I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 257 You Will Kill God and Return
Therefore I must descend the mountain and delve into the world: as you do every night, I must go down to the other side of the sea and bring your light to that world below, you extremely abundant celestial body!
I must, like you, descend, just as I must go down to see what the world calls their decline.

—Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Mikhail didn't have much knowledge of mathematics stored in his memory, so he certainly couldn't delve too much into that area.

As for why a conjecture that later generations could not prove was given to Professor Gauss, it was more out of the hope that Gauss's brilliant mind could push the research in this area forward. If Gauss could really do it, it would undoubtedly be a blessing for all mankind.

Will this make the future a little better?

Of course, this was just Mikhail's idea. Whether Gauss was interested in this conjecture or would continue to study it was not a question that Mikhail could interfere with.

As for the question of ownership of this conjecture, Mikhail can only say that he is still using a pseudonym. If others insist on delving deeper, Mikhail can simply claim, like Ramanujan, that he received some kind of revelation, and so on.
In conclusion, although Mikhail's mathematical skills were not very good, he did make a contribution to the development of mathematics in a certain sense.

After visiting Gauss, Mikhail's brief trip to Germany was essentially over.

Although he received the bad news from the elder Zhukovsky, which had already been mentioned by Alexander II, judging from Zhukovsky's attitude towards Mikhail during this visit, the elder might still speak well of Mikhail in his reply to the royal family.
On his way back to Paris and even London, Mikhail, besides thinking about his upcoming work and arrangements, suddenly remembered that he seemed to be passing through a province with a very familiar name on his way back.

So Mikhail looked at the high-hanging sun, got into his carriage, and silently, the sun went around for three days and nights. After that, the young man named Mikhail arrived at the village of Lecken in the Saxony province of Germany.

Arriving in such a quiet and peaceful place, Mikhail, somewhat excited, asked the locals for directions and then headed straight for the local church.

Like many places in Europe, the village of Lecken is small, but it has a sizable church and a devout pastor. According to custom, the pastor and his family live in the parish's residence.

Without a doubt, Karl Ludwig Nietzsche, the pastor of Lecken, was a devout believer. He was tall and handsome, and it is said that he once presided over religious ceremonies for the Duke's palace. He had a dignified demeanor and conservative views.

His wife, Franziska, was equally devout, and although she lacked cultural education, she was both pragmatic and rational.

Just two years earlier, their son was born. Since his son shared the same birthday as Frederick William IV, the then King of Prussia, Karl named his son Frederick William Nietzsche.

Mikhail arrived just in time for the weekly Sunday service in Leken village. Unfortunately, he arrived a little late, and by the time he entered the church, the service was almost over, with only a few scattered people remaining.

Mikhail, smelling the cold stone and candles, immediately spotted the pastor in his black robe and white collar on the pulpit, while his dignified wife and young son sat on the bench in the front row.

Looking at the icons in the church, Mikhail calmed himself down a bit, and then walked straight to the front.

Perhaps because of his unusual appearance, the pastor, who knew almost all the believers in the village, looked at him with some surprise as soon as he sat down in the front row. Even his wife and young son turned to look at him.

"Sir, who are you?"

When the pastor came over to ask, Mikhail replied with a smile, "I've been traveling in the German region recently, and I happened to pass by here today, so I thought I'd come and take a look at the church here."

"You must be very devout, and you have not forgotten the existence of God even during your journey."

As the pastor nodded in approval, he couldn't help but ask, noticing Mikhail's peculiar accent and appearance, "Where are you from? What is your name?"

"I am from Russia, and my name is Mikhail Romanovich Raskolnikov. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You come from such a faraway place?"

Hearing this long string of strange names, the pastor had no other reaction other than being surprised that Mikhail came from such a faraway place.

After all, although Mikhail has gained some fame, he is still a very long way from achieving the goal of having his name known in such a small place.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, out of politeness, the devout pastor introduced Mikhail to his family members who were sitting to the side. When he introduced his young but quiet son, the pastor couldn't help but nod and say, "His name is Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche. As you can see, it is quite remarkable that a child his age can maintain such a rare quietness in church."

Perhaps he has already sensed God's presence, and when he grows up, he will surely be a devout believer just like you.

Mikhail: “?”

I won't go into my faith, but your child is truly a demon child. If I were to show you his future work, "The Antichrist," you might actually decide to betray him.
Of course, Nietzsche's opposition to Christ was clearly a deeper level of morality and culture, but even decades later, his remarks were still considered shocking.

Although Mikhail felt somewhat uncomfortable with the pastor's words, he nodded slightly. At the same time, looking at the young, quiet child, he said sincerely, "He will become a great man, and countless people will know his name in the future."

Although the pastor didn't take such flattery seriously, he was still pleased as a father, and even called his young child over to try to greet the man.

Because he was so small, he stumbled and staggered even on a short distance. Towards the end, the child's steps faltered, and it seemed he would fall to the ground at any moment. Just then, Mikhail, with lightning speed, reached out and caught the child. Looking into the eyes of this child who could barely speak, Mikhail not only immediately recalled the saying, "If there is a God, how can I bear not being that God? Therefore, there is no God!", but also, while holding the child, reiterated his point of view:

"He will become a great man, and countless people will know his name in the future."

On the other hand, if I were to whisper in his ear right now, "You will kill God," wouldn't this little kid be terrified and cry?
After a moment's thought, Mikhail, being in the church, naturally refrained from saying anything so presumptuous.

After a simple prayer in the church according to the ritual, Mikhail took one last look at the innocent child and reminded the pastor to take care of his health before formally bidding farewell to the pastor and his family.

Although Mikhail had left, perhaps because Russians were extremely rare in the area, the pastor and his wife still remembered the young man and his unusual name.

Years later, they might mention this to their sons, and by then, Mikhail's reputation might have grown to the point that they themselves had heard of him.
How would Nietzsche view this matter then?
All of this is still unknown.

Regardless of what happened afterward, after meeting the young Nietzsche, Mikhail immediately felt that his trip to Germany was temporarily complete.

Mikhail quickly got back into his carriage and returned to Paris via the fastest route.

A few days later, a somewhat travel-worn Mikhail appeared on the streets of Paris.

Since he did not inform anyone, Mikhail was able to stroll leisurely through the streets of Paris after arriving in the city.

Frankly speaking, as Mikhail expanded his operations, he found himself forced to get things moving even if he wanted to slack off.

Leaving aside Russia for the moment, in Paris alone, although Mikhail's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" will be serialized for quite some time, the owner of "Le Soir" has been urging Mikhail several times to get new manuscripts from him.

Meanwhile, the newspaper "The Century" received a great many letters from readers, and Mikhail really had to find time to read them carefully and then select some to reply to.

While Mikhail might at least glance at letters from readers in Paris, he wouldn't even dare to dream of receiving letters from readers as far away as Russia.
Because Mikhail had been abroad for quite some time, and he hadn't published many new works in Russia, his Russian readers inevitably grew increasingly resentful, and their letters to the magazine "The Contemporary" became more and more intense, starting with sincere words.

Although he didn't know how intense it would be, Mikhail thought it was better not to watch it for now.

It's worth mentioning that Nekrasov specifically mentioned a letter from a reader to Mikhail: "He seems to be living in Kazan. Although his main purpose in writing the letter seems a bit like trying to intimidate you, I must admit that he writes very well, and I think he might have some rare talent."

Mikhail: “?”

Kazan?
Could it be that.
Although he had a vague guess in his mind, regardless of whether the other person was actually the one Mikhail was thinking of, Mikhail still insisted that intimidating others was a very bad thing to do.
Aside from Russia, Mikhail's situation in Paris wasn't much better. Once news of his presence in Paris spread, it wouldn't be long before things escalated, first with his novels, and then with the Montmartre theater, which had soared to new heights thanks to Mikhail's "La Dame aux Camélias".

When Mikhail last encountered Étienne, the manager of the Montmartre theater, even though the streets were bustling with people, the moment Étienne saw Mikhail, he first rushed to him, then, without even trying to avoid him, his knees buckled and he grabbed Mikhail, saying:
"Mr. Mikhail! You should stay in Paris! Write some new plays and take better care of those ladies who want to see you! Because of your long absence, some of them have even turned their love into hatred, and our theater has suffered quite a bit."

Mikhail: “???”

If you have a problem, take it to the theater, but please don't come after me.
To be honest, Mikhail felt that producing another play wouldn't be a problem, but the censorship system was in place, and it would take too much time, so many things had to be put on hold for the time being.

Besides the theater, it seems that many salons or banquets also want to invite Mikhail, which is also a troublesome matter.

Mikhail felt a headache just thinking about these things.
While Mikhail was trying to sort out a few things to deal with first, he unknowingly ended up visiting his mother and sister in France.

When Mikhail hugged his mother and sister, who were quite excited to see him, he also noticed his mother's listlessness and slight melancholy.

After Mikhail asked, his mother, Prihria, couldn't help but chime in, "Dear Misha, when are we going back? Although we're living a better life in Paris than we've ever had before, as time goes on, we inevitably miss our old life."

How to explain this?

I can't exactly say that I might do something big, can I?
Fortunately, Prihria knew that Mikhail had a lot to do here. After briefly mentioning this matter, she quickly turned to another issue: "Misha, why do you hire so many young kids for your shops in Paris? They don't seem to be able to start working in your shops right away."

While Mikhail was still organizing his thoughts, his sister Dunya had already answered for him:
"Mom, this is more about training my brother to have trustworthy people, and starting at this age seems just right."

Mikhail: “?”

How many should we train? Eight hundred?
Although he did have such a plan, Mikhail hadn't really mentioned it to his sister, so he was quite surprised to hear her say such a thing.

While Mikhail spent two days in Paris handling some matters, London naturally underwent new changes as time went by.
(End of this chapter)