I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 96 A Glimpse into Russian Officialdom and the General's Evaluation

At first glance, there seems to be nothing special about Nadya's letter, but upon closer inspection, something seems a little off.
As for the question she asked in her letter, it is possible for the descendants of high and low nobles to unite, but the obstacles they would face would undoubtedly be much greater. After all, even in later generations, the main goal is often a powerful alliance to reach a higher level.

There are definitely some reasonable points, but what will it ultimately become?
Only God knows.

There's nothing new under the sun. Sometimes it's like a game of passing the buck, a scam where everyone knows a bomb is bound to explode, but everyone's betting they won't be the one to get hit.

Unfortunately, Nicholas I and the tsars who followed him were among those who were bombed.

Incidentally, as a genius test-taker from a small town these days, Mikhail's future can actually be described as not bad.

In modern Russia, especially under Tsar Nicholas I, who nearly lost his life to the nobility, his restrictions on the nobility were quite harsh.

After all, from his own perspective, he certainly didn't want to share power with the nobles. Ideally, the entire country would be his good serfs, and everyone would work together for the empire to create a brighter future.

In reality, during Peter the Great's reign, Russia operated under a system where only the Tsar was a free man; even nobles were essentially serfs in another form. For instance, nobles under Peter the Great were not allowed to evade military service or misreport the number of serfs. Anyone who concealed the number of peasants was punished with confiscation of property and death.

Nobles were essentially bound to the state system for life, serving without question. For example, a 1720 law stipulated that nobles who deserted their posts would be punished with whipping, nose amputation, lifelong hard labor, stripped of their fiefs, and caning. Reporting deserters could yield their property.

The practice of accepting deserters was subject to collective punishment, which led some nobles to prefer becoming merchants, farmers, or having their descendants adopted by other social classes rather than serving in the military.

However, such a system undoubtedly places extremely high demands on the Tsar himself. Anyone with slightly less integrity could easily be strangled by this monstrous system. Indeed, after Peter the Great, there were a couple of unfortunate individuals who met such an end.

Under this system, the nobles naturally suffered greatly. However, with the ascension of Catherine II, the nobles became their benevolent rulers. While the nobles enjoyed their comfort, the lives of the lowest-ranking serfs became even more miserable.

Of course, Catherine II also took certain countermeasures, much like Qin Shi Huang, by heavily relying on foreign advisors and appointing people from other countries, such as Li Si, to high-ranking positions to suppress the power of the domestic aristocracy. During Catherine's reign, the proportion of foreign nationals in the Russian government even reached as high as 37% at one point.

Nicholas I also implemented similar measures, namely that nobles should not make up more than 30% of all civil officials.

On this basis, a genius test-taker like Mikhail, even if not of noble birth, would have the opportunity to obtain an official title after working for a few years. Even if the title was not high, it would still be an official position, and he would be able to get close to the nobility.

Of course, if Mikhail's family were of noble birth, then it is very likely that he would start as a tenth-rank civil official, or it is not impossible that he could start as a ninth-rank civil official through connections.

However, in the officialdom of Tsarist Russia, having connections made a huge difference. Getting a formal position was extremely difficult, even for geniuses and test-takers.

Even if he were promoted, normally, being a rank 14 civil official would likely be Mikhail's entire life, followed by days of meaningless work and enduring demands and insults from superiors and even higher-ranking figures.
In these hopeless days, they are gradually worn down until they become an insignificant cog in a massive machine, even to the point of mental confusion, self-deception, and becoming trapped in a shell.

Russian literature classics such as "The Stationmaster," "The Overcoat," "The Death of a Government Clerk," as well as Dostoevsky's "Poor Folk" and "Crime and Punishment," all feature characters suffering from this kind of pitiful and tragic spiritual distress.

So, are such characters outdated?
It can only be said that every era has its own unique civil servants and people trapped in their own world.

So, to be honest, even genius test-takers can only end up like this. No wonder Russian university students were so eager to start a revolution. How could they feel comfortable if they didn't?

Of course, if Mikhail were to follow Julien's old ways, curry favor with some noblewoman, and pull some strings, it wouldn't be impossible for him to start from a higher position. Alternatively, he could seduce the general's daughter and do many despicable things, which would also make it possible for him to climb to an even higher position.

Even if you manage to reach that level, your official rank will probably remain the same. After all, if you look a little further up, either this person followed Peter the Great into the Central Plains, or that person has noble blood, tracing back to the previous Rurik dynasty. You, a mere gigolo, can only live off others; do you really think you can compare with these powerful figures?
What a courage!
It seems that starting a revolution is really a good thing!
On this ordinary day, perhaps because he received a letter from Nadya, Mikhail briefly considered alternative paths for himself, and ultimately concluded that revolution was the best option.
Of course, there are other paths, but they are still related to what Mikhail is currently doing.

For a long time, the Russian nobility were a group of people who were spiritually French and spiritually German. Although this has eased somewhat, this trend certainly still exists. Under such circumstances, if Mikhail could gain some cultural prestige in the old revolutionary base of Paris and other parts of Europe, he might actually be able to make himself safer and more prestigious.

After pondering the possible developments for a moment and making a few decisions in his mind, Mikhail didn't think about anything else and continued reading the rest of Nadya's letter.

Of the remaining content, the most noteworthy is undoubtedly the general's evaluation of Mikhail's new work.

To be fair, although the general often makes surprising remarks, he can truly be considered a loyal reader of Mikhail. According to Nadya, the general not only loves Mikhail's poems, but also some of Mikhail's novels.

Even those articles that he didn't like, according to Nadya, the general mentioned quite a few times. To this, Mikhail could only say that the general might really be a bit hypocritical.

Incidentally, although the general was very disappointed after learning that Mikhail was a commoner, he did invite Mikhail to their family's dinner party. However, because Mikhail had other things to do at the time, he could only say that he would definitely do it next time.

If the general were to invite him again, Mikhail would indeed have no reason to refuse.

The general, of course, also read Mikhail's newly published novel and commented as follows:
"How dare a nobody like him oppose a powerful duke? He must be out of his mind. But this duke isn't exactly a respectable figure either. It's one thing that his family was once impoverished, but instead of seeking military merit to revive his family's fortunes, or relying on his own education, he chose to marry the daughter of a tax farmer to improve his family's situation! He's a disgrace to our nobility! No matter how high a position he rises in the future, I will despise him from the bottom of my heart!"

Turtle, the general is quite a character.
To be fair, in a sense, the general was quite upright, a very respectable old nobleman from St. Petersburg.
Oh right, the general's instructions aren't finished yet:
"Let Mikhail release the rest of the story quickly! But I'm different from others, I'm not in a hurry at all. That's how serialized novels are. Right now, there are a lot of people in St. Petersburg who are impatient and lack patience. People like them are unlikely to accomplish anything."

Moreover, serialization has an obvious advantage: writers can adjust their stories based on the feedback of their respectable readers to avoid falling into clichés.

Upon seeing this, Mikhail was initially surprised by the general's rather profound insight, but he quickly noticed something else:

"So in my opinion, the story should continue like this: After the lawsuit was started in St. Petersburg, things quickly escalated, even to the point that the Emperor took notice! At this moment, our wise and mighty Emperor could no longer stand this farce, so he immediately dispatched his trusted minister, a respectable general, to handle the lawsuit."

This respectable general, of course, would not betray the emperor's trust. He was wise and had a clever mind, and he quickly saw through the nature of the case. So he first reprimanded the disreputable duke, and then reprimanded the steward who dared to defy his superior.

After both men regretted their actions, they forgave each other under the general's judgment. The steward apologized to the duke, and the duke restored the steward's rightful honor. The esteemed general, of course, deservedly received the emperor's reward.

Mikhail: “???”

In your imagination, are emperors always wise and powerful? You're such a fool, General.
The general was a man of importance, but his opinions on the novel were utter nonsense.

After reading the letter, Mikhail laughed for a long time and quickly wrote back to the girl, chatting about the trivial matters of moving recently and answering some of Nadya's questions about the novel.

In fact, it is precisely in discussions of these somewhat serious issues that one is more likely to determine whether the other party's inclinations are roughly on the same path as one's own.

Especially in the coming era, whether or not people can share similar ideas has become an even more important issue.

Although Mikhail hadn't thought too much about it, it was actually quite good to talk about these issues; it would give his brain a little exercise.

It must also be said that since Mikhail became friends with Belinsky and others, it has been almost impossible for them not to discuss political topics.

Recently, Belinsky actually had a discussion with Mikhail about his novel "The Insulted and Hurt".

In essence, besides witnessing the humiliation of kind people, Belinsky also discovered another very important issue: the intermarriage between nobles and wealthy merchants.

In modern Russia, due to factors such as class barriers, hierarchical systems, and traditional ideas, such things are extremely rare, and even if they do happen, they are done in a very secretive manner. Therefore, for some conservative nobles, the phenomenon described by Mikhail is simply impossible.

However, Belinsky had indeed keenly perceived the changes in Russian society, and thus he discussed this issue with Mikhail for a long time.

The general idea is to first mention the power of the emerging social class, then discuss its impact on and destruction of the existing system, and finally conclude that a revolution is bound to happen in Russia.

Mikhail: “.”

I didn't say a single word!
“Mikhail, great writers and their works often perceive changes in our society earlier than the general public! You are such a writer! Let those who laugh at your unrealistic writing watch! When the prophecies in your novels come true, they will realize just how extraordinary and insightful you are!”

This is the prediction Belinsky made about Mikhail's novel.

While Mikhail was thinking about these things, he quickly finished writing his reply.

Now that he's at this point, he certainly has the money to buy some good paper. When Nadya learned that Mikhail's financial situation had improved a lot, she didn't attach a few sheets of white paper to the end of the letter. Instead, she put some flowers of an unknown variety in the envelope.

Although it was a little wilted by the time it reached Mikhail, Mikhail could still smell an unknown fragrance that smelled quite pleasant.
Incidentally, during the promotional phase of "The Modern Man" magazine, this young woman also seemed to have done a lot of promotion for Mikhail within her circle, and encouraged people she knew to buy the hardcover edition of "The Petersburg Anthology," which indirectly helped Mikhail and his colleagues' collections and magazines to gain wider sales.

Yes, Mikhail really went all out with the price of the deluxe edition of "The Petersburg Anthology," to the point that Nekrasov and Belinsky were stunned and kept asking Mikhail, "Is this feasible? Will anyone actually buy it?"

To be honest, Mikhail wasn't entirely confident either, but fortunately, sales were really good, and Mikhail and his team made another fortune from it.

Thinking about these things, Mikhail put the letter in the envelope, pondered for a while, then left home and headed towards a well-known flower shop in St. Petersburg.

Let's learn it.

(End of this chapter)