The eighth and largest group, vast in size, outnumbering the others ninety-nine to one, consisted of people who didn’t want peace or war, offensive action or defensive camps at Drissa or anywhere else, or Barclay, or the Tsar or Pfuel or Bennigsen; all they wanted, the only thing that mattered to them, was making as much money as they could and enjoying themselves. The troubled waters of intrigue that swirled round the Tsar’s headquarters offered many possibilities for success that would have been inconceivable at any other time. One courtier in a lucrative post and not wanting to lose it would find himself in agreement with Pfuel today and his opponents tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow he would disclaim any views on the same question, in order to avoid responsibility and please the Emperor. Another, with an eye to the main chance, would seek the Tsar’s attention by bellowing out something his Majesty had hinted at the previous day, or taking people on at the council, arguing vociferously, beating his breast and challenging anyone who disagreed to a duel as a demonstration of his readiness for self-sacrifice in the common good. A third would simply take advantage of a gap between councils and the absence of enemies to apply for an extraordinary grant in respect of faithful service, knowing that time was on his side and he would not be refused. A fourth would ensure that the Tsar kept coming across him up to his eyes in work. A fifth would strive towards a long-desired goal – dinner at the Emperor’s table – by taking up some new cause and arguing it one way or the other with tremendous passion, marshalling all sorts of arguments with every shade of strength and fairness.
All the men in this party were out for roubles, honours and promotion, and to help them in the chase they simply followed royal favour like a weather-vane; if the vane swung one way all the drones of the Russian army swarmed off in that direction, which made it more difficult for the Tsar to swing back. In all the current uncertainty, with the threat of serious danger hanging over them and the resulting sense of dire alarm, in this maelstrom of intrigue, vanity, competition, conflicting emotions and opinions, involving people from so many different nationalities, this eighth and largest party, obsessed with self-interest, served only to compound the sense of disorder and confusion. Whatever question arose, this cloud of drones, still sounding off on the last topic, would swarm over to a new one, buzzing loud enough to drown and obscure what was being said by honest people.
At the time when Prince Andrey reached the army another group – a ninth party – had just emerged from all the others and was beginning to make its voice heard. It was the party of older, more reasonable men, experienced politicians, who were able to stand back from the many conflicts of opinion, take an objective view of all that was going on at headquarters and consider various ways of getting out of the mess of uncertainty, confusion and weakness.
The members of this party said what they thought: the trouble was caused mainly by the Tsar’s presence in the army along with his military court. This transferred into the army a loose system of short-term, fluctuating and insecure relationships that may be all right within the court itself, but was ruinous to an army; the Tsar’s job was to govern the country, not lead the troops; the only solution would be for the Tsar and his court to get out of the army; the presence of the Tsar immobilized fifty thousand troops earmarked for the guarantee of his personal security; and the worst possible commander-in-chief, given his freedom to act, would be better than the best commander-in-chief hamstrung by the presence and authority of the Tsar.
While Prince Andrey was staying at Drissa with time on his hands, Shishkov, secretary of state and chief representative of this last group, wrote a letter to the Tsar with Balashev and Arakcheyev as willing fellow-signatories. In it he took advantage of the Tsar’s permission for him to offer an opinion on the general course of events, used a clever pretext – the absolute necessity of his Majesty’s being in the capital to rouse public feeling for the war effort – and respectfully suggested that the Emperor should leave the army.
An appeal by the Emperor to his people and a call for them to defend their fatherland – the very appeal that would turn out to be the main reason for Russia’s eventual triumph, insofar as this was actually affected by the Tsar’s presence in Moscow – were proposed to his Majesty, and accepted by him, as a pretext for leaving the army.
CHAPTER 10
This letter had yet to be handed to the Tsar when Barclay informed Prince Andrey over lunch that his Majesty would be pleased to grant him a personal interview in order to ask him about Turkey, and Prince Andrey was to present himself at Bennigsen’s quarters at six o’clock that evening.
