov had his own political ideas. Among the tasks he gave Nikolai was the impression of different countries. Even though he tried not to create stereotypes, using Solovyov's own approach of opposing the unification of the German region and Britain's continental balance policy, Nikolai's not very useful brain had already reacted, and the British were greatly lacking in Germany.
Therefore, Nicholas seemed to have a very unfriendly impression of Britain. In addition, during his childhood, his father's assassination was related to the British, and his brother was targeted by the British in recent years. Even though he was still at an age of playfulness, he could feel it when he was around his mother and sister-in-law.

Speaking of which, when Paul was assassinated, the matter became so serious that the Privy Council sent important officials to investigate the whole story and to produce evidence that the British were involved in the matter. Alexander was already an adult and had his own judgment. In the end, he chose to ease relations with the British and appeared on the battlefields of the two anti-French alliances.

Nicholas is now just past the age of a middle school boy, and his situation is a different matter.

Solovyov would not put on such a posture: "Fuchai, have you forgotten the revenge for your father's murder?"

However, according to information obtained from multiple sources, the attitude of the British
Mr. Wilson had heard in the country that those people who were once Paul's personal guards generally had a bad impression of Britain.

Solovyov's behavior showed that he was trying his best to restrain himself.

Even if Britain and Russia had not had a common enemy in Napoleon, they would have fought somewhere sooner or later.

He did not argue with the young general in front of him on this issue. After all, the other party was famous for his sharp tongue.

Moreover, from a military point of view, it was not appropriate to trap Napoleon to death in a certain place. He ran much faster than Charles XII, and even in winter, he had lost a lot of horses and now he had to be transferred from Smolensk.

Kutuzov finally made the decision to have the Russian army pursue, but his idea was indeed just to weaken Napoleon's power. This war killed a lot of his veteran soldiers. Apart from that, the losses of the few unreliable German allies were not great. In other words, the Saxon army commanded by Reynier did not suffer terrible losses because it did not penetrate deep into the heart of Russia.

Even if Napoleon returned to Europe, his rule outside of France would probably be shaken.

After Solovyov stated his opinions, other generals began to speak one after another.

It seems that all the generals have thought about this issue in the past few days.

They were in favor of threatening the French army from the flank and hastening its collapse, but the temptation to annihilate Napoleon's army was hard to resist.

After everyone had expressed their opinions, Kutuzov approved the action plan in principle.

But the next move will depend on the French retreat.

Although there was intelligence from Smolensk, Napoleon temporarily stopped here to wait for the subsequent defeated troops to collapse, and his future direction of action after gathering some troops was still worrying.

Kutuzov became a little uneasy about this. After the military meeting, he called Solovyov and Laevsky who were participating in the pursuit.

"When you go this time, you must also maintain a cautious attitude and not be too aggressive. What we want is not a beautiful victory, but to retain our strength as much as possible."

"Let's stop now, what will Napoleon think? Misha, he is your uncle, you should have some idea, right?"

At this moment, Rajevsky was still willing to make a joke on him, and the atmosphere became a lot more relaxed.

"What I think is that if Napoleon had been well prepared, the attack might not have been successful."

"But if he's in a hurry to escape, he might reveal his flaws."

Kutuzov's face suddenly changed, he sat up, blinked a few times and then said this again.

"If he left, he would probably take the same route he came from, or even go to Krasne, where the rearguard battle took place, and where the 1st Army stopped the French."

Obviously, the old commander's experience came in handy. He was also familiar with the terrain of western Russia. After all, during his expeditions to Europe over the years, if he had taken the route to the Balkans, it would probably not have been as difficult as the route to Central Europe.

"Then they will be in the westward section of the Dnieper."

Solovyov saw his old partner Clausewitz, who was now the adjutant on duty and was also doing map work.

"Karl, please mark out the possible crossings. I think the French are trying to leave Russia now, so the route they are taking must be a route that is familiar to both sides."

Solovyov still remembered the first battle of Krasny very clearly. At that time, the 8th Division under his 27th Army fought and retreated here, and finally got rid of the pursuit of Murat and Ney.

Speaking of the roads now, there is no difference from when they came here, but if the French took the south, they had obviously surveyed the hydrological conditions here before and there were ready-made ferry crossings.

If Napoleon had ignored the pursuit of the Russian army, he would have fallen here. (End of this chapter)