Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

After receiving the report, Solovyov finally calmed down.

On the first day of fighting, the French only closed the distance and pushed the Russian positions back a little, but not too far.

Moreover, the Russian defensive positions were quite flexible, which meant that the two sides were essentially on flat ground, and the French army had to retreat a distance at night.

Both sides also had to guard against night attacks and set up sentry posts at night.

Less than an hour after sunrise, the French army launched an attack.

The Russian generals, who had already foreseen their direction of movement, began to form ranks.

In reality, the French haven't gained much advantage from waking up early today.

When the cannons fired, the French infantry followed suit and advanced. Solovyov mounted his horse and went up the hillside to get a clear view of the battle situation.

"The French are here again, and they don't have any new ideas. If they just bombard us with artillery and then charge with infantry, we're more likely to win."

He was calculating when the reinforcements would arrive, but he had to persevere through the entire morning.

The French offensive intensified, with shells raining down.

This tells us that Drouot is probably going to fire all his cannonballs today.

Thus, the Russian troops facing the front are under even greater pressure than on the first day.

However, Solovyov also widened the front and increased its thickness, allowing the 7th Army to follow behind Raevsky and Langeron, and to fill gaps at any time. If the troops in front suffered losses or were defeated, the troops behind or neighboring troops could come to their aid in time.

The idea is good, but it's not without its problems.

The French army was followed by an infantry charge, and if chaos ensued, the consequences would be unimaginable.

If Napoleon had seen such an opportunity, he would certainly have deployed his Imperial Guard to join the battle.

This was not the usual situation; the French army was not in a position of advantage, and the battle was even more dangerous than the Battle of Saint-Jean.

Because back then Napoleon still had hope for reinforcements, but now he has nothing left.

Although the French had 15 troops at their disposal and were able to rally them, they also had to consider reserving a portion of their forces to monitor the eastern battlefield, whether the Russian army would attempt a flanking maneuver, and whether the Prussians would arrive.

Both sides were hesitant to fight, but Solovyov had more confidence, since he had reinforcements.

If he can get reinforcements, victory should be within his grasp.

Even so, Napoleon's artillery fire still managed to create an opening, but due to the heavy losses suffered previously, it was difficult for Delron and Reyer's flank to launch any further attacks.

Napoleon was aware of this situation, so he dispatched the Young Guard.

We still need to keep the old guard in our hands; who knows what might happen next?

Moreover, in this battle, the French army would be facing away from the sun in the afternoon. If they could hold out until then, the situation would be more favorable, and even if Russian reinforcements arrived, they wouldn't be too worried.

When the Prussians arrived at Mont Saint-Jean, they were ambushed by the cunning locals of the Vendée.

But now, he no longer has that advantage, and what's more troublesome for the French is that the Russian army is more resilient, more apathetic than the British, and never backs down in hand-to-hand combat.

So much so that the Young Guard made little progress when they attacked.

"What we need most right now is time! Mortier, how long have the Young Guards been advancing like this?"

"Your Majesty, one and a half hours."

"Hopefully they can end the battle soon. How are our cavalry preparing? Sirte, we need men, we need a lot of men!"

"Your Majesty, if you request an attack, the cuirassiers can immediately join the battle, but the Russian cavalry have not moved."

"You mean those Russian Cossacks?"

"There are far more of them than Cossacks. If this continues, it will be very difficult for us to take this position."

It was very rare for the marshals to see the emperor so impatient.

Although he often said, "I won't eat the mini platter," and even put on an impatient look, he was always very confident at the time.

Today was different. He kept swinging the binoculars around like a marshal's baton, but rarely made any decisions. Yesterday, he was very confident.

The longer the delay, the more likely Russian reinforcements will arrive, and even a few thousand Russian reinforcements would be a huge disaster.

Finally, Napoleon made his final decision.

"The old guard should go forward and launch an attack on the Russians' front. If they can break through there, they should rotate to the right flank to support Vandam."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Soult issued the order as Napoleon had instructed, and the Imperial Guard began to move forward.

"They're here, we must treat them well."

Seeing the bearskin hat moving forward, Solovyov knew that Napoleon was about to play his trump card.

Besides that, he had no other cards to play.

Before the entire Imperial Guard launches its attack, there will be an attack by the cuirassiers.

"If they move, we must also take decisive action. Alyosha, have all seven regiments of the Imperial Guard line up, along with the Imperial Guard cavalry. The final battle is about to begin."

"The final battle?"

"Yes, Alyosha, when will our reinforcements arrive?"

"An adjutant who just arrived is from the 1st Army. They have come from Lille and are less than 5 versts away."

"That's enough. Make sure our Royal Guard is ready. Also, give them a good welcome with the Unicorn Cannons. Bring out all the explosive things that can be fired."

Although Solovyov had a trump card, even if he were to be driven back by the French army, he would be able to wait for reinforcements, just like Napoleon in Marengo, who were right behind him and already at the crossroads.

On the Prussian side, Blücher decided to break with convention this time and led his light cavalry to set out first.

As for why he did this, it was because the old marshal was terrified by the poor performance of his own infantry.

Throughout his life, Blücher had many unpleasant relationships with people; even Frederick the Great disliked him for being rude, uncultured, disobedient, and unable to get along with his superiors. However, he had never feared anyone. This time, due to the incompetence of his infantry, he decided to send only cavalry to support the front lines.

At least those resilient Russian infantrymen wouldn't throw their own lines into disarray.

He thought this way, and he left Bilolai to lead the infantry, who only needed to be able to enter the battlefield tonight or tomorrow morning.

This unconventional tactic by the Prussian army was something neither side on the main battlefield had anticipated.

"Sir, look over there, that's another reinforcement for us."

"It's the 1st Army. Berg's arrival at this time is just right."

"What should we do, Mishka? Where should we deploy the 1st Army?"

"It will take them an hour to turn around and get to the wooded side. Their horse artillery should quickly turn to the flank and deploy on the right side of Langeron to bombard the French Guards with their cavalry guns. As for our front, that's obviously the case. I will personally lead the Guards in the attack."

When Solovyov made this decision, Yermolov smiled.

He's still the same kid from back then. Although he's cunning, there's one thing that hasn't changed.

He is not someone who backs down easily, and as the commander-in-chief, leading the troops personally at this time can boost morale.

"I'll go with you."

"Alyosha, will you be in command here temporarily? I will hand over the Guards to Raevsky after he withdraws his troops in a while."

"That's no problem."

"In addition, our artillery must be concentrated. Since we have so many Unicorn cannons, we must make the most of their amazing power. We can't deal with the Old Guard by firing volleys of guns; that will only make them retreat temporarily! The important thing is that we have more intense firepower and sufficient reinforcements."

After he finished speaking, he rode his white Orlov horse into the middle of the Prussian soldiers.

After all, he was once the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the Prussian Regiment, and he was quite senior in the Imperial Guard.

"Brothers, we fought together at Austerlitz, endured the cold at Eau, and shed blood together at Borodino. After such a long march, we've arrived in France once again. Brothers, today we're going to attack! Everyone, forward, including me! Our reinforcements are on their way! Brothers, let's teach the French a lesson this time! Forward!"

He drew his sword and raised it high above his head.

The guardsmen, upon seeing this, shouted "Hurrah!" and marched forward in neat rows.

To be precise, the Russian Guards were always outnumbered by the French, and many of their reserves remained in the country, serving as guards in the palace.

However, this time at the Winter Palace and Summer Palace, the guards naval infantry were on duty, while the army regiments were all transferred out, with only the recruit battalion remaining in St. Petersburg.

Solovyov's decision to deploy the Guards at this time came at the most critical moment of the battle.

He also saw that the artillery fire he had ordered earlier had swept over the Old Guard and the formation of Reye's army in front, which was covered in thick smoke.

There must have been many casualties, but for the French guards, it was nothing.

They had to continue their attack, because if they failed here, the French army would not be far from defeat.

Solovyov informed his men that friendly forces were on their way, which boosted the morale of the Guards.

Especially the current commander-in-chief, although less senior than Barclay, came from within the Guards himself, and had served for a long time in the Pavlovsk Regiment and the Guards Jäger, and had also served in the Pavlovsk Regiment, so his ties with the Guards are so close.

Needless to say, he was someone close to the emperor.

For the Imperial Guard soldiers, nothing was more inspiring than launching an attack on the enemy alongside their own commander-in-chief.

After all, the emperor wouldn't fight alongside them. Only Grand Duke Constantine would sometimes do so, but his "Tsar" was the "vice-emperor" during Paul's reign, and also the heir to the throne of Alexander, who had no sons but only daughters. In the end, he was still a little short.

On Napoleon's side, his artillery continued its advance even after being hit by enemy fire.

When they encountered the Russians head-on, because the weapons used by both sides were very similar, they did not engage in a firefight, but instead charged forward.

Waiting there might actually expose them to a precise strike, a fact both sides are aware of.

For the Russian army, the only ones they could never break through with the "Hurrah" were probably these old French guards, who also frequently engaged in close combat.

On the battlefield, you can only hear the sound of metal clashing and bayonets piercing bodies, but you rarely hear screams of agony.

These guardsmen often fell silently, just collapsing in a muffled manner.

On the French side, due to the later expansion of the Guards, their numbers were even greater, giving them a slight advantage over the Russian Guards.

But even their chants of "Long live the Emperor" couldn't sway the Russians; these people were also very resilient.

At this point, it seems that both sides have played their cards to a near-complete end.

But Solovyov still had a trump card: his reinforcements.

The fierce battle raged until noon, with both sides still locked in a stalemate, neither willing to back down.

At this moment, Berg's cavalry cannons appeared on the flank. They didn't have time to attack the old guard who were entangled in fighting with their allies, but instead aimed their cannons at the French cuirassiers who were attacking the Langeron infantry square.

They would even pick up any shells they found and fire them all at once.

They finally inflicted heavy casualties on the French cuirassiers, forcing Grouchy, who was commanding the cavalry attack, to order a temporary retreat.

This gave Langeron a little breathing space. When he saw the movement of the Guards, he also noticed Solovyov on horseback. He was behind the battlefield of the hand-to-hand combat, seemingly coordinating reinforcements.

Upon seeing this, he immediately issued an order, informing his regimental commanders that reinforcements had arrived on the battlefield.

The Russian soldiers, who had been fighting fiercely for two days, heard the news and, despite their exhaustion, were determined to persevere. Victory was within reach, and although it would be a pity to fall at this moment, at least they had finally received reinforcements.

But to the surprise of the Russian army at the front, two reinforcements arrived. The Prussian light cavalry in black uniforms appeared on the battlefield and attacked the artillery through the gaps behind the French army, forcing Drouot to abandon some of his cannons.

When Napoleon realized this, although he managed to drive Blücher away by mobilizing two regiments of the Queen's Dragoons and Polish Guard Lancers, the tide of war was already irreversible.

Drouot's ammunition is now almost gone, just like it was in Leipzig.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and the goddess of victory finally stopped standing on Napoleon's side.

Perhaps she also prefers younger men; after all, Solovyov is a pretty boy who's quite capable in combat. (End of Chapter)