(Chapter 1 Road! The content about Napoleon’s expedition to Russia is over today, and tomorrow will be new content)
From September 24th to 25th, Napoleon entered Moscow after spending the night in a marching tent in a camp outside Moscow. Meneval described Napoleon's entry into Moscow in this way: "There is no such thing as before after capturing a big city." All the streets are very quiet, only the sound of the wheels of the guns and the footsteps of the soldiers can be heard... We passed the streets with gorgeous buildings on both sides, but the doors and windows were closed." They passed "gorgeous Palaces, cathedrals, and fine public buildings...all of this is a portrayal of a prosperous city that thrives on commerce, and reflects the relaxed and luxurious life here.” Yet there seemed to be nothing alive here, not a soul to be seen—no children playing in the gardens, not even horses or carriages in the streets or courtyards. In fact, "Moscow seems to be falling into a deep sleep, like the enchanted cities described in "Arabian Nights". But the difference is that Moscow City is a dead city, and most of the 300,000 residents in the city had already evacuated before the French army entered.
It is indeed a startling and impressive scene; the gigantic city suddenly looms before us in a style more Asiatic than European. The city suddenly appeared on a bare, desolate plain, with 1,200 church steeples, ancient clocks, and twinkling stars in the blue sky, everything is so sacred and beautiful! We have paid a very heavy price for this conquest, but Napoleon still hopes that this conquest will not lead to riots. However, the king of Naples, who was the first to enter the city, reported to Napoleon that the city seemed uninhabitable and lifeless, with no army or representatives of the citizens, no nobles to welcome the army, not even a shadow of a priest. Can't see you.
Napoleon was utterly bewildered; a conquered city should not behave like this.
Walking at the forefront of the cavalry, Napoleon went straight to the majestic Kremlin wall in front of him.
Inside the city walls stand the Royal Palace, the Arsenal, the Senate, the Imperial Archives, the main public buildings, countless churches and monasteries full of history...including some recent trophies taken from Turkey and local decorations, not to mention the ornate It is an unrivaled imperial palace, and there are also mausoleums of successive tsars. The decoration of the tombs is also extremely luxurious, with various gold and silver ornaments. Although it is magnificent, it inevitably gives people a sense of barbarian vulgarity.
At noon on September 25, when the French army entered the Kremlin, Napoleon entered the private chambers of the Tsar and found that "everything was in order, and all the clocks were striking the time, just as their Russian rulers were still in the palace." ". It's just kind of grotesque and bizarre. Marshal Davout, the commander of the Guards, was in charge of maintaining order in the city, and the former governor of the city, Rostopkin, had just left an hour ago.
"Meneval, do you know why Russia failed?" Napoleon said in Alexander's bedroom, looking at the extravagant big bed.
"That's because he is your Majesty's enemy, so they are doomed to fail." Meneva replied.
Since the French army entered Moscow, strange things happened one after another. First, no one welcomed them into the city. Then, at around 8:00 pm, there were reports of a fire in the Chinese area, where there were many workshops and various precious goods and commodities. There are fur products, exquisite clothing and silk products from India and China, etc. However, all rescue and firefighting efforts were in vain, the fire spread rapidly and now endangered the entire city... The city has become like a huge melting pot.
Another fire broke out at 12:30 midnight, followed by several other fires in succession. The situation was very critical, so it was decided to wake up His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon who had been sleeping all night. It was discovered that all water pipes and other fire-extinguishing facilities in the city were destroyed by Rostopkin before he left the city. But Kolangu managed to find two usable water pipes in the Kremlin. At the same time, servants and soldiers carried buckets of water and sand to put out the fire; , but the windows of the palace have begun to shatter and fall off. "At first, Napoleon thought the fire was caused by the negligence of our unruly soldiers," Coulancourt continued, "and he couldn't believe that...the Russians would have the heart to set fire to their own to prevent us from taking the city." The capital." However, the arsonist caught by the French army soon confessed that Rostopkin ordered the burning of the city. "Then I checked the imperial stables, where there were some European horses and the tsar's carriage," Coulancourt reported. Fight the fire with all our strength. We breathe not air but fire, and our lungs are filled with smoke." With the help of the Imperial Guard, the bridge to the south of the Kremlin was finally saved. The place where the heat wave hit was too hot to stay for a minute longer, and the fur on the soldiers' fur caps was scorched due to overheating
At 4:30 pm on September 26, Napoleon finally ordered the evacuation of Moscow City. Their next destination was the Petrovskoye Palace, located only a few miles from Moscow on the road leading to St. Petersburg. The wind aids the fire, and the fire aids the wind. The west of the city has been completely burned. Napoleon escaped from Moscow with great difficulty, and finally reached a safe place in the suburbs at sunset.
In the Petrovskoye Palace, Napoleon seemed very quiet, lost in thought. He originally intended to stay in Moscow to negotiate peace with the Tsar, but now everything is clear: if the Russians were willing to negotiate with him, then they would not have set fire to the city of Moscow and would not have made such a huge sacrifice . Napoleon decided to shorten his stay here, and everything had to be organized in order to prepare for the final offensive. However, this decision was changed after Napoleon heard the latest news brought by Murat-the news said: After interrogating several Russian officials and prisoners, Murat can confirm that the Russian army has been severely damaged and its morale is very high. It was not long before the Tsar was forced to capitulate - news that Napoleon decided to extend his stay in Moscow.
So, on September 28, Napoleon returned to the Kremlin. In two days the entire city was devastated, even the houses that had been saved from the fire were looted, and the Sloboda Palace, the extravagant palace that Napoleon kept for himself outside the Kremlin, was looted. His residence --- was razed to the ground in the fire, and nearly the entire city of Moscow was burned, including nearly 800 churches. The French army had to point their bayonets at their partners who were too indulgent and took advantage of the fire, and executed some people on the spot.
Napoleon was quite sure that the Russians would surrender and sent a letter to St. Petersburg demanding peace talks. Napoleon repeatedly emphasized that the war he waged was purely political...not for personal ambition. And making peace as quickly as possible was his main purpose... So he had to go to war for the above reasons and hit Moscow, and all this (war) was not what he wanted.
But the Tsar was firmly opposed to peace talks, and Alexander was never seen so angry, so firmly rejected all treasonous talk of surrender. Napoleon and his plundering French invaders had to give up the idea of peace talks, determined to achieve their goals at all costs. "This war between me and Napoleon is a life-and-death war." The tsar did not count the French army's superiority over the Russian army, including about 240,000 people transferred from French military fortresses such as Königsberg and Gdansk. Nearly 60,000 recruits on their way to Eastern Europe announced brazenly like this. Although the French army has an advantage in numbers, it is thousands of miles away from the French mainland. The front line is too long, communication is inconvenient, and horses and food supply are difficult. Besides, the severe winter season is coming. Napoleon's powerful cavalry column headed by Murat has been dragged to pieces, the number has been greatly reduced, and there are not enough horses. Some cavalry and senior officials have to walk from Borodino to Moscow~www.mtlnovel .com~Although the tsar has only 300,000 troops in his hands, he has powerful cavalry who know the land and the climate like the back of their hands—the Russian cavalry has a high fighting spirit and vows to defend the motherland to the death. Therefore, Tsar Alexander was not at all willing to negotiate with France.
A few days after returning to the Kremlin, Napoleon announced his decision to spend the winter in Moscow. The army moved into the city food, furs, clothing, etc. needed for wintering; fortifications need to be strengthened, and conscription orders for recruits from France and Poland have been issued; in addition, connecting Paris, Erfurt, Gdansk, Warsaw and Access to Moscow and other places also needs to be strengthened. In spite of many warnings to Napoleon—who knew little about Russian winters, but was sure of them—he would give Alexander a little color and crush those vain prophecies; and, when Alexander saw How confidently he held Moscow, he might succumb, just as Napoleon had imagined at the beginning of the war.
But Napoleon soon discovered that he was wrong. Tsar Alexander rejected Napoleon's request for negotiation again and again, and after entering October, the weather in Russia suddenly changed, so Napoleon began to consider whether to withdraw. out of Moscow. But by this time it was too late, and the disaster had already begun.
(To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to .FU., more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)