Book 13 Chapter 10

BUT, strange to say, all these arrangements, these efforts and plans, which were no whit inferior to those that had been made on similar occasions before, never touched the root of the matter; like the hands on the face of a clock, when detached from the mechanism, they turned aimlessly and arbitrarily, without catching the wheels.

The plan of campaign, that work of genius, of which Thiers says, that his genius never imagined anything more profound, more skilful, and more admirable, and entering into a polemical discussion with M. Fenn, proves that the composition of this work of genius is to be referred, not to the 4th, but to the 15th of October—that plan never was and never could be put into execution, because it had nothing in common with the actual facts of the position. The fortification of the Kremlin, for which it was necessary to pull down la Mosquée (as Napoleon called the church of Vassily the Blessed) turned out to be perfectly useless. The mining of the Kremlin was only of use for carrying out the desire the Emperor expressed on leaving Moscow, to blow up the Kremlin, like a child that beats the floor against which it has hurt itself. The pursuit of the Russian army, on which Napoleon laid so much stress, led to an unheard-of result. The French generals lost sight of the sixty thousand men of the Russian army, and it was only, in the words of Thiers, thanks to the skill, and apparently also the genius, of Murat that they succeeded at last in finding, like a lost pin, this army of sixty thousand men.

On the diplomatic side, all Napoleon's expositions of his magnanimity and justice, both to Tutolmin and to Yakovlev (the latter was principally interested in finding himself a great-coat and a conveyance for travelling) turned out to be fruitless. Alexander would not receive these envoys, and made no reply to the message they brought.

On the side of law, of order, after the execution of the supposed incendiaries, the other half of Moscow was burnt down.

The establishment of a municipal council did not check pillage, and was no benefit to any one but the few persons, who were members of it, and were able on the pretext of preserving order to plunder Moscow on their own account, or to save their own property from being plundered.

On the religious side, the difficulty had so easily been settled by Napoleon's visit to a mosque in Egypt, but here similar measures led to no results whatever. Two or three priests, picked up in Moscow, did attempt to carry out Napoleon's desire; but one of them was slapped in the face by a French soldier during the service, and in regard to the other, the following report was made by a French official: “The priest, whom I had discovered and invited to resume saying the Mass, cleaned and closed the church. In the night they came again to break in the doors, break the padlocks, tear the books, and commit other disorders.”

As for the encouragement of commerce, the proclamation to “industrious artisans and peasants,” met with no response at all. Industrious artisans there were none in Moscow, and the peasants set upon the messengers who ventured too far from the town with this proclamation and killed them.

The attempts to entertain the people and the troops with theatres were equally unsuccessful. The theatres set up in the Kremlin and Poznyakov's house were closed again immediately, because the actors and actresses were stripped of their belongings by the soldiers.

Even philanthropy did not bring the desired results. Moscow was full of paper money, genuine and counterfeit, and the notes had no value. The French, accumulating booty, cared for nothing but gold. The counterfeit notes, which Napoleon so generously bestowed on the unfortunate, were of no value, and even silver fell below its standard value in relation to gold.

But the most striking example of the ineffectiveness of all efforts made by the authorities was Napoleon's vain endeavour to check plunder, and to maintain discipline.

Here are reports sent in by the military authorities:

“Pillage continues in the city, in spite of the orders to stop it. Order is not yet restored, and there is not a single merchant carrying on trade in a lawful fashion. But the canteen-keepers permit themselves to sell the fruits of pillage.

“Part of my district continues to be a prey to the pillaging of the soldiers of the 3rd corps who, not satisfied with tearing from the poor wretches, who have taken refuge in the underground cellars, the little they have left, have even the ferocity to wound them with sword-cuts, as I have seen in several instances.

“Nothing new, but that the soldiers give themselves up to robbery and plunder. October 9th.

“Robbery and pillage continue. There is a band of robbers in our district, which would need strong guards to arrest it. October 11th.

“The Emperor is exceedingly displeased that, in spite of the strict orders to stop pillage, bands of marauders from the guards are continually returning to the Kremlin. In the Old Guards, the disorder and pillaging have been more violent than ever last night and to-day. The Emperor sees, with regret, that the picked soldiers, appointed to guard his person, who should set an example to the rest, are losing discipline to such a degree as to break into the cellars and stores prepared for the army. Others are so degraded that they refuse to obey sentinels and officers on guard, abuse them, and strike them.

“The chief marshal of the palace complains bitterly that, in spite of repeated prohibitions, the soldiers continue to commit nuisances in all the courtyards, and even before the Emperor's own windows.”

The army, like a herd of cattle run wild, and trampling underfoot the fodder that might have saved them from starvation, was falling to pieces, and getting nearer to its ruin with every day it remained in Moscow.

But it did not move.

It only started running when it was seized by panic fear at the capture of a transport on the Smolensk road and the battle of Tarutino. The news of the battle of Tarutino reached Napoleon unexpectedly in the middle of a review, and aroused in him—so Thiers tells us—a desire to punish the Russians, and he gave the order for departure that all the army was clamouring for.

In their flight from Moscow, the soldiers carried with them all the plunder they had collected. Napoleon, too, carried off his own private trésor. Seeing the great train of waggons, loaded with the booty of the army, Napoleon was alarmed (as Thiers tells us). But with his military experience, he did not order all unnecessary waggons of goods to be burnt, as he had done with a marshal's baggage on the way to Moscow. He gazed at those carts and carriages, filled with soldiers, and said that it was very well, that those conveyances would come in useful for provisions, the sick, and the wounded.

The plight of the army was like the plight of a wounded beast, that feels its death at hand, and knows not what it is doing. Studying the intricate man?uvres and schemes of Napoleon and his army from the time of entering Moscow up to the time of the destruction of that army is much like watching the death struggles and convulsions of a beast mortally wounded. Very often the wounded creature, hearing a stir, rushes to meet the hunter's shot, runs forward and back again, and itself hastens its end. Napoleon under the pressure of his army did likewise. Panic-stricken at the rumour of the battle of Tarutino, like a wild beast, the army made a rush towards the shot, reached the hunter, and ran back again; and at last, like every wild creature took the old familiar track, that was the worst and most disastrous way for it.

Napoleon is represented to us as the leader in all this movement, just as the figurehead in the prow of a ship to the savage seems the force that guides the ship on its course. Napoleon in his activity all this time was like a child, sitting in a carriage, pulling the straps within it, and fancying he is moving it along.

但奇怪的是，所有这些指示、关注和计划，比在类似情况下所发出的并不差，然而没有触及事情的本质，正如一座时钟的指针，脱离了机械，与齿轮没有啮合，任意地、盲目地转动着。

在军事方面，梯也尔在谈到战役的天才计划时说：quesongénien'avaitjamaisrienimaginédeplusprofond，deplushabileetdeplusadmirable①，梯也尔在和凡先生论战时，在这个问题上证明这个天才计划的制定是针对十月五日的，并不是针对十月四日的，这个计划从来没有也不可能执行，因为它没有任何一点与实际情况相接近。为了克里姆林宫的设防，应当把laMosquée②（拿破仑称之为圣瓦西里大教堂）夷为平地，而这连一点用处也没有。在克里姆林宫布雷，不过便于皇帝实现在离开克里姆林宫之后把它炸掉的愿望，正如同一个小孩子要打那块跌痛他的地板一样。追击俄国军队是拿破仑非常关心的事，但结果造成闻所未闻的怪现象，法国将军们不知道六万名俄国军队的去向，据梯也尔说，由于缪拉的精明，显然也由于他的天才，才终于像找到一根针一样找到了俄国军队。

①法语：他的天才从来没有发挥得如此深刻，如此巧妙，如此令人叹服。

②法语：清真寺。

在外交方面，拿破仑向图托尔明和向那个主要想弄到一件军大衣和一辆大车的雅可夫列夫所作的关于他的宽大和公正的论据，毫无用处，因为亚历山大不接见这两位使者，对他们的使命也没有作出反应。

在司法方面，在处决了一些所谓的纵火犯之后，莫斯科的另一半也被烧光了。

在行政方面，成立的自治市政局并未能阻止住抢劫，只有参加了自治市政局的人才得到了好处，他们在维持秩序的借口下，他们不是自己抢劫莫斯科，或者就是护住自己不受抢劫。

在宗教方面，在埃及拿破仑造访过一次清真寺，问题很轻易就解决了，但是在莫斯科，没有任何结果。在莫斯科找到两三个神甫，要他们执行拿破仑的旨意，但是其中一个在做礼拜时被一个法国兵打了嘴巴。关于另一个，法国军官是这样报告的：“Leprêtre，quej'avaisdécouvertetinvitéàrecommenceràdirelamesse，anettoyéetfermél'eglise，Cettenuitonestvenudenouveauenfoncerlesportes，casserlescadenas，déchirerleslivresetcommettred'autresd'

ésordres．”①

①法语：我找到一个神甫，请他来做弥撒，他把教堂打扫干净后，锁了起来，当天夜里又来把门和锁都砸坏了，把书也撕了，还干了其他一些坏事。

在商业方面，对勤劳的工人和农民的布告，没有得到任何反应。城内已经没有勤劳的工人了，而农民把携带告示出城走得太远的人员捉住，并把他们杀掉。

在建立供老百姓和军队娱乐的剧院方面，也同样地失败了，在克里姆林宫和波兹尼亚科夫家设立的剧院，立刻就关闭了，因为男女演员都遭到了抢劫。

就连慈善事业也没有收到预想的结果。真的和伪造的钞票充斥莫斯科城，已经都没有价值了。对于掠夺财富的法国人，只需要黄金。不仅拿破仑赐给灾民的假钞票不值钱就连白银的价值较之黄金也降低了。

当时最高指示的失效，最惊人的例子是拿破仑制止抢劫和恢复纪律的努力。

军队的长官们是这样报告的。

“虽然张贴了禁止抢劫的诏令，但城内抢劫现象仍在继续不断地发生。秩序仍然没有恢复，没有一个商人是以合法的方式来进行买卖活动的，只有随军小贩敢做生意，不过他们所卖的都是抢来的东西。”

“Lapartiedemonarrondissementcontinueàêtreenproieaupillagedessoldatsdu3corps，que，noncontentsd'arracherauxmalheureuxréfugiésdansdessouterrainslepeuquileurreste，ontmêmelaférocitédelesblesseràcoupsdesabre，commej'enaivuplusieursexemples．”①

①法语：我那一区继续遭第三兵团士兵抢劫，他们抢走藏在地下室的不幸的居民们仅有的一点东西后，仍不满足，还用佩刀残酷地砍伤他们，这都是我亲眼所见。

“Riendenouveauoutrequelessoldatssepermettentdevol－eretdepiller．Le9octobre．”①

“Levoletlepillagecontinuent．Ilyaunebandede

voleursdansnotredistrictqu'ilfaudrafairearrêterpardefortesgardes．Lelloctobre．”②

“皇帝极端不满，虽然严令不准进行抢劫，只见成群结队的近卫军在抢劫后返回克里姆林雪，在老近卫军的官兵中，昨天，昨夜和今天一直都是乱嗡嗡地纷纷外出进行抢劫和骚扰，比以往更加穷凶极恶。皇帝痛心地看到，这些经过精心挑选出来保护圣驾的士兵，应当作出服从纪律执行命令的榜样，然而，他们违抗命令竟达到如此程度，竟然抢劫贮藏军队供需品的地下室和仓库。还有一些士兵竟然荒唐到不但不听从哨兵和军官的劝阻，还要辱骂和殴打他们。

Legrandmaréchaldupalaisseplaintvivement．”总督写道，“quemalgrélesdèfensesréitérées，lessoldatscontinuentàfaireleursbesoinsdanstouteslescoursetmêmejusquesouslesfenêtresdel'empereur．”③

①法语：除士兵们明抢暗偷之外另外没有什么可以报道的。——十月九日。但是，这支军队停住不动。

②法语：强盗和抢劫行为仍然在继续肆虐，我区有一伙盗贼，对他们必须采取严厉措施。——十月十一日。

③法语：宫廷司礼长抱怨说，尽管一再发出禁令，士兵们仍然在院子里，甚至在皇帝的窗子下边解大小便。

这支军队就像无人放牧的牲口，践踏脚下习以使他们免于饿死的饲料，这支军队在他们驻扎在莫斯科期间无所事事，一天天地崩溃，灭亡。

当辎重队在斯摩棱斯克被劫和塔鲁丁诺发生战斗之后，这支军队便惊慌失措，开始逃跑，据梯也尔说，正在阅兵的拿破仑出乎意外地收到塔鲁丁诺发生了战斗的消息，正是这一消息在他心中引起要惩罚俄国人的打算，于是他发出了全军正在要求的出发令。

在逃出莫斯科时，这支军队人人都随身携带着抢掠来的东西。拿破仑也带走他个人的trésor。①拿破仑看见拖累军队的辎重队，大吃一惊（据梯边尔说）。不过由于他的战争经验，他并没有像快攻到莫斯科时处理一位陆军元帅的车辆那样，下令烧掉所有多余的车辆。他看了看士兵们乘坐的各种车辆，他说，这很好，因为这些车辆可以用来运粮草、病员和伤号。

①法语：财宝。

整个军队的状况是，这支军队犹如已经感觉到自己行将灭亡而又不知道该怎么办的一头受了伤的野兽。研究拿破仑和他的军队在自从进入莫斯科一直到这支军队毁灭这一期间的巧妙战术和目的，其实就是研究一头受了致命伤的野兽在行将死亡前急剧的跳动和抽搐的意义。一头受伤的野兽常常一听见一点沙沙声，就向猎人的枪口猛扑过去，前后乱冲乱撞，加快了自己的灭亡。拿破仑在全军的压力下，正是这样做的。塔鲁丁诺战役的沙沙声，惊动了这头野兽，它朝着猎人射击的方向冲去，一直往前跑，又掉转身向后跑，加速自己末日的来临，在全军的压力下，拿破仑也是这样做的。塔鲁丁诺战役的一阵沙沙声把这头野兽吓了一跳，它朝射击的方向扑将过去，跑到猎人面前，又掉转头来向后跑。最终，像任何一头野兽一样，沿着最为不利、最危险、然而却又是最熟悉的旧足迹往回逃跑。

我们曾经认为，拿破仑是整个这次运动中的领袖（正是同一个野蛮人认为雕在船头的神像是驾驶这条船的力量一样），而拿破仑在他活动的整个时期就像一个小孩，他抓住拴在车内的带子，自己以为是他自己在赶车。