第81章

第81章“iknow,”brokeinbilibin,“youarethinkingthatit’sveryeasytocapturemarshals,sittingonthesofabyone’sfireside.that’strue,butstillwhydidn’tyoucapturehim？andyouneedn’tfeelsurprisedifthemostaugustemperorandkingfrancis,likethewarminister,isnotveryjubilantoveryourvictory.why,eveni,apoorsecretaryoftherussianembassy,feelnonecessitytotestifymyrejoicingbygivingmyfranzathalerandsendinghimoutforaholidaytodisporthimselfwithhisliebchenontheprater…thoughit’struethereisnopraterhere…”helookedstraightatprinceandreyandsuddenlyletthecreasesdropoutofhispuckeredforehead.

“nowit’smyturntoaskyou‘why,’mydearboy,”saidbolkonsky.“imustownthatidon’tunderstandit;perhapstherearediplomaticsubtletiesinitthatarebeyondmyfeebleintellect;butican’tmakeitout.macklosesawholearmy,archdukeferdinandandarchdukekarlgivenosignoflifeandmakeoneblunderafteranother;kutuzovalonegainsatlastadecisivevictory,breakstheprestigeofinvincibilityofthefrench,andtheministerofwardoesnotevencaretolearnthedetails！”

“forthatveryreason,mydearboy,don’tyousee！hurrahforthetsar,forrussia,forthefaith！that’sallverynice;butwhathavewe,imeantheaustriancourt,todowithyourvictories？youbringusgoodnewsofavictoryofarchdukekarlorferdinand—onearchduke’sasgoodastheother,asyouknow—ifit’sonlyavictoryoverafirebrigadeofbonaparte,anditwillbeanothermatter,itwillsetthecannonsbooming.butthiscanonlytantaliseus,asifitweredoneonpurpose.archdukekarldoesnothing,archdukeferdinandcovershimselfwithdisgrace,youabandonvienna,giveupitsdefence,asthoughyouwouldsaytous,godiswithus,andthedeviltakeyouandyourcapital.onegeneral,whomweallloved,schmidt,youputinthewayofabullet,andthencongratulateusonyourvictory！…youmustadmitthatanythingmoreexasperatingthanthenewsyouhavebroughtcouldnotbeconceived.it’sasthoughitweredoneonpurpose,doneonpurpose.butapartfromthat,ifyouweretogainareallybrilliantvictory,ifarchdukekarlevenweretowinavictory,whateffectcouldithaveonthegeneralcourseofevents？it’stoolatenow,whenviennaisoccupiedbythefrenchforces.”

“occupied？viennaoccupied？”

“notonlyisviennaoccupied,butbonaparteisatsch？nbrunn,andthecount—ourdearcounturbna—issettingofftoreceivehisorders.”

afterthefatiguesandimpressionsofhisjourneyandhisreception,andevenmoreafterthedinnerhehadjusteaten,bolkonskyfeltthathecouldnottakeinallthesignificanceofthewordshehadjustheard.

“countlichtenfelswasherethismorning,”pursuedbilibin,“andheshowedmealettercontainingafulldescriptionoftheparadeofthefrenchatvienna.princemuratandalltherestofit…youseethatyourvictoryisnotagreatmatterforrejoicing,andthatyoucan’tbereceivedasourdeliverer…”

“really,idon’tcareaboutthat,idon’tcareintheslightest！”saidprinceandrey,beginningtounderstandthathisnewsofthebattlebeforekremswasreallyoflittleimportanceinviewofsuchaneventasthetakingofthecapitalofaustria.“howwasviennataken？anditsbridgeanditsfamousfortifications,andprinceauersperg？weheardrumoursthatprinceauerspergwasdefendingvienna,”saidhe.