Prince KutĂșzovâs adjutant has brought me a letter in which he demands police officers to guide the army to the RyazĂĄn road. He writes that he is regretfully abandoning Moscow. Sire! KutĂșzovâs action decides the fate of the capital and of your empire! Russia will shudder to learn of the abandonment of the city in which her greatness is centered and in which lie the ashes of your ancestors! I shall follow the army. I have had everything removed, and it only remains for me to weep over the fate of my fatherland.
On receiving this dispatch the Emperor sent Prince VolkĂłnski to KutĂșzov with the following rescript: