Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen

Kutuzov, having been ordered to command the whole army, remembered Prince Andrew, and sent him an order to report to headquarters. The day Prince Andrew arrived at Tsarevo-Zaymich coincided with Kutuzov reviewing the troops, and the review was in progress.Prince Andrew stopped by the vicarage in the village, where there was a commander-in-chief's carriage, and sat down on a bench by the gate to wait for the order (by that name Kutuzov is now called by everyone).Now from the fields outside the village came the sound of military music, now and then a loud shout of "Hurrah!" to the new Commander-in-Chief.At the gate, some ten paces from Prince Andrew, stood two orderlies, a messenger, and a steward.They came out while the prince was away and the weather was fine.A small, dark-faced lieutenant-colonel of hussars, with a bushy mustache and whiskers, rode up to the gate, looked at Prince Andrei, and asked: Is His Excellency here? time to come back.

Prince Andrew said that he was not a member of the Command of the Order and had just come to report.The lieutenant-colonel of hussars asked the richly dressed orderly.The orderly said to him, with the peculiarly contemptuous tone with which all orderlies of the Commander-in-Chief speak to officers: "My lord? Probably be back soon. What can you do?" The lieutenant-colonel of the hussars only sneered at this.He dismounted, handed the horse over to the orderly, and went up to Prince Andrew, bowing to him in homage.Bolkonski made room on the bench.The lieutenant colonel of the hussars sat down beside him.

"Are you also expecting the commander-in-chief?" asked the lieutenant-colonel of hussars. "It's said that everyone can see it, thank God. Otherwise, it's bad luck to deal with those fellows who sell sausages! No wonder Yermolov wants to apply for German citizenship. Now we Russians can probably talk too. Ghost You know what you're doing. Keep backing up, backing up! Have you been in a campaign? "he asks. "It has been a privilege to have taken part in the campaign," replied Prince Andrei, "and not only to have taken part in the retreat, but in the retreat I have lost everything dear to me. Not to mention the farm and my dear home... My father died of grief. I It's from Smolensk."

"Ah? . . . Are you Prince Bolkonsky? It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Lieutenant-Colonel Denisov, and I'm known as Vaska," said Denisov, holding Prince Andrey's hand fixed Bolkonsky's face with peculiarly kind eyes. "Yes, I've heard," he said sympathetically, and after a pause he went on: "It's a Scythian war. It's all very well, except for those who take the blame. You Is it Prince Andrei Bolkonsky?" He shook his head. "Very pleased, very pleased to meet you," he added with a sentimental smile, shaking his hand. --------

① Refers to the Germans. At that time, there were many senior German generals in the Russian army. ②Scythia means that this war is a barbarian war. Prince Andrew had heard from Natasha that Denisov was her first suitor.This sweet and painful memory touched his sensitive and wounded heart now.I haven't thought about it for a long time lately, but I still feel pain deep in my soul.I've been feeling too much lately.Such as the abandonment of Smososk, the trip to Bald Mountain, the news of his father's death not long ago, etc., all left a deep impression on him.He has so many feelings that the memory of those things in the past has faded for a long time, and even if he remembers them, the impact on him is far less profound than before.But for Denisov the chain of memories evoked by the name Bolkonsky was a poetic distant past.At that time, after dinner and listening to Natasha's singing, he did not know why he proposed to a fifteen-year-old girl.He could not help smiling as he recalled the scene and his admiration for Natasha, and then turned at once to his present most ardent and preoccupied business.This was the battle plan he came up with while serving on the outpost during the retreat.He had presented this proposal to Barclay de Tolly, and now he was going to present it to Kutuzov.The argument of this plan is: the French army's front line is too long, and our army does not need to intercept the French army from the front, but should attack their communication lines, or attack their communication lines while fighting frontally.He began to explain his plan to Prince Andrew.

"They want to hold the entire front. It's impossible. I promise to break through their lines. Give me five hundred men, and I'll cut their lines of communication to pieces, sure! The only way is to fight Guerrilla warfare." Denisov got up, gestured, and described his plan to Prince Andrew.When he was describing, the shouts of the army came from the place of review, which became more and more incoherent and scattered, mixed with military music and singing.The sound of hooves and shouts came from the village. "Here he comes," cried the Cossack standing by the gate, "here he comes!"

Bolkonsky and Denisov were going to the gate, where a large group of soldiers (a guard of honor) was standing, and they saw Kutuzov galloping down the street on a bay colt.A large group of general's attendants followed him on horseback.Barclay was almost at his shoulders.A group of officers ran around them, shouting, "Hurrah!" The adjutants galloped into the yard first.Kutuzov fretfully rode the pony, which was plodding steadily under the weight of his body.He raised his hand to the brim of his white cavalry cap (with a red band and no visor), and kept nodding.When he came up to the guard of honor (mostly handsome young guardsmen wearing decorations) who saluted him, he watched them silently and attentively for a moment with the calm eyes of his officers, and then turned to the generals and officers around him.The expression on his face suddenly changed subtly, and he shrugged in bewilderment.

"There's such a fine fellow, who's always retreating, retreating!" he said. "Well, good-bye, General," he added, and rode past Prince Andrei and Denisov to the gate. . "Ulla! Ulla! Ulla!" the crowd cheered after him. Since Prince Andrew had last seen Kutuzov he had grown fatter, his skin was flabby and swollen.But the familiar white eye, the scar, and the tired look on his face and body remained the same.He was dressed in military uniform, with a thin leather whip hanging from his shoulders, and a white heavy cavalry cap. He swayed heavily on his strong pony.

-------- ① refers to Kutuzov's blind eye. "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" he whistled almost inaudibly and rode into the yard.There was a look of relief and joy on his face, which is often seen when a person wants to take a rest after appearing as a representative in a crowded place.He pulled his left foot out of the stirrup, then leaned forward with his whole body, frowning with difficulty, stepped hard with his left foot over the saddle, and supported his knee with his elbow. On the arms of his Cossacks and adjutants. He gathered himself together, squinted his eyes, looked around, looked at Prince Andrew, seemed not to recognize him, and went up to the steps with his shaky steps.

"Shhhhhhhh," he whistled, and turned to Prince Andrew again.It took several minutes to link Prince Andrew's face with the memories connected with it. (This is a common phenomenon in the elderly) "Ah, hello, duke, hello, dear friend, come..." he said wearily, looking around, climbing with difficulty the steps that creaked under the weight of his body.He unbuttoned it and sat down on a bench on the steps. "How is your father?" "I received news of his death yesterday," said Prince Andrew briefly. Kutuzov looked at Prince Andrew with wide-eyed amazement, took off his cap, and crossed himself: "May he rest in heaven! All of us must obey the will of God!" He said solemnly, He sighed deeply, and was silent for a moment. "I love him, and I sympathize with you from the bottom of my heart." He embraced Prince Andrey, and held him to his fat chest, and did not let go for a long time.When he let him go, Prince Andrew saw Kutuzov's thick lips trembling, and tears in his eyes.

He sighed and pressed his hands on the bench to stand up. "Come on, come to me. Let's talk," he said, but at this moment Denisov, who was as seldom timid in the presence of the officer as he was in the face of the enemy, ignored the angry low voice of the adjutant on the porch. , ringing spurs, boldly down the steps into the porch.Kutuzov leaned on the bench with both hands and looked at Denisov dissatisfied.Derisov reported his name and claimed that he had important matters related to national interests to report to Lord Honor.Kutuzov looked at Derisov with weary eyes, put on a gesture of boredom, raised his hands, crossed them on his stomach, and repeated: "The interests of the state? What is it? Tell me?" Denisov blushed like a girl (it was amazing to see the blush on this bearded, old, drunken face), and began to boldly state that he had cut off the enemy between Smolensk and Vyazma. Army defense plan.Denisov had lived in that district and was familiar with its terrain.His plan was unquestionably advisable, especially in the tone of his voice of supreme confidence.Kutuzov looked at his feet, and sometimes at the adjoining yard, as if waiting for something unpleasant to happen there.Sure enough, while Denisov was talking, a general with a briefcase under his arm came out of the hut he saw. "How is it?" Denisov was still talking, Kutuzov asked the general. "Are you ready?" "My lord, get ready," said the general.Kutuzov shook his head, as if to say: "How can one man do so much?" Then he went on listening to Denisov. "I assure you by the noble and honest oath of a Russian officer," said Denisov, "that I will be able to cut off Napoleon's communications." "Kirill Andreevich Denisov, who are you, quartermaster?" Kutuzov asked, interrupting him. "It's my uncle, my lord." "Oh, we are old friends," Kutuzov said cheerfully. "Okay, okay, dear, you stay at the headquarters, we'll talk tomorrow." He nodded to Denisov, then turned and reached for the document from Konovnitsyn. "May I invite your lord to come inside?" the general on duty said in a dissatisfied voice, "I need to review some plans and sign some documents." An adjutant came out from the door and reported that everything in the room was ready to stop.But it seemed that Kutuzov wanted to finish his business before returning to the house.He frowned... "No, dear, order the table to be brought here, and I'll go over the papers here," he said. "Don't go yet," he said, turning to Prince Andrew.Prince Andrew then stood on the steps and listened to the report of the general on duty. At that moment Prince Andrew heard a woman's murmur and the rustle of a silk dress at the door.He glanced over there a few times, and saw a plump, rosy, beautiful young woman in pink clothes and a snow-blue silk headscarf wrapped in the door. She was holding a plate and was obviously waiting for the commander-in-chief to enter.Kutuzov's adjutant explained to Prince Andrew in a low voice: "This is the landlady, the priest's wife, who is offering salt and bread to His Excellency."Her husband had greeted His Excellency with a crucifix in church, and she was at home... "She was beautiful," the adjutant added with a smile.Kutuzov looked back at these words.Kutuzov was listening to the report of the general on duty (the main issue of the report was the attack on the Tsarevo-Zaymich position.), just as he listened to Denisov's statement and seven years ago in Ost As he listened to the arguments at the Leeds Council of War, he only listened because he had two ears and had to listen, although he still had a short piece of ship's cable in one of his ears; but it was obvious that the Not only does nothing the general on duty have to say to him surprise or interest him, but he knows everything he is going to say in advance, and he hears it all because he has to, just as he has to. After listening to the prayers like chanting scriptures.Denisov was eloquent and intelligent, and the generals on duty were even more eloquent and intelligent, but it was obvious that Kutuzov despised intelligence, and he knew another kind of solution—that is, Something that has nothing to do with intelligence.Prince Andrei watched the commander-in-chief's face carefully, and the only expression he could see on his face was melancholy, curiosity at the whispers of the woman at the door, and observance of decorum.It is obvious that Kutuzov despised intelligence, and even Denisov's patriotic zeal, but his contempt was not due to his own intelligence and feelings (for he tried not to show them), but for other reasons.He despises all this because of his advanced age and rich life experience.To that report Kutuzov gave only one instruction concerning the looting by the Russian troops on the field.At the end of the report, the general on duty presented a document in which the landlord asked the commanders of the various armies to recover the losses due to the soldiers cutting green oats, and asked the Honorable Lord to sign on it. Hearing this, Kutuzov smacked his lips and shook his head. -------- ① It is a Russian custom to welcome new guests with bread and salt. ②Russian old habit, think it can cure toothache. "Throw it into the furnace... into the fire! I'll tell you, dear," he said, "throw all these things into the fire. Crops, let them cut; wood, Let them burn it. I don't issue any order to allow it, but I don't forbid it, but I can't make compensation, it has to be done. Since the wood is split, the wood chips will inevitably fly." He looked at the document again. "Oh, German refinement!" he said, shaking his head.