In Which We Discuss War and Peace, Part 9, Chapters 22 and 23

Chapter 22

It is now the 15th of July (two days later) and the palace is now full of people in various uniforms.  Some from Catherine the Great's time, which is two rulers back, some from the last ruler (Paul), and some in the current uniform.  They just want to look military-ish.  Pierre is also here, since this is the crowd he generally hangs out with.  There is much talk about what's going to happen, both in terms of war, and in the etiquette when the Emperor enters.  Count Ilya Rostov is there, in one of Catherine's uniforms, hanging out with his old buddies.  Overall, there is a great deal of armchair-generaling, some of it being done by literal generals in armchairs.    Pierre is so moved that he needs to express his opinion, mostly that they need clear info from the Tsar on exactly what troops they have and where they are before decisions can be made.  Ilya enjoys his remarks.  Many others do not.  An acquaintance of Pierre's, Count Adraksin, shouts that they have no right to question the emperor in that way.  Some argue that they should willingly give their lives for Russia, no questions asked.

Pierre is frustrated that he can't express everything he wants to, because everyone is speaking at once.

Chapter 23

Count Rostopchin arrives.  I cannot remember if he's been mentioned before.  He announces that the Tsar will arrive in a moment.  There's another page of bickering, and every agrees to provide 10 soldiers out of every 1000 serfs, before Alexander arrives.  I do not enjoy these war chapters.  Pierre can't hear the emperor properly, but gathers that he's talking about the threat against Russia and how important the Moscow nobility will be in defending against it.  The Tsar is then told about the 10/1000 and expresses his thanks.  Count Ilya can't hear a word either, but is moved to tears anyway.  The Tsar also begins crying - not in direct response - and so does basically everyone else.  Pierre is now ashamed that he questioned the emperor.  He offers 1000 men, plus their maintenance.  I am unclear what percentage of his serfs this is.  Count Ilya signs Petya up for the Hussars.  I hope the next book is less war-y.

I'm now at the end of part 9, and 56% of the way through the book.  I have 175 chapters to go, and if I read 1 chapter per day, I'll finish on the 7th of January, which is much better than I was doing when I made that spreadsheet.  I'm going on holiday on the 16th though, which may well slow me down.  At this point, I'll need to read 6 chapters per day to finish on my birthday.  Parts 10 and 11 are by far the longest in the book.  Part 10 is 39 chapters and makes up 11%, while part 11 is 34 chapters long, nad makes up 9% of the book.  The next six books are much shorter, ranging from 12-20 chapters long, and collectively making up 24% of the book.