I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 200 The Poet's Revolution and the Cutting Apart of Justice

As long as social oppression caused by laws and customs exists, as long as civilization at its peak artificially turns the world into hell and subjectes humanity's inherent good fortune to inevitable calamities; as long as the three problems of this century—poverty that degrades men, hunger that corrupts women, and darkness that weakens children—remain unresolved.
As long as social ills can still occur in certain regions, or in a broader sense, as long as ignorance and suffering exist in the world, works of the same nature as this book will not be useless.

January 1, 1862, at the Otwell Villa
—Preface to Les Misérables

Generally speaking, a poet will write a lot of bad poems and some good poems in his lifetime, and the poems he is willing to include in his collection are definitely the ones he is relatively satisfied with. Therefore, Mikhail considered many possibilities, but he never expected that Hugo would say "so-so".

It can only be said that Hugo has started to forget his roots again, just like he does in politics. But before, he forgot the path he came from, and now he's forgetting the path he's going to take.

Undeniably, Mikhail had a somewhat perverse penchant for in-person NTR (Netorare, a Japanese term for sexual intercourse), but unexpectedly, Professor Hugo not only rejected the NTR outright, but also offered considerable criticism and suggestions after saying "so-so":

"I think your reflections on some things in this poem are too one-sided, not profound or deep enough, and the poem's inherent rhythm fails to evoke thought about certain issues."

Mikhail looked at Hugo, who was making a solemn assessment: "."

What can I say?
Hugo, you're really stubborn!
In a strict sense, Hugo's true situation was indeed as Mikhail thought. As the hearts of the other young people present sank to the bottom, Hugo was also feeling somewhat bad.

After all, he realized that this was indeed a rather mature French poem. If the person who recited this poem were a young Frenchman who was just starting out in the literary world, he would have already praised him without reservation. But the person who recited this poem was a young Russian man who did not take French as his focus!

If this praise is too exaggerated, how are we French people and French poets supposed to explain ourselves?!
In short, due to certain feelings within himself and considering other matters, Hugo ultimately gave a general assessment. However, his conscience wouldn't allow him to say too much, so seeing that the other young French people present had perked up somewhat, Hugo added:
"However, overall this poem is quite good. If you can keep writing, you might actually become famous in the French literary world through poetry."

Upon hearing this turn of events, even though the other young French people present had just regained some confidence, they still felt a mix of emotions.

He could potentially achieve fame in the French literary world through poetry!

This is the personal endorsement of the great Mr. Victor Hugo!
Now, such an honor has been given to a Russian!

When they were feeling a mix of emotions, Mikhail was also slightly surprised when he heard this twist of fate. At this point, Mikhail's purpose for the trip had actually been achieved.

Strictly speaking, it was not easy to become famous in any country during this period, especially in the literary field. It often involved many complex factors, such as whether you had connections, whether your relationships were strong enough, whether someone would help you gain fame, and whether critics would enthusiastically recommend you.
In Russia, Mikhail certainly rose to prominence thanks to the influential and exceptionally selfless Belinsky. However, abroad, if one wants to achieve success more quickly and without too many external constraints, it's better to write novels geared towards the market and let more readers have their say.

As for fields like poetry, which can bring great prestige and profit, there are many twists and turns involved. One generally needs to have strength and other things, otherwise there wouldn't be so many writers in history who were not very famous during their lifetime but became famous after their death.

So he didn't expect to become famous overnight, but with the affirmation of a literary giant like Victor Hugo, Mikhail could already consider himself a poet in France!

These days, the title of "poet" isn't commonplace. Often, it's a hidden honor. Even if you're a penniless scoundrel, you might still be able to use this title to enter high society and meet nobles and ladies.

Is it possible for a Russian to become a poet in another country using a different language?!
This question raged in Turgenev's mind for a long time, so much so that in the end, Turgenev, who didn't want to think about anything anymore, could only look up at the sky and ponder how he would tell his Russian friends about it.

If this trend continues, when Mikhail returns to Russia, even the Tsar might personally receive him!
Of course, if Mikhail knew about Turgenev's idea, he could only say that it was terrible.
At this moment, seeing how much respect Hugo had shown him, Mikhail smiled and thanked Hugo, then sincerely said, "This is all thanks to your influence; I've read almost all of your poems."

Oh?
A young Russian man has read almost all of my poems; wouldn't he be very fond of my work?
And what does it mean that an unimaginable genius loves my poetry so much?!

Thinking of this, even though Mikhail didn't say anything explicitly praising him, Hugo, who had been in a bad mood lately, felt incredibly refreshed, like a cool summer breeze.

A smile quickly spread across his serious face, and he nodded, saying, "That's a good thing. Taking more look at it will surely benefit you."

After a while of mutual flattery, the atmosphere became much more harmonious. Even though some young people were still annoyed and jealous, the small gathering continued.

It is worth mentioning, however, that Artur, who was the first to attack Mikhail, was now silent and waiting for the party to end as if he were being tortured. Meanwhile, some people present had adjusted their mindset in time, or rather, they had simply changed their perspective on Mikhail.

After all, Mikhail's performance at this gathering was enough to completely overturn other people's stereotypes about him, and true geniuses never lack admirers. So after the gathering ended, one of the young men present respectfully approached Hugo and asked him something.

After thinking about it carefully for a while, Hugo seemed to finally nod in agreement.

Then the young man walked straight toward Mikhail. As soon as he reached Mikhail, the young man, whose eyes seemed to be filled with fanaticism, said enthusiastically, "Mr. Mikhail, I would like to write a few articles about what happened today for various magazines and newspapers. Mr. Hugo has agreed, and I would like to ask for your opinion."

Ok?
Oh right, Mr. Hugo might also be trying to erase something or cover it up with new news. Besides, in a situation like today, Mr. Hugo is practically a main character in his own right.

"Of course, no problem. In fact, I should thank you."

Looking at the young man who had previously seemed somewhat averse to him, Mikhail shook hands with him without any reservations, then smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I don't even know your name yet."

"Thank you for your generosity!"

The young man seemed to recall what had just happened during their first meeting, and deeply moved by Mikhail's friendliness, he replied, "My name is Guy de Polignac, and it is an honor to meet you in person today!" "If this were to be written as a press release, I might have to add something."

Mikhail pointed to Turgenev beside him and said, "I learned a lot about French poetry from my friend Turgenev, we discussed many things, and I borrowed many related books from him."

This was certainly not just polite talk; it was indeed true. After all, Turgenev was a true returnee from abroad, and he knew far more about France and Germany than most Russians. Mikhail had indeed learned a great deal about these matters from Turgenev.

"I see."

Slightly surprised, the young man quickly nodded in agreement, and at the same time couldn't help but say, "We've all heard a lot about your deeds from Mr. Turgenev, and I'm so sorry, Mr. Mikhail! At first, I thought it was all made up, but after meeting you today, I realize that Mr. Turgenev was being too conservative!"

Mikhail: “???”

Without a doubt, some of his claims are completely fabricated.
After speaking with the young man, Mikhail, who did not want to commit a crime, felt someone's gaze fixed on him and quickly grabbed Turgenev and ran away.

After the two emerged, Turgenev was moved that Mikhail hadn't forgotten him even at this moment, but on the other hand, reflecting on what the young man had just said, Turgenev couldn't help but murmur:

“Mikhail, perhaps that young man is right, and I was too conservative in my assessment! Alas! How could I make such a mistake? I need to rethink things, or others will think I, Turgenev, am a liar.”

Mikhail: “.”

Is not it?
Although he was somewhat speechless, Mikhail still advised Turgenev not to exaggerate too much, and to really not to talk about his love affairs anymore, since there was no more serious slander than this.
After visiting his teacher Hugo, Mikhail did not visit anyone else in the following days. Instead, he took his mother and sister to explore Paris and occasionally visited Belinsky, who was living a lonely and desolate life in Paris.

Strictly speaking, however, there wasn't much to see in Paris during this period; some places were even downright appalling. For example, Mikhail once decided to have a coffee at a café across the Seine, but after visiting, he could only say that anyone who could actually have a coffee on the Seine during this time was a genius.
Besides that, Mikhail's greatest pleasure is of course to visit the relatively authentic historical sites, such as the execution square where Louis XVI was once turned into a madman, and to take a peek at the Bastille and experience the revolutionary characteristics of the old revolutionary area.

However, at the same time, Mikhail also felt more deeply that a new revolution seemed to be not far away from this old revolutionary base area.
While Mikhail was experiencing life and pondering something, the young man Mikhail had met at Hugo's house over the past few days had undoubtedly finished writing the manuscript.

Mikhail didn't pay much attention to this kind of thing, but Ditak, the owner of the newspaper "The Century," was eager to see Mikhail create some more news.

To be honest, although he initially advised Mikhail to keep a low profile and be honest in Paris, a few days later, news about Dumas and Mikhail in a restaurant left Dietak dumbfounded.

Why does Mr. Dumas hold this young man in such high regard?!

Although it seemed unbelievable, the subsequent impact was very real. While it certainly attracted some insults and rebuttals, saying things like, "Who do you two think you are?! How dare you say that the French literary world only has the two of you?!", it also definitely aroused the curiosity of many people, leading them to read and comment on Mikhail's novel serialized in the newspaper.

Since the overall public opinion was favorable to Mikhail, this naturally boosted newspaper sales, a situation that Ditak was certainly happy to see.

It's just that Mr. Dumas said those words because he valued him; it would be difficult to say them to others!
Without the involvement of other important figures, what kind of trouble could a Russian possibly stir up? Did he really think getting headlines in Parisian newspapers was easy? Parisian newspapers receive news from all over the world every day!

However, we can't expect any major news, but it would be great if this young Russian could create some news that could attract some attention.
Of course, even without this incident, Dietac, as the magazine owner, would still read the newspaper every day to keep up with the latest news in Paris and the market trends.

But this morning, when Ditak picked up the latest newspaper, the first headline he saw was this:
"Were most of the Russians slaves? No! He said all of Paris was slavery!"

Ditak: "?"

what are you saying?!

Do you want to ruin your career and my magazine?!

Although he was completely bewildered, Ditak quickly spotted that familiar name in the article.

Before he could even glance at the contents, the headline of another newspaper on his desk caught his attention:

A Russian said: What's so difficult about French? Is it even that hard to learn?

Ditak: "??"

No, you're serious?!
Seeing these two headlines in succession, Ditak was already on the verge of a breakdown, seemingly about to carry out a righteous act of dismemberment. However, thanks to his years of composure, he still picked up another newspaper:
Was the French poet personally endorsed by Victor Hugo actually Russian?

Ditak: "???"

What are you mumbling about?

I don't quite understand.
(End of this chapter)