I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 201 Respected Mr. Gauss, I'd like to pose a math problem to test you.
There are undoubtedly many ways to view Paris in 1845, but from a historical perspective, both now and for the next century or so, Paris has been a moveable feast for the entire European world.

If we start by talking about this period, then France today is undoubtedly a melting pot: royalists, democrats, liberals, politicians, scientists, people so poor they have holes in their pants yet still want to pursue literature and art, and speculators hoping to become Rothschilds and make a fortune. There are far too many future influential figures among them, and far too many upheavals.

Charles-Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the protagonists of this future story, is currently imprisoned in the fortress of Ham in the Somme province, where he is living a relatively comfortable life as a prisoner.

During his imprisonment, he also wrote "On the Abolition of Poverty," in which he claimed to be the emperor of progressivism and to implement moderate economic policies. He also defined his ideology as Bonapartism and portrayed himself as the defender of the interests of the working people.

To be honest, it does resemble the story of Mustache writing "Mein Kampf" in prison.
In addition, Paris certainly has many complicated subplots, which can be traced back to Napoleon. It can be said that since Napoleon's birth, he has been quickly mythologized by the whole European world, on the one hand as a tyrant and aggressor, and on the other hand as a symbol of freedom and revolution.

This influence was so immense that revolutionaries and exiles from all over Europe flocked to Paris seeking opportunities and companions—Polish revolutionaries, Italian revolutionaries, Romanian revolutionaries, German revolutionaries—it seemed that revolutionaries from all over the world would come to Paris!
Meanwhile, a diverse array of thinkers and pragmatists also gathered in Paris, their ideas and inclinations equally varied. Some sought the liberation of all humanity, others the restoration of nations, some the liberation of the poor, some aspired to an elite path, hoping for top-down social transformation, some initiated communes, and others championed monarchy, hoping one day to welcome a royal army and ascend to the pinnacle of power.
But whoever they were, as long as they were in Paris, they would definitely read the newspapers. In an era that was becoming increasingly complex, newspapers were undoubtedly the most convenient way to obtain all kinds of information, such as official policies, international news, celebrity gossip, fashion trends, theatrical performances, stock quotes, and market prices.
Basically, it has everything.

Even in a city where all sorts of events happen every day, news about Mikhail is certainly noteworthy.

After all, even a seasoned journalist like Dieter had that kind of reaction, let alone others. So when those news stories were published one after another in the newspapers, even Parisians who were used to seeing big news in the newspapers couldn't help but gape.

"All of France was enslaved? Did this Russian get drunk in his own country and then come out here? How dare he say such a thing!"

"Does he think other places are the same as his country?!"

"You should read this article before you speak. He only retaliated after being provoked, and what he said actually makes a lot of sense to me. Look at Parisians these days, how many aren't busy making money? But what exactly is money? I'm almost dying because of it! My life still hasn't improved. What's the difference between me and a slave?"

"Merde! Not everyone is like that, but how dare that Frenchman in the article say that all of Paris is like that? I know who he is, I'm going to beat him up!"

"Mr. Hugo's assessment is indeed fair; we shouldn't make fun of those who are in dire straits."

The discussion about Mikhail's remarks on slavery clearly went beyond that. Some people were quite vehement, wanting to get rid of this Russian just from seeing the title, while others genuinely wanted to have a serious discussion.

There is also considerable discussion about how many languages ​​Mikhail actually speaks:
"Does this news article mean that a 21-year-old Russian might be fluent in more than a dozen languages? And one of them is supposedly an extremely difficult Eastern language to learn? Have some Russian saint crawled out of his grave?"

"Is he a linguist? Did he receive a good education from a young age?"

"I think I saw some news about him before. He was said to come from a working-class Russian family, had only recently graduated, and was a writer."

"That's even more impossible! He's even more of a braggart than that Mr. Dumas! We should really find some of our French language professors to test him and expose his lies!"

"I had that idea, but where can I find him? Oh right, the owner of the Century newspaper must know!"

Perhaps because these news stories are indeed quite influential, and given that Mikhail has gained some fame in Parisian literary circles and has indeed become a thorn in the side of the literary scene, some people seem to be genuinely planning to find a few people to verify whether the news is true or false.

As for the news that Hugo admitted Mikhail's French poetry was not bad and that he might make a name for himself in the French poetry scene in the future, it was actually the most sensational news among all of them.

This incident not only surprised many in the literary world, who speculated whether the young man had some illicit relationship with Hugo, but it also caused a huge reaction among the general public.

For most people, while they may not know what it means to write good poetry in a non-native language, they are well aware of the benefits of the title of poet, so why would such a title be given to a Russian?

"What an incredible thing! Russians can be poets in France now! If that's the case, then I can be one too!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Didn't you see his poem has already been published in the newspaper? You couldn't write it even if you had ten heads!"

"It is indeed well written. To be honest, why do people always think of him as Russian? This gentleman can write poetry and novels in French, and you can see from the content of his novels that he is very familiar with French culture and humor. Given all that, why do you still think he must be Russian?"

Similar conversations have been taking place quite frequently throughout Paris these days, and the impact of this news has been twofold: firstly, it has brought Mikhail further into the French literary scene, and secondly, it has brought much attention to Mikhail's ongoing serialized novel.

So much so that Ditak, the owner of the newspaper "The Century," who originally wanted to justly separate Mikhail, immediately had someone write some articles to publish in "The Century," intending to maintain public attention to their newspaper through mutual insults.

To be honest, having Mikhail personally participate would have garnered the most attention, but the young Russian didn't seem particularly interested. And rightly so! He's probably plotting something big again! He doesn't have time to concern himself with such trivial matters.
I wonder what big news he'll create next.
Aside from these mainstream discussions, in some more discreet places, there is another layer of discussion: "Pokrovsky, your compatriot seems to be appearing in the newspapers quite often these days. Is he a revolutionary in Russia? I'm reading his 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,' and the character of Captain Nemo is very interesting. Look at what he says: 'In the sea, I do not acknowledge any master; in the sea, I am completely free.' You can already sense his inclination from this character."

So, do you know him? Would you like to bring him into our circle? From the newspapers, he seems like a truly remarkable person. Forgive my bluntness, but it's unbelievable that Russia can produce a writer who can achieve fame in Paris.”

“Never heard of it! I’ve been away from Russia for years! No, let me think, I think I heard it from Bakunin last year when his friend Panayev came here for a trip and mentioned that a young man had come to the Russian literary scene and was changing the literary landscape with his pen. Is it the same person? I’m not sure.”

"So what about Bakunin? I haven't seen him for a while."

"He is certainly making connections with some new democrats, though I don't know exactly where. If he were in Paris, he would certainly be happy to meet with this young man, and coincidentally, we do need some news from Russia."

"Why are there so many Russian news stories in the newspapers lately? And not even negative ones? What's going on? Is Paris, like Poland, now completely controlled by Russia? Have they sent people to Paris to do ideological work?"

"Alright, Novak, you can watch more news to learn more. This young man seems quite different from the Russians you're used to."

"I don't care about that. He better not make any disgusting remarks praising the Tsar in Paris, or I'll find him and shoot him!"

"It's possible he'll come with us."

While this discussion was taking place, Mikhail was actually getting dressed and heading out. After a final check of his attire, Mikhail quickly took his cane, engraved with "I will destroy all obstacles!", and walked out onto the streets of Paris.

In a fairly good mood, Mikhail looked at Paris, which was gradually becoming more lively, and thought to himself, "What a beautiful day."

Just as he finished his reflection, for some reason, Mikhail suddenly sneezed several times in a row, as if something was about to happen.
Ok?
strangeness.
As Mikhail walked forward, feeling somewhat bewildered, he briefly reviewed the events of the past few days in his mind.

The most important thing is definitely the news releases. Even if Mikhail doesn't pay special attention, if he's willing to walk around the streets for a while, he'll inevitably hear similar discussions.
Among the news articles in these newspapers, what really concerned Mikhail was a comment by a gentleman named Heinrich Heine. For some reason, this gentleman paid attention to Mikhail's affairs and made a comment.

If this gentleman is indeed the one Mikhail remembers, then this is certainly not a good thing, even though the other party's comments seem to be praising him.

If you were to ask why, you could only say that Professor Heine was actually interested in making money, and sometimes his methods were rather crude. For example, around 1830, Heine wrote an article praising Liszt, "Paganini and Liszt," and after writing the review, he sent the other party a bill priced at 1000 francs.

It's worth mentioning that it's quite common for critics to make money through similar means these days, simply because some of them do have a certain amount of influence, and writers often have to curry favor with them for certain things.

But Heine's actions can only be described as perfectly aboveboard.
Unfortunately, Liszt was quite principled and refused to pay Heine a single penny, after which Heine began to criticize the musician.

So to be honest, Mikhail is actually a little worried about whether he will receive a bill from Professor Heine.
Fortunately, he hadn't been in Paris for long and hadn't revealed his address to anyone yet; otherwise, things might have been quite troublesome.

As for more details about Professor Heine and his personality, let's leave that for later.

Speaking of Professor Heine, I'd also like to mention the German Confederation today. While the literature of the German Confederation during this period was somewhat lackluster, there were still some well-known masters in other fields.

In 1845, the "Prince of Mathematics," Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss, was serving as the director of the observatory and a university professor in Göttingen, Germany. The following year, a young man named Bernhard Riemann would become Gauss's student and would become Gauss's most valued and outstanding student.

Honestly, if given the chance, Mikhail really wanted to ask Professor Gauss how to construct a regular heptadecagon using a compass and straightedge. And then, Mikhail also really wanted to present Professor Gauss with a math problem and say with a smile:

"Dear Mr. Gauss, although I know nothing about mathematics, I still want to come up with a math problem to test you."

Gauss: "?"

Young man, are you serious?

Of course, the main purpose is to admire the great master; I won't offer any further thoughts, since Mikhail really knows nothing about mathematics.

Mikhail walked along the road lost in thought for a while, and when he came to his senses, he was about to reach his destination. This time, he was most likely going to meet a Polish exile.
(End of this chapter)