War and Peace

Chapter 9

The Austrians, who had not been captured at Ulm and had joined Kotusov at Bugat, had now withdrawn from the Russians, and Kotusov was left with this weak and exhausted force.It is no longer possible to encircle Austria. The only thing Kotusov thinks about at this moment is how to avoid the main force of the enemy and avoid annihilation of the entire army, hoping to join forces with Russia's follow-up reinforcements.

On October 28, Kotusov crossed the Danube with his troops, reached the left bank, stayed there for the first time, and confronted the main force of the French army across the river.On the thirtieth, the Russians launched a violent attack on the French division of Motiers, defeated the enemy, and captured the spoils for the first time: many banners, cannons, and two enemy generals.The Russian army stopped for the first time after half a month of retreat. After this hard battle, they not only held their positions, but also repelled the French.Although the Russian army was ragged, exhausted and listless, and lost one-third of its personnel due to stragglers and injuries, even though the large hospital and some large residences in Krems had been converted into field hospitals, they still couldn’t accommodate all the wounded. The sick,—despite the many difficulties they faced, the quartering at Krems and the victory at Mortiers greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers.One of the most optimistic, but untrue, rumors circulated at headquarters and throughout the army that reinforcement columns from Russia were imminently arriving, that the Austrians had won a great victory, and that Napoleon was being frightened away.

Duke Andrele's arm was scratched by a bullet during the battle.During the battle, he stood beside the fallen Austrian general Schmidt.One night after the battle, he was sent by Kotusov to deliver a message to the Austrian court as a courier. This was not only a test, but also an important step before promotion.

The night was pitch black, and I couldn't see my fingers.In the light snow that fell during yesterday's battle, the black road stood out even more.Sitting in the carriage, Duke Andrele recalled the battle and the farewell of the commander-in-chief and his comrades. He was emotional, as if he had waited for a long time alone, and finally waited for the long-awaited happiness to begin.

The Austrian court has been moved from Vienna to Borlian.It was already midnight when the Duke of Andrei arrived in Bollian. He found that the streets were lined with buildings, brightly lit shops, bright windows of houses, street lamps, and endless streams of carriages and pedestrians. The urban atmosphere that soldiers are most fascinated by after their military career.Although Duke Andrele didn't sleep last night, when he walked to the court, he felt more energetic than yesterday.The details of the battle came vividly to his mind again, and he was preparing a brief statement to Emperor Franz in his mind, vividly imagining the many questions the emperor might ask him, and how he would respond.He thought he would be taken to the Emperor at once, but at the gate of the palace an official ran out to meet him, and after learning that the Duke André was the messenger, he was taken to another door.

He was taken to see the Austrian army commander.The Army Commander sitting behind a large desk, looking down at the papers, paid no attention for the first few minutes to the people entering the room.It seemed to Prince Andrey that, of all the events that concerned the commander of the army, the actions of Kotusov's troops were the least interesting to him, and perhaps he was deliberately trying to impress the Russian messenger. "Is it from Commander Kotusov?" he asked after reading the document. "I hope to have good news. Did you fight Mortier? You won the battle? It's time!"

He took the urgent document and read it with an eager expression. "Oh, my God! Schmidt! What a misfortune! What a misfortune!"

After reading the document, he looked at Duke Andrele. "I am very glad that you have brought good news. Of course, His Majesty will receive you, but it is too late today. Thank you, go to rest. I will inform you."

On leaving the court, Duke Andrele felt that he had now entrusted the commander of the army and his respectful aide-de-camp with all the joy that victory had brought him.His mind was free and light: he felt that the battle had become an old, distant memory of yesterday.

[ten]

The Duke d'Andrew was staying at Pollian with his close friend, the Russian diplomat Perepi.

Perepi was a single man of about thirty-five years of age, and belonged to the same rank as the Duke André.They had known each other before Petersburg, but they had become closer only when Prince Andrei had last come to Austria with Kotusov.Just as Andrea was a promising young man in the military, Perebie also had a bright future in the diplomatic world.

The two young people sat in the gorgeous study of the diplomat and talked cordially. "I must confess to you that I really don't understand," said Duke Andrele. "Mark's army was wiped out. The Archdukes McKim and Karl made mistakes again and again. Only Kotusov won the real victory and smashed the French army. The myth of being invincible, but the army commander doesn't want to know the details!"

"However, I am referring to our imperial palace here, so what does it have to do with your victory?" Perebi said with a smile, "It seems that your victory is deliberately for us to see. You have abandoned the Austrian capital. , no longer defending it, General Schmidt whom we all respect, you let him be shot... You will admit that there is no more infuriating news than this. Besides, even if you have received the honorable What does victory mean to the battle situation? It's too late now, Vienna has already collapsed..."

"What? Austria is occupied?" "Not only is it occupied, but Napoleon has already lived in the palace of the Austrian capital, and our dear Count Vulbner has gone to seek peace with Napoleon."

Only then did Duke Andrele suddenly realize that the news of his Krems battle was nothing compared to the capture of the Austrian capital.But he believes that this still does not mean that the war is over.

"But I thought the war was coming to an end." Perebi said, "The war is not decided by you and me. The key issue depends on the results of the talks between Emperor Alexander and the King of Prussia in Germany. If Prussia joins the alliance and then persecutes Austria, then There will be bloody wars. If not, it will be a question of which city to sign the peace."

"Do you really think the war is over?" asked the Duke d'Andrele. "That's what I think. Austria has suffered, many provinces have been plundered by Russian soldiers, its own army is no more, its capital has fallen, and it wants revenge. My instinct is that we have been cheated If so, they will start a tug-of-war with France and conclude a secret peace alone."

"Impossible!" said the Duke d'Andrew. "That's too mean." "Then you just wait and see," said Perebie, relaxing the lines on his face to signify that the conversation was over.Duke Andrele went to the room prepared for him, changed into clean pajamas, and lay on the soft sofa bed with fragrant pillows.At this time, he felt that the battle that he had won was far away from him.Now haunting his mind were the alliance with Prussia, the betrayal of Austria, the victory of Napoleon, the pilgrimage and review tomorrow, and the summons of Emperor Franz.

[eleven]

The next day, Duke Andrele woke up very late.After waking up, he remembered the conversation last night and thought about today's audience.For this interview, he put on a full suit that he hadn't worn for a long time. He was full of energy, lively and unrestrained, with one arm hanging, and came to the room of Birebi.There were four diplomats in the room, and the secretary of the embassy was Prince Yeberite Kuragin, whom Prince André had known before.The people here in Pereb are younger, happier and richer, and in the capital or in the city they form a special social group, of which Pereb is the leader.Obviously, the interest of this group has nothing to do with war and politics, but only with women and officialdom.In the unrestrained conversation of the group, Duke Andrele saw at once that Yepirite was the buffoon of the group.He also thought that he was almost jealous of the ugly foot for his wife.

"Well, gentlemen," said Pereby to them all, "Bolkonski is our guest, and we must do our best to entertain him in the local life. It would be easier if we were in the capital, but in this It is more difficult in remote small cities.”

"I'm afraid I won't be able to enjoy your hospitality, my friends, I must go." said Duke Andrele, looking at his watch.

"Where are you going?" "To meet your emperor."

"When you see the emperor, try to say as many compliments as you can," said Perepi, as he escorted Duke André to the hall. "He is very happy to receive people, but he doesn't like to talk, and he doesn't know how to talk very much. You It will be clear when you go.”

[twelve]
The aide-de-camp sent word to Duke André that the Emperor was summoning him.The Emperor Franz stood waiting for him in the middle of the room, and to Andrél's surprise the Emperor seemed too flustered to say what to say and flushed before he began to talk.

"Tell me, when did the battle start?" he asked eagerly.Duke Andrée gave a detailed answer.After this, he asked some very brief questions, such as "Is Kotusov healthy?" "When did he leave Krems?" and so on.The emperor's expression when he asked the question showed that his sole purpose was to ask quantitative questions, and the answers to these questions were obviously of no use to him.

The conversation was soon over, and the emperor expressed his deep gratitude to Andrelet and bowed.Duke Andrele came out and was immediately surrounded by officials.Friendly eyes cast from all directions, and passionate words continued to come to him.Contrary to what Pereb had said, his news was received with joy.The other party decided to hold a thanksgiving prayer, Kotusov was awarded the Grand Cross of Mary, and all soldiers in the army were also rewarded.The Duke André was invited at all levels, and he spent the whole morning visiting the dignitaries of Austria without stopping.It was not until four o'clock in the afternoon that Duke Andrei returned to the Perebe home.

"Oh, oh, you must admit that this is very good," said Perepi to Ondry, who entered. "They crossed the river without resistance."

"What's the matter?" asked Duke Andrele anxiously. "The French army has crossed the bridge defended by Olsper. The bridge has not been blown up. Murat is coming along the avenue in the direction of Pollian. They will arrive here today and tomorrow."

"If the French army crosses the bridge, our army will be completely ruined, and we will be cut in half." This news made Duke Andryl feel both painful and happy.As soon as he heard that the Russian army was in such a desperate situation, he immediately thought that he was the only one who rescued the Russian army. Stand out from the ranks and open a broad road to a bright future for him!While listening to Birebi's speech, he was already thinking about how he would return to the army, how to put forward the only suggestion that could save the army at the army cadre meeting, and how to complete this plan by himself.

"Where are you going now?" Perepi said suddenly to Duke André, who had risen and walked towards the room.

"I want to go back to the army immediately." "Don't you have to stay for two days before leaving?" "I must leave now." "Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Think about it, why don't you stay here?" You want to go back. What awaits you are nothing more than two situations." Perebi frowned, "either the peace was negotiated before you returned to the army, or the entire army of Kotusov was wiped out. Feeling that his statement was entirely correct, Perebi smoothed out the wrinkles on his face.

"I can't judge this," Duke Andrele said coldly, but he was thinking in his heart, "I must go back and save the troops."

"My dear, you are a national hero," said Pereb.

[Thirteen]
That night, after Duke Andrele bid farewell to the commander of the army, he set off to return to the army.He himself didn't know where to find the team, and he worried that the road to Krems would be particularly dangerous.

All the government personnel in Borian are hastily packing their bags, and the bulky items have been transported to Olmitz.Near the Cross Thirty, the Duke Andryl's carriage drove up the road along which the Russian troops were advancing with great haste and confusion.The road was so crowded with all kinds of vehicles that it was impossible for a carriage to pass.Duke Andrey, thirsty and hungry, borrowed a horse and a soldier from the Cossack officer, and went through the Russian wagon to find the commander-in-chief and his luggage cart.On the way, he heard a lot of news about the very dangerous situation of the Russian army, which was also confirmed by the officers and soldiers who fled in a hurry.

Duke André looked contemptuously at this disorderly and chaotic procession, with various vehicles jostling each other and fleeing, crowding the muddy road.On both sides of the road, you can hear the creaking of various vehicles, the chewing of horseshoes, the whistling of whips, the shouting of coachmen, and the shouting of officers and soldiers.You can see skinned and unskinned dead horses everywhere on the roadside, large wagons that are falling apart, and some soldiers waiting for something sitting beside the wagons.Everywhere you can see stragglers running to nearby villages to rob the common people.The officers commanding the march ran around in the convoy, their voices almost drowned in the din and uproar, and it could be seen from their faces that they no longer had any hope of rectifying the chaotic order.

After inquiring about the village where the headquarters was located, Duke Andrele went in and found the farmhouse where the commander-in-chief lived.Kotusov lived with Bogorageo and Villatel.Villatel came to replace the dead body of General Schmidt.Before entering the door, Duke Andrée heard Kotusov's dissatisfied voice and other voices.

Duke Andrele went to the door from which the voice had come.He was about to open the door when the conversation in the room ceased, and the door was opened, and Kotusov's hooked nose and fat face appeared at the door.Prince Andrey stood facing Kotusov, but from the expression in the commander-in-chief's one eye, it could be seen that he was completely overwhelmed by worries and troubles, and his vision seemed to be blinded by something. Frozen, he looked directly into his adjutant's face, without recognizing him for a moment.

Following behind the commander-in-chief was Borgolagio, who seemed to be quite energetic. He was short and thin, with an oriental face, calm and somewhat dull.

"Andret reports to you!" Duke Andrele repeated loudly, handing the letter to the commander.

"Oh, back from the capital? It's good. Wait a minute, wait a minute." Kotusov and Bogoradeo came to the porch steps. "Goodbye, Duke," he said to Bogorageo, "God will bless you. I hope you will make great achievements." Kotusov's face suddenly softened a lot, and tears welled up in his eyes.He drew Borgoladgeo to him, crossed him with his ringed right hand, and stretched out his plump cheeks, but Borgoladgio did not kiss his face, but kissed him. neck.

"God bless you!" repeated Kotusov, and went to the carriage. "Cause with me," he said to André.

"My lord commander, I hope that my staying here may be of some use to you. Please allow me to stay in the army of Duke Borgoladgeo."

"Get in," said Kotusov, and when he noticed that Andreet was hesitating, he added, "I need a good officer more myself."

They walked for a while in silence. "We still have a lot of important things to do, a lot of important things to do." He seemed to see through Andre's mind. "If a tenth of his detachment can come back tomorrow, I'll be thankful," Kotusov said, as if talking to himself.

(End of this chapter)