Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Five

The officers were going to take their leave, but Prince Andrew seemed unwilling to be alone with his friends, so he asked them to sit down a little longer and have a cup of tea.A bench and tea were brought.The officers looked at Pierre's fat and bulky figure in amazement, and listened to his description of the situation in Moscow and the disposition of our troops that he had seen during his inspection tour.Prince Andrew was silent and looked so gloomy that Pierre had to address more to the kindly battalion commander Timohin and less to Bolkonsky in his speech. "And you know the disposition of the whole army?" interrupted Prince Andrew.

"Yes, why?" Pierre said, "I'm not a soldier, so I don't dare to say I understand everything, but I finally figured out the general deployment." "Ehbien, voustes plus avance quicelasoit," said Prince Andrew. "Ah!" Pierre replied suspiciously, staring at Prince Andrey through his spectacles. "What do you think of the appointment of Kutuzov?" he said. "I'm very happy about it, that's all I know," said Prince Andrei. "Well, tell me what you think of Barclay de Tolly? Goodness knows what people say about him in Moscow. What do you think of him?"

"Ask them," said Prince Andrew, pointing to the officers. Pierre looked at Timothy with an open-minded smile.Everyone looked at him with involuntary smiles. "Your Excellency, since Your Excellency took office, everyone has seen the light again." Timoxin said that from time to time he looked timidly at his regimental commander. "And why?" asked Pierre. "I'll just report to you about firewood or fodder. When we retreated from Svenziane, we didn't dare to move a twig, a piece of dry grass or anything. We're gone, and he's got it." , isn't it so, my lord?" he said, turning to the Duke. "But you can't move. For this kind of thing, two officers of our regiment were sent to a military court. But when Your Excellency came, this kind of thing is not a big deal. We have seen the light..."

-------- ①French: So you know more than anyone else. ②This is a pun, the root of the word "Honor" in Russian is "bright". ③ refers to Napoleon. "Then why did he forbid it?" Timoxin looked around in embarrassment, not knowing how or what to answer this question.Pierre then asked Prince Andrew the question again. "To save the place from being destroyed, so that it can be used by the enemy," said Prince Andrew bitterly. "There are good reasons: no looting is allowed, soldiers are not in the habit of looting. He was right in Smolensk, too, when he said that the French might surround us because they were stronger than we were. But he couldn't understand that." One thing," Prince Andrei screamed suddenly and involuntarily, "he can't understand that there we are fighting for the first time on Russian soil, and I have never seen such a high morale in the army. The French were repulsed, a victory that multiplied our strength tenfold. But he ordered a retreat, all efforts and losses were in vain. He was not a mole, he tried to do everything as well as possible, and put everything as thoughtful as possible; but that is why he is useless. He is useless now precisely because, like every German, he takes everything too seriously and meticulously. How? As for you...for example, your father has a German servant, he is the best servant, and he can do everything your father wants better than you, of course let him do it; but if your father is sick and dying , you'd have to turn the servants out, and serve your father clumsily yourself, and you'd be more comforting to him than the skilled, yet foreigner servant. Barclay was like that. When Russia is good morning, a Foreigners can serve it. He may be a very good minister, but once it is in crisis, it needs its own relatives. And the people in your club talk nonsense that he is a traitor! Slander him as a traitor, and then only It would be even more unjust to be ashamed of your false accusations, and to be suddenly celebrated as a hero and a genius by a mole. He is an honest, very serious German..."

"But I hear he is a shrewd commander," said Pierre. "I don't know what a shrewd commander is," said Prince Andrew mockingly. "A shrewd general," said Pierre, "is able to foresee all contingencies...he can guess the intentions of the enemy." "But that's impossible," said Prince Andrew, as if referring to a problem that had long been settled. Pierre looked at him in surprise. "But," he said, "everybody says war is like playing chess." "Yes," said Prince Andrei, "but there is a difference. You can take as long as you like with each move in chess, and there is no time limit for chess. There is another difference, that is, the knight is always stronger than the pawn. Two pawns are better than one, and in war a battalion is sometimes stronger than a division and sometimes worse than a company. The relative strength of armies is never clear to anyone. Believe me," he said, "if you say The deployment of the staff is decisive, well, I did the deployment there, but I didn't do that, and the honor of being here, serving in the regiment, working with these gentlemen, I think tomorrow's battle really depends To us, not to them... Victory has never depended on the future, nor on positions, nor on arming, not even on numbers, and especially not on positions."

"So what does it depend on?" "It depends on morale—mine, his," he said, pointing to Tymokhin, "and the morale of each soldier." Prince Andrei glanced at Timothyn, who was looking at his regimental commander in horror and bewilderment. Prince Andrei, contrary to his usual taciturn reserve, seemed now to be agitated.Evidently he could not help speaking the thoughts that were flashing through his mind at the moment. "Whoever sets his mind to victory wins. Why did we lose at Austerlitz? We lost almost as much as the French, but we surrendered prematurely—so we lost. And We throw in the towel because we don't have to fight there: wanting to get out of the field quickly. 'Defeated - run away!' So we run. If we don't say this until tomorrow, God knows what will happen What a scene. Tomorrow we will not talk about it. You say: our front, the left wing is too weak, the right wing is too stretched," he went on, "this is all nonsense, it is not the case at all. Tomorrow What are we facing? Millions of accidents of all kinds decide the outcome in a split second: whether we or they flee or will flee, whether this person is killed or that person is killed; As for what you're doing now, it's all a game. The thing is, the people you're patrolling the ground with are not only not going to help the progress of the campaign, but are only getting in the way. They only care about their own meager benefits."

"At this crucial moment?" Pierre asked reproachfully. "At this critical moment," repeated Prince Andrei, "for them, this moment is nothing more than an opportunity to assassinate an opponent and win an extra cross or a ribbon." To me tomorrow, that is, one hundred thousand Russian troops and one hundred thousand French troops will come together to fight each other. The fact is that when these two hundred thousand people are fighting, whoever fights the most fiercely and does not hesitate to sacrifice will win We will win. If you want to know, I can tell you that no matter what happens there, and no matter how the upper layer hinders us, we will definitely win tomorrow. No matter what happens there tomorrow, we will definitely win!"

"My lord, this is the truth, the true truth," said Timoxin. "Who is afraid of death now! The soldiers in my battalion, believe it or not, don't drink anymore: they say it's not the time to drink." .” Everyone was silent for a while. The officers got up, and Prince Andrei went out of the shed with them, and gave some last orders to the adjutant.After the officers had left, Pierre approached Prince Andrei, and was about to speak, when a horse's hooves were heard on the road not far from the hut, and Prince Andrei, looking in that direction, recognized Volzo Root and Clausewitz, followed by a Cossack.As they were talking and drawing nearer, Pierre and Prince Andrew overheard the following words:

"Derkriegmussim Raumverlegtwerden. Der Ansichtkannichnichtgenug Preisgeben," said one of them. "Oh, ja," said another, "der Zweckistnurden Feindzuschwa Cchen, sokannmangewissnichtden Verlustder PrivatPersoneninAchtungnehmen."③ "Oh, ja," agreed the first. "Yes, imRaumVerlegen," Prince Andrew snorted angrily as they passed by. "My father, my son, my sister, who stayed in Bald Mountain, are there imRuam. It doesn't matter to him. I didn't say it to you just now,—these German gentlemen are not going to win the battle tomorrow, but trying to win it." It can wreak havoc, because the Germans have only empty theories in their heads that are not worth an empty eggshell, and they lack in their hearts what is necessary for tomorrow, which is what Timokhin has. They put All Europe gave him a gift, now come and teach us—what a teacher!" he screamed again.

-------- ① Clausewitz (1780-1831), German military theorist, author of "On War".In 1812 he served as Pfuel's adjutant in the Russian army. ②German: The war should be moved to a wider area. I appreciate this opinion very much. ③ German: Oh, yes.The purpose is to weaken the enemy, and should not care about personal gains and losses. ④ German: Move to a vast area. "So, do you think the battle will be won tomorrow?" asked Pierre. "Yes, yes," replied Prince Andrew absent-mindedly. "If I had the right, I would do one thing," he began again, "I take no prisoners. What are prisoners! They are knights. The French are destroying my homeland, and now they are destroying Moscow, They are insulting me every minute and are still insulting me. They are my enemies, they are all criminals in my opinion. Timohin and the whole army think so, they should be killed! Since they are mine An enemy cannot be my friend, however they negotiated at Tilsit."

"Yes, yes," said Pierre, looking at Prince Andrew with shining eyes. "I totally, totally agree with you!" The problem which had haunted Pierre all day since his descent from Mozhaisk now seemed perfectly clear to him and was completely resolved.He understood the full meaning and importance of this war and the present campaign.Everything he had seen that day, those serious expressions of profound meaning which he had seen in a hurry, was illuminated with a new light.He understood what physics calls latent heat, and the faces of the people he saw had this latent patriotic fever, which made him understand why those people went to work so calmly, as if they didn't care. die. "Taking no prisoners," continued Prince Andrei, "one single thing would change the look of war and make it a little less cruel. So what we practice now in war—such as magnanimity—is simply unbelievable." Nausea. This generosity and sympathy—similar to the generosity and sympathy of Miss Qianjin, who would faint at the sight of a slaughtered calf, she is so benevolent, she can’t see blood, but she eats veal with soy sauce with relish. We Talking about the laws of war, chivalry, duty of envoys, mercy for the unfortunate, etc., is all nonsense. I learned about chivalry and duty of envoys in 1805. They deceived us, and we They rob them. They rob houses, they issue counterfeit money, and most abominably, they slaughter my children and my father, all the while talking about the laws of war and leniency towards the enemy. They do not take prisoners, but kill and go to Death! Whoever has suffered the same pain as me..." Prince Andrew thought that the fall of Moscow was as indifferent to him as the fall of Smolensk, but suddenly his throat convulsed unexpectedly and he stopped talking.He walked up and down silently a few times, his eyes sparkling like a fever, and his lips quivered as he began to speak again: "If there is no leniency in the war, then we will only go to war when it is worth dying for, as it is now. Then Mikhail Ivan will not be offended by Paul Ivanovich Norwich was at war. Only a war like this one is a war. At that time, the army will not be as tense as it is now. At that time, these Westphalians led by Napoleon and the Hessians ① People would not follow him to Russia, and we would not go to Austria and Prussia to fight inexplicably. War is not a dinner party, but the ugliest thing in life. You should understand this and don't treat war as a Child's play. Take seriously this terrible inevitability. Herein lies this: Get rid of the lies, and war is war, not child's play. Otherwise, war becomes a favorite pastime for idlers and frivolous.... The military class is the most respected Yes. But what is war? How is it won? What is the atmosphere in the military world? The object of war is murder, the means of war are spies, mutiny, encouragement of mutiny, ravages of the population, robbing them for the supplies of the army, or Stealing them, cheating, and lying are called military stratagems. The custom of the military class is no liberty, that is, discipline, idleness, ignorance, cruelty, licentiousness, and drunkenness. Nevertheless, soldiers are everyone's Respect the highest class. All the emperors, except China, wear military uniforms, and whoever kills the most gets the highest reward... just like tomorrow, people get together and kill each other, tens of thousands of people are killed or killed Crippled, and then solemnly declare victory with thanksgiving prayers for killing many (even exaggerating the number of casualties). Thinking that the more you kill, the more credit you have, how God sees them from heaven and hears them!" Ender cried Duke Lie, in a high-pitched and thin voice. "Ah, my good friend, I have been very sad lately, and I find that I know too much. One cannot eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. . . . Oh, the days are short!" he added. "But it's time for you to rest, and it's time for me to go to sleep, so go back to Gorky," said Prince Andrew suddenly. -------- ①The Westphalians are residents of Westphalia in the western part of the Federal Republic of Germany. From 1807 to 1815, Napoleon established his kingdom here.The Black Foresters are residents of the former state of Hesse in the southwestern part of the Federal Republic of Germany. ② For the story, see the second chapter of "The Bible·Old Testament·Genesis". "Oh, no!" replied Pierre, looking at Prince Andrew with surprise and sympathy. "Come on, let's go, you must sleep well before the battle," repeated Prince Andrew.He walked quickly up to Pierre, embraced him, and kissed him. "Goodbye, you go," he called. "Will we meet again, no..." He hurriedly turned and walked back to the shed. It was getting dark, and Pierre could not tell whether the expression on Prince Andrew's face was fierce or tender. Pierre stood silently for a moment, considering whether he should go in with him or go back. "No, he doesn't want me to go in again!" Pierre decided naturally, "I know, this is the last time we will meet." He sighed deeply, and rode back to Gorky. Prince Andrew went back into the hut, lay down on the blanket, and could not sleep. He closes his eyes.One picture after another appeared in his mind.His thoughts stayed on a picture for a long time and happily.He recalled vividly one evening in Petersburg when Natasha had told him, with rapturous excitement, how she had lost her way in the great forest the previous summer when she had gone mushroom hunting.Intermittently she described to him the depths of the forest, her mood at the time, and a conversation she had with a beekeeper she met; I don't understand." Although Prince Andrey reassured her that he understood, and indeed understood everything she had to say.Natasha was dissatisfied with what she had said—she felt that the poetic passion she had felt that day had not been expressed. "That old man is so nice, and the forest is so dark...he is so kind... No, I can't tell." She blushed and said excitedly.Prince Andrei had looked into her eyes and smiled then, and was smiling with the same joy now. "I know her," thought Prince Andrei, "not only do I know her, but I love her inner strength of spirit, her sincerity, her sincere frankness, her soul that seems to be one with the body... It was her very soul that I loved so strongly, so happily..." He suddenly remembered how his love had ended. "He doesn't need any of these things. He doesn't see them at all, and he doesn't understand them. He only sees her as a pretty, delicate, gorgeous little girl, and he doesn't bother to share his fate with her. And I ?He's alive and happy until now." Prince Andrei jumped up, as if scalded, and walked up and down in front of the shed again.