Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

At nine o'clock, Bagration's right flank had not yet begun fighting.Prince Bagration did not want to agree to Dolgorukov's request to start a battle and wanted to shirk his responsibility, so he suggested that Dolgorukov send someone to ask the commander-in-chief.Bagration knew that if the men sent were not killed (and they were very likely), and if he could even find the commander-in-chief, it would be very difficult. Judging by the distance of seven versts, the dispatched personnel would not be able to return before evening. Bagration looked at his attendants with his large, expressionless, sleep-deprived eyes, and Rostov's childish face, frozen with excitement and anticipation, first caught his attention.He then sent him to see the Commander-in-Chief.

"My lord, what if I meet Your Majesty before I meet the Commander-in-Chief?" said Rostov, raising his hand in salute. "You can tell Your Majesty," said Dolgorukov hastily interrupting Bagration. After handing over the duty, Rostov slept for a few hours before dawn, feeling cheerful, brave, determined, his movements strong and powerful, confident in his happiness, alive, as if everything was light and happy, Everything can be put into practice. All his wishes came true this morning, a great battle was fought, he took part in it, and served as herald officer under the gallant general, and not only that, he was entrusted with going to Kutuzov's quarters, or An audience with His Majesty the King.It was a fine morning and his steed worked well.He felt joy and happiness in his heart.Having received the order, he galloped his horse along a line.Bagration's corps had not yet entered the battle and stood still, and Rostov at first rode along the line which Bagration's corps held, then galloped into the open space occupied by Uvarov's cavalry, and Here he found signs of army mobilization and preparations for battle. After he passed the Uvarov cavalry station, he could clearly hear the sound of artillery in front of him.The gunfire grew louder and louder.

In the fresh air of that morning, instead of two or three gunshots at different intervals, followed by a burst or two, as before; The frequent gunfire interrupted one after another of the gunfire. The frequency of the gunfire was so high that sometimes it was impossible to distinguish the difference between the gunfire, and the gunfire merged into a rumbling roar. It can be seen that the gunpowder smoke of the guns seems to be chasing each other along the hillside, rushing back and forth, and the smoke of the artillery is billowing, gradually spreading out, and connecting together.Where bayonets flashed in the smoke, swarms of infantry and slender columns of artillerymen with green ammunition boxes were seen marching.

Rostov, who was standing on the hill, reined in his horse for a moment in order to observe carefully what was happening ahead, but no matter how much he concentrated, he could not understand or analyze what happened; Moving forward in that place full of gunpowder smoke, I don't know what troops are constantly advancing back and forth; but why?Who are they?Where to go?Just can't figure it out.These sights, these sounds, far from arousing in him any feeling of discouragement or timidity, on the contrary gave him firmness and energy. "Hey, more—more strength!" he said to the voices in his mind, and galloped off along the lines, penetrating deeper and deeper among the troops already engaged.

"What will happen there, I don't know, but everything is going well!" thought Rostov. Rostov, galloping past some of the Austrian troops, had already noticed that the troops on the next front (the Guards) were already engaged. "Wouldn't it be better to do that! I'll take a look around." He thought for a while. He almost rode along the front lines.Several riders galloped towards him.Here are our Lancers, routed, retreating from the attack.Rostov walked past them, stumbled upon a bloodied Lancer, and galloped on. "This matter has nothing to do with me!" He thought for a while.He had not gone a few hundred paces when a mass of cavalry on black horses and shining white uniforms appeared across a field, cutting him off from the left, and coming straight at him. Mercedes-Benz is coming.Rostov was galloping at full speed, trying to get away from the cavalry, he would have been able to dodge them if they had been riding at full speed, but they were picking up the pace, and some of the horses were galloping away. up.Rostov heard their hooves and the clang of their weapons more and more clearly, and saw their horses, their figures, and even their faces more and more clearly.This is our heavy cavalry guards, they go to attack the oncoming French cavalry.

The heavy cavalry of the guards reined in their horses slightly while galloping.Rostov had already seen their faces, and heard the command from the officer galloping at full speed on a thoroughbred: "Come on, go on!" Rostov feared that he would be overwhelmed, or dragged into the In a battle against the French army, he galloped his horse as hard as he could along the front line, but it was still too late to avoid them. The guard heavy cavalry standing aside was a burly man with a pockmarked face. When he saw Rostov in front of him who was about to collide, he frowned fiercely.If Rostov hadn't thought of lashing the eyes of the heavy cavalry horse with a whip, he would have knocked Rostov and his Bedouin to the ground (compared with these tall men and horses, Rostov felt himself small and weak).The heavy two-foot-and-five-inch black horse pursed its ears and galloped to one side, but the pockmarked heavy cavalry stabbed hard at its ribs with its huge spurs, and the horse wagged its tail and stretched itself Neck, running faster.As soon as several heavy cavalry passed Rostov, he heard them shout: "Hurrah!" He looked back and saw that the ranks in front of them were mixed with those strange French cavalry, probably wearing red epaulets. .Beyond that, nothing could be seen, for at once the battery began to fire from somewhere, and everything was enveloped in smoke.

When the heavy cavalry passed him and disappeared in the smoke, Rostov hesitated whether to ride fast behind them or to gallop where he needed to go.It was a very smooth attack by heavy cavalry, which surprised the French themselves.Rostov was horrified when he heard afterwards that after the attack, this crowd of tall and handsome men, these extremely distinguished sons of rich men, young men, There were only eighteen officers and cadets left. "Why should I be envious? My luck can't go away. I might see the king right away!" Rostov thought for a while, and then continued to gallop forward.

As he approached the infantry guard, he saw shells flying over the line of infantry and the surrounding area, not so much because he heard the whistle of the shells as he saw The faces of the soldiers showed panic and anxiety, and the faces of the officers showed an expression of unnatural majesty. As he passed behind a line of infantry guards, he heard someone call his name. "Rostov!" "What?" he called back, when he didn't recognize Boris. "Well, we're on the front line! Our regiment has launched an attack!" said Boris, with a happy smile on his face, which is often the smile of young people who are on the front line for the first time.

Rostov stopped. "So that's what happened!" he said. "What's the matter?" "Knocked off!" said Boris excitedly, becoming chatty. "Can you imagine it?" Boris began to talk about the officers and soldiers of the guards staying somewhere, seeing the troops in front of them, thinking they were the Austrian army, these troops suddenly fired shells, and the guards knew that they had reached the front line, Unexpectedly thrown into battle. Rostov drove on without listening to what Boris had to say. "Where are you going?" asked Boris. "Entrusted to meet His Majesty."

"Look, here he is!" said Boris, who seemed to hear that Rostov wanted to see "His Royal Highness" instead of "His Majesty." He pointed to the Grand Duke standing a hundred paces away from them. He was wearing a steel helmet and cavalry uniform jacket. He arched his shoulders and frowned, and shouted loudly at the pale Austrian officer. "Know that this is the Grand Duke, and I want to meet the Commander-in-Chief or the King." After saying this, Rostov rode his horse and set off. "Count, count!" cried Berg, who, like Boris, ran forward from the other side, "Count, my right hand is wounded (he said, holding out a bloody handkerchief) Show him your wrist), but I will stay in the line. Count, I can hold a saber in my left hand, and our von Berg clan is a hero."

Berg wanted to say something more, but Rostov didn't finish his sentence and continued riding. Rostov walked past the Guards garrison and an open space. In order not to encounter such a thing as a heavy cavalry attack, he no longer ran into the front line, but bypassed the most violent gun fire from far away. The location of the sound, galloped forward along the line of the reserve team.Suddenly in front of himself, at the rear of our troops, at a place where he could not have expected the enemy anyway, he heard the sound of nearby shots. "Is this possible?" Rostov thought for a while, "Is the enemy behind our army? Impossible," Rostov thought for a while, and suddenly he felt terrified for himself and the outcome of the battle. "But, anyway." He thought for a while, "There is no need to turn around now. I should go to the commander-in-chief here. If everything is destroyed, then my career will be destroyed with everyone else." The further Rostov walked towards the open space occupied by various troops behind the village of Platz, the more the ominous premonition that suddenly arose in his heart came true. "What's going on? What's going on? Who's shooting at? Who's shooting?" Rostov asked, standing beside the Russian and Austrian soldiers, who were running in tangled groups. and cut off his way. "Does the devil know about them? Beat them all to death! It's all over!" Like him, groups of fleeing soldiers couldn't understand exactly what happened here, and they all answered him in Russian, German, and Czech. "Hit the German devils!" shouted one. "Let them gang of traitors go to hell!" "Zum Henkerdiese Russen!..." The German muttered something. -------- ① German: To hell with these Russians! Several wounded soldiers were walking on the road.Curses, shouts, and moans merged into a roar.The gunfire died down, and Rostov learned later that Russian soldiers and Austrian soldiers exchanged fire for a while. "My God! What's the matter?" thought Rostov, "this is where the king can see them all the time... No, it must have been the work of some bad guys. It will pass." No, it's not like that, it's impossible," he thought, "but hurry, hurry and get past them!" Defeat and flight were not on Rostov's mind.Although he also saw that there were French artillery and troops on the very hill on Platz Hill, on which he had been sent to find the Commander-in-Chief, he could not and would not believe such a thing.