I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 256 Prophetic Prophecies and the Century's Problems

In 1848, a revolutionary storm swept across Europe. The violent revolution developed at an astonishing pace, quickly engulfing Paris, Milan, Venice, Naples, Palermo, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Krakow, and Berlin. Radical working-class and middle-class liberals overthrew the old regime and set out to establish a new liberal order.

From a European perspective, this was the first political event of its scale since the French Revolution of 1789, and the largest revolutionary movement in Europe before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.

—The Year of the Revolution, 1848

Many great revolutions have occurred and will occur in modern world history, but few have spread as quickly, as violently, and as widely as the European Revolution of 1848.

From a later perspective, the European revolutions of 1848 were almost inevitable, but for those living in that era, only a handful of people could sense the impending avalanche before it actually happened.

Revolution is not uncommon for people living in this era. After all, with France, a revolutionary base, there is no telling when this country might cause a major upheaval in other European countries.

But Mikhail's revolution could actually sweep across all of Europe?

With so many countries and regions in Europe, how could he be so certain that such a horrific revolution would occur throughout the continent?

In short, Gogol and Zhukovsky, who had no particular understanding of this matter, stared at Mikhail in disbelief. Just when they thought the young man was a dangerous element and would say something even more shocking, Mikhail smiled slightly, offered no further explanation, and quickly steered the conversation in another direction.

Regarding the political leanings of Gogol and Zhukovsky, Gogol was essentially a devout religious old man, while Zhukovsky was broadly a conservative humanist.

They have their own personalities, their own lives, and their own views on how to treat and see the world; there's really no need to say more.

The reason for mentioning this briefly is that Alexander II, who had not yet ascended the throne, had no intention of taking action against serfdom at that time. Only later, with the changes in the situation and the influence of those around him, did he finally make up his mind to liberate the serfs.

Zhukovsky also made efforts in this regard. Later, after the European revolutions of 1848, Zhukovsky was greatly shocked in Baden, where a revolution had also broken out. At the same time, he wrote to Alexander II with great concern, suggesting that he emancipate the serfs in order to avoid the occurrence of a Russian revolution as much as possible.

Mikhail is also prepared to play a role in this regard, so it is indeed appropriate to lay the groundwork now. With such a prophecy, his words will likely carry more weight once it comes true.

Although Mikhail's topic had changed, his seemingly prophetic and profound demeanor remained in the minds of Gogol and Zhukovsky.

It took them quite a while to come to their senses, and when they listened to the young man speak again, they found that the topic had become quite light and literary, as if he hadn't said those dangerous words at all.

Seeing this, Gogol and Zhukovsky gradually relaxed, and soon, with them joining the conversation, the three of them began to talk more in a friendly atmosphere.

During the conversation, Mikhail also inquired about Zhukovsky's health, the progress of his translated poems, and his publication plans. Upon learning that Zhukovsky was somewhat troubled by the publication process, Mikhail immediately remarked:

"Please don't worry about that. Although I may not be able to return to Russia for a while, I will definitely make sure your translations are available to Russian readers."

After making a simple promise, Mikhail also inquired briefly about the writing status of Gogol, a senior figure in Russian literature:
"We wonder how far your work has progressed? We are all looking forward to the second part of your 'Dead Souls'."

Oh? You're looking forward to it too?
When this topic came up, although Gogol, whose creative abilities were already declining, inevitably felt anxious, he still tried to maintain a relatively calm demeanor when Mikhail inquired about it:
"Things are going fairly smoothly, but I'm currently working on another project, which is probably more important to me."

Mikhail: “.”

Brother Guo, please stop writing those "Excerpts from Letters to Friends" that have almost universally displeased you.
"I sense that you seem a bit anxious. You can take your time to finish your new work. Your previous works have already earned you a great reputation in Russia. You can definitely take your time."

The deep-seated spiritual crisis of Gogol is certainly not something that can be explained in a few words, but Mikhail did take the opportunity to praise and comfort Gogol.

Although Gogol was reluctant to reveal his decline and weakness in writing, he genuinely felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing Mikhail's words.
Later in the conversation, Zhukovsky asked Mikhail about his upcoming plans. Mikhail thought for a moment and replied, "I'll be mainly in London handling some matters, and will be traveling between London and Paris most of the time. If you happen to be in either of those places, please let me know."

"Do you perhaps intend to release more works in these two places?"

"Correct."

Mikhail nodded decisively and said, "I still have a lot of plans to complete, and I estimate that I will have to work in these two places for a long time."

"If you continue writing in these two places..."

Zhukovsky, half-seriously and half-jokingly, said with surprise, "You might be more famous in London and Paris than in Russia! Be careful that Russian readers don't forget you."

“I also sent a novel back,” Mikhail said with a smile and a wave of his hand. “It just won’t arrive for a while.”

Gogol, upon hearing Mikhail's words, was speechless.

So you're saying you're conducting operations in three countries simultaneously?

Do you perhaps spend all your time writing novels, except for eating?
The brief encounter of less than half a day had already brought Gogol many surprises, and considering all of this, it's no wonder that more and more people believe he is the future of Russian literature.
Mikhail was unaware of Gogol's complex thoughts; he only revealed his intention to leave in a couple of days before ending the pleasant conversation.

Since Mikhail had just mentioned that he had many things to take care of in England, Zhukovsky did not try to persuade him to stay. He simply told Mikhail that he could come here more often when he had time to enjoy the scenery and local features of Baden.

After saying this, Mikhail bid farewell to the two renowned Russian poets and writers. Although time and the itinerary were a bit tight, Mikhail still planned to soak in the hot springs in Baden before leaving, otherwise it would truly be a wasted trip.

After Mikhail left, Gogol and Zhukovsky, who remained behind, fell silent for a moment, their expressions thoughtful.

After a while, Zhukovsky couldn't help but praise:

"After actually meeting him, I discovered that he was even more outstanding than I had heard. It seems that a new era in Russian literature has indeed arrived."

Faced with such high praise, even though Gogol sighed inwardly, he still nodded in agreement.

After Gogol left, Zhukovsky, who had fallen back into silence and darkness, suddenly thought of the terrifying prophecy and horrific scenes that the gentle young man had described at the beginning.

Is he a moderate or a radical? It's so hard to tell.

After much hesitation, Zhukovsky finally picked up a pen and paper and began to describe, in embellished language, the young man's seemingly inexplicable prophecy.
Mikhail was unaware of all this; he simply soaked in the hot springs in Baden and then, as he said, began making preparations for his journey elsewhere.

And so, on a fine day, Mikhail formally bid farewell to Gogol and Zhukovsky. After a brief moment of reflection, Mikhail headed straight for his next destination, Göttingen. The reason Mikhail went to such lengths to travel to this place was simply because of one person: Johann Karl Friedrich Gauss.

Gauss's later years were very different from Newton's. Gauss refused high-ranking official positions and did not like official social engagements. In the last twenty-seven years of his life, he only left the observatory once to attend a scientific conference in Berlin. The rest of the time he still indulged in his own mathematical world.

It was precisely because of his indescribable genius and his focus that Gauss produced more than four hundred results, including those he chose not to publish due to rigor, and more than one hundred theorems are named after him.

During his leisure time, in addition to his interest in literature and newspapers such as The Times, Gauss had another favorite hobby: linguistics. To test his language proficiency, he began learning Russian at the age of 63 and mastered it in less than two years.

He could not only read Russian literature fluently, but also correspond with his colleagues in the scientific community in St. Petersburg in Russian. In 1842, when the first director of the Kazan University Observatory visited Gauss in Göttingen, he praised Gauss's fluent Russian.

Kazan University, located here, is the very school where the young Tolstoy was studying. It can only be said that this adds another strange connection. To link Gauss and Tolstoy, one person is all that's needed.

Given all these conditions, and the fact that answering letters from all over the world and meeting with young people who came to seek his advice were important parts of Gauss's later life, he enjoyed listening to young people talk and making friends with them. Therefore, after spending six days and nights to finally arrive in Göttingen, Mikhail was able to get the opportunity to visit Gauss without encountering too many setbacks.

After all, Gauss was indeed a homebody; he had no interest in traveling far from home for the last few decades of his life.

Incidentally, Gauss was a master of financial management and investment. Unlike Newton's risky behavior in stock trading, Gauss pursued a stable approach to financial management, namely purchasing annuity bonds issued by various German states, focusing on a steady and long-term approach.

At the same time, Gauss would personally calculate and compare the yields, discount rates, and risks of different bonds. He used his unparalleled mathematical abilities to ensure that every investment achieved the optimal financial return. He also kept a detailed ledger, recording every investment and its returns.

In this way, by the time Gauss died, the inheritance he left behind was almost equivalent to the income of a skilled craftsman for hundreds of years.

It can only be said that Gauss truly mastered mathematics.
Mikhail not only easily obtained the opportunity to visit Gauss, but when he respectfully visited this giant, one of the greatest in human history, this giant with a high, broad, full, and prominent forehead, sparse silver hair, but exceptionally sharp eyes, was quite surprised and took the initiative to ask in Russian:
"Are you Mr. Mikhail, the writer from Russia? I think I've seen you in The Times."

Mikhail: “?”

Even Gauss knows me?

Is Europe really that small, or has Mikhail truly become someone of importance?
Just as Mikhail was caught in a great deal of shock and surprise, Gauss, having confirmed Mikhail's identity, became even more interested and asked again, "Why did you come all this way to visit me? Are you perhaps also interested in mathematics or have some research on it? If so, what would you like to discuss with me?"

Mikhail: “.”

While I'd love to have a thorough and insightful mathematical exchange with you, my understanding of mathematics, beyond problem-solving, is really limited to the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
With a heavy heart, Mikhail first honestly explained his mathematical abilities, then took out a piece of paper and said, "I have a mathematician friend who has a question, or rather a conjecture, that he would like to show you."

It must be said that even the most brilliant mathematicians are not necessarily omnipotent, and even if they have a wide range of interests, they undoubtedly have their own main focus and areas of greatest interest.

If the questions raised are too far removed from their direction and field, they are unlikely to spend much time researching them.

While Mikhail wasn't entirely clear on the specifics of Gauss's case, one thing was relatively clear: Gauss was fascinated by prime numbers throughout his life and conducted very in-depth research on the distribution of prime numbers.

When Mikhail handed the manuscript to Gauss, he also revealed the name of the conjecture: "It's called the twin prime conjecture."

It's a bit difficult to explain in detail, but in layman's terms, this conjecture is on par with Goldbach's conjecture and the Riemann Hypothesis, and it has always been a landmark problem that cannot be bypassed in popular science books or textbooks on number theory.

At this point in time, it has not yet been formally proposed.

Gauss was immediately intrigued upon hearing the name, but he didn't rush into research. Instead, he chatted with Mikhail for a while with great interest. In the end, Gauss asked Mikhail for his mathematician friend's mailing address and then formally saw off the somewhat sweaty Mikhail.

When he finally had some free time, Gauss began to read this remarkably brief conjecture. At first, the elderly man seemed somewhat casual, but as he read, his gaze gradually became serious, and his expression grew more solemn. Then, he subconsciously reached for paper and pen.
For Mikhail, delivering such a century-old problem to Gauss was essentially the end of his mission. As for whether Gauss could handle it, Mikhail could only say that it was not his concern.
So over the next two days, Mikhail visited the elderly Gauss again and confirmed some information that needed to be verified. Then Mikhail prepared to leave this place that had left him sweating profusely.

To be honest, if taking photos weren't so troublesome these days and there weren't any in Göttingen, Mikhail would really like to take a picture with Professor Gauss.
But in any case, Mikhail felt that everything went quite smoothly and satisfactorily when he left Göttingen, so he went on to travel to more distant places.

(End of this chapter)