Early morning.

Saint petersburg.

Da Da Da –

The silence was pierced by the crisp sound of horses' hooves.

There was a chill in the air, like a blade gently cutting through the skin of a horse,

The horse shook its head and sneezed, and its mane shuddered.

Inside the carriage sat two old friends—

Maxim Gorky and Leo Tolstoy.

Both seemed tired,

Tolstoy, in particular, was old, his eyes were half-closed, and the long journey made him feel as if he had experienced an endless battle.

"Toon ......"

Gorky lowered his voice,

"Toon?"

Tolstoy slowly opened his eyes,

His face was covered with the marks of age, his cheekbones were more prominent, and his skin became saggy.

"What's wrong?"

Unexpectedly, he looked very tired, but his eyes were bright.

Gorky breathed a sigh of relief,

"Let's come all the way, it's tiring to travel, are you okay?"

Tolstoy waved his hand,

"What can I ask for? Yasnaya is very close to Moscow, and it is very convenient to take the train~"

Yasnaya Bolilna,

It's not really a standard place name.

In Russian, it means "empty glade", but it is famous for being the place where the writer Tolstoy was born and lived.

Tolstoy spreads his hands,

"On the contrary, it is you, who came from Siberia, and it is really tiring."

"Ah......h

Gorky was a little embarrassed.

Tolstoy laughed and patted each other on the shoulder, full of appreciation.

Gorky sighed,

"I should listen to Professor Lu's persuasion and keep a low profile."

At that time, after returning from France, he took part in a demonstration in St. Petersburg due to a hot head, and was arrested.

After he was released from prison, he secretly set up a printing office, but he didn't expect the matter to be revealed, and as a matter of course, he was arrested for the second time.

Russia does not have the saying "again and again, again and again".

The result of the second arrest was exile,

The distribution of Siberian potatoes is not negotiable.

Fortunately, the supervision of Siberia leaked like a chrysanthemum with hemorrhoids,

Strong-bodied prisoners can get out by urinating in the snow while the guards pee;

If you have money, it's simpler, just bribe.

In short, Gorky escaped.

Tolstoy gently lifted a gap in the curtains,

The cold wind poured in,

He couldn't help but shrink his neck,

"Alexey, can you feel a wave of anticipation brewing?"

Gorky: "Huh? ”

Some can't keep up with the old man's train of thought.

Tolstoy whispered, "As the sun rises, the cold will slowly subside and the warmth will return to the earth." Therefore, the cold can bring cold freshness, but also bring the expectation of warmth. ”

Gorky: "......"

complained in my heart,

Toon is inevitably too romantic, and he said that he wanted to defeat the Tsar, so simply.

At this moment, a few children suddenly ran outside.

Tolstoy hurriedly stopped the carriage,

"Wait! Stop the car! ”

The coachman pulled the reins and asked angrily, "What are you doing?" Such a cold day! ”

From afar, the smell of vodka wafted in, and even Gorky in the carriage could smell it.

Tolstoy did not answer the coachman,

He beckoned to the children,

"Come here."

The children looked at each other and communicated in low voices, as if assessing the risk.

The coachman was very annoyed, poured a sip of wine, and scolded with his big tongue: "Don't grind there, come here!" The old man in the car is a lot older, can he still be a secret police!? ”

Being so direct is exactly what the Russian ethnic group is all about.

But the coachman did have a point,

The children discussed for a while, but approached the carriage.

The coachman said to Tolstoy: "Move quickly! ”

He jumped out of the carriage, found a wall nearby, held a bottle in his mouth, and unbuckled his trousers to pee.

Gorky smiled,

"This coachman is very smart."

In fact, the people at the bottom in St. Petersburg and Moscow are very smart and know that "what should not be said is not said, and what should not be seen is not watched."

Tolstoy glanced at him,

"Haven't you been conceiving a play lately? The theme is the toiling masses, right? ”

Gorky nodded,

"That's why I said that."

The script he conceived is called "At the Bottom", which is a summary of 20 years of observing the lives of homeless people.

And he himself is also from the bottom and knows the wisdom of survival at the bottom.

Tolstoy nodded to the children,

"You sell newspapers, right?"

As soon as these words came out, the children immediately became nervous,

The oldest one asked, "How do you know?" ”

Tolstoy waved his hand,

"It doesn't matter how I know, it's all about what you're selling. Let me see. ”

As he spoke, he took out a few coins from his bosom,

"It's Swedish krona."

The children's eyes immediately widened.

In 1900, Russia's economic growth began to slow down or even stagnate because of its high foreign debts, and prices soared.

Later, during the Russo-Japanese War, inflation even caused the railway lines to be unable to function normally, and the economic disparity was evident.

One child said, "We have a newspaper!" There are a lot of them! ”

As he spoke, he looked left and right, then lifted his shirt from the hem to reveal a thick stack inside.

Tolstoy glanced at it,

"I don't want that."

He shook the coin in his hand and said, "Since I gave you foreign money, it should be a very reasonable request to buy foreign newspapers, right?" ”

Gorky chimed in on the side,

"Kids, take what you need to take, I know you have."

The head of the child replied: "Foreign newspapers are not cheap. ”

He pulled out a small messenger's bag from behind his butt and showed Tolstoy the crumpled newspaper inside.

Tolstoy nodded,

"Give it all to me."

He took the coins back and switched to paper money.

The leader muttered, "This is...... It's real money, right? ”

Tolstoy laughed, took back the banknotes, and turned all the coins out of his pockets and stuffed them into the other's hands.

Children don't know the Swedish krona, but the Arabic numerals on the coins do.

Besides, metal looks more reliable than those pieces of paper.

They didn't even want the messenger bag with the newspaper, threw it into the wagon, turned around and ran away.

"Tsk......"

Gorky staggered,

"It's like someone buying and selling contraband."

Tolstoy laughed,

"That's right. Now, certain newspapers are definitely contraband. ”

At this time, the coachman also returned, and did not talk nonsense, urging the horses to start again.

Tolstoy opened the first newspaper, and it was Le Figaro.

Gorky asked, "How?" ”

"Alas......"

Tolstoy sighed,

"What else? Of course, it's the headlines on the front page~ This time, the face of our Russians is lost to the whole of Europe. ”

Gorky was very curious,

The two were sitting opposite each other, and he quickly sat down next to Tolstoy.

They read the newspaper together.

The article is titled "Please Don't Trespass! 》，

The author is the winner of this year's Jules Verne Prize -

Marcel Proust.

——

The soil of literature should be free, open, equal and inclusive.

As a reader, you can applaud, applaud, disseminate, and carry forward your favorite works.

Of course, you can also choose to ignore the disgusting works and silently filter them out.

Eradicate dissent by personal likes and dislikes and power in your hands,

It's a sign of fear!

——

Nicholas II was almost named.

Gorky said: "This young man is unknown......"

Tolstoy spreads his hands,

"French~"

Gorky was stunned for a long time, and then laughed,

The French are really slippery, let a young man like Proust come out and blow the trumpet of attack,

However, on the front page of Le Figaro, the attitude is obvious.

Tolstoy continued to flip through another newspaper,

"It's German...... First of all, I can only read a rough German and am not proficient. On the whole, the German newspapers left little way out, and even invited Master Hesse out of the mountain. Hiss...... His words were much more intense than the lad whose surname was Proust. ”

Gorky snickered.

Thinking about it, this is also inevitable,

In continental Europe, it can also be called a feudal monarchy and an influential country:

Germany

Austria-Hungary,

Russia.

……

The most feared thing in these three countries is that there will be problems with domestic public opinion.

Who would have thought that Nicholas II's brain pumped and he took the initiative to jump out and claim "Animal Farm",

In addition, how can the two countries not desperately deduct pots on each other?

There is no harm without contrast,

In doing so, you can also appear to be more free~

Gorky said in a low voice: "I heard that there is a saying in China, which is called 'the mouth of the people is more important than the defense of Sichuan', is this what it says?" ”

Tolstoy was a little surprised,

"There are still Chinese in Siberia?"

Gorky stall hands,

"It's good to learn a little bit of everything."

Tolstoy: "......"

Don't know what to say anymore.

Gorky waved his hand and diverted the topic: "The most important thing is Britain." How has the UK reacted? ”

Among the newspapers that the children sold to the two,

The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Manchester Guardian, The Mirror,

The UK's mainstream newspapers are readily available.

They read in turn.

As a result, there are no special articles,

The ban on Nicholas II was reported in the newspapers only in a few corners, and even the criticism seemed perfunctory, as if it were routine.

The front page headline of the Mirror is even a new theme called "Game Guide",

Even more outrageous, the author turned out to be Edward VII.

In the article, His Majesty the King shares his experience playing a board game called The Lord of the Rings, focusing on how to build various classes, and uses Starter Dungeons as an example.

Gorky: "......"

Tolstoy: "......"

Both were confused.

Tolstoy whispered: "'Build', 'Novice Copy'...... Is it that we are detached from the world? There are so many words in it, why can't I understand it? ”

Gorky stall hands,

"I ...... too Hiss ......"

He slapped his forehead as if he thought of something.

Tolstoy was puzzled,

"What's wrong?"

Gorky said: "Compared to Proust and Hesse, what is the status of King Edward? ”

A word to wake up the dreamer!

Tolstoy suddenly realized,

The Mirror used a front-page headline to share His Majesty's experience of playing games,

Is there anything more literally free to create?

This is the real joy with the people!

Tolstoy smiled wryly,

"Professor Lu's idea is so ahead of its time!"

Gorky nodded slowly,

Lu Shi's thoughts are like imagination, and even the way of slapping his face is different.

And, this way is certainly the best,

Regardless of morality or law, there is always a deliberate reading of those two articles, which is far less effective than moisturizing things silently.

Tolstoy muttered: "This is the trick of public opinion, and the tsar should really study hard." ”

Gorky waved his hand again and again,

"He'd better stop learning. Otherwise, how can we overthrow ......"

Before the words fell, the voice of the coachman came from outside,

"It's here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he knocked on the plank of the carriage in a rage,

"Get out of the car!"

The Russians don't have much of a spirit of service.

Gorky jumped out of the carriage and helped Tolstoy down.

He said to the driver, "Can you help you remove your luggage?" ”

Tip while asking.

The coachman took a sip of wine, gave Gorky a blank look, and said, "Put your money in your pocket!" You've already paid for the fare. ”

After speaking, he unloaded his luggage and drove away with the carriage.

Gorky and Tolstoy turned back,

In front of me is an old building, the façade has been mottled, full of traces of time,

The door number was filthy, and the contents were long blurred.

Tolstoy asked, "Here?" ”

Gorky nodded,

Then, while chanting the number "three, five, one, two", he knocked on the door regularly.

After a while, the door was opened.

A shrewd and capable bald head stood at the doorway,

"Alexey, you're finally ...... Hey...... Why did you bring someone? ”

The bald head looked at Tolstoy, looking up and down with a scrutinizing gaze,

Suddenly, his eyes widened,

"You ......"

Tolstoy shook his head,

"Go in and say."

With that, he and Gorky dodged into the house.

The house is very clean,

The furnishings are also simple, and there is hardly anything superfluous to be seen.

The bald head stretched out his right hand to Tolstoy,

"I am Mikhail Grinkin, and I used to have a printing house in St. Petersburg. You're Toon, aren't you? It's impossible for someone in the publishing industry not to recognize you. ”

Tolstoy nodded.

As a result, he was just about to speak, but Gorky was the first to insert the topic,

He quipped Greenkin, "You also have a printing shop now." ”

Grinkin raised an eyebrow,

"I only have one press now, not a printing shop."

He beckoned,

"You come with me."

After saying that, he walked towards a closet in the house,

Squeak –

The cabinet door is opened.

Rows of clothes hung there, and behind it there was a tapestry that hung down to the ground.

"Come on."

Greenkin lifts the tapestry.

In an instant, a thick smell of ink came to the face, filling the noses of the three people.

Behind the closet is a small room,

The old printing press is being operated by two workers, running non-stop, making a low, regular noise.

Gorky asked: "How is "The Way of the Morning Message"? ”

Greenkin replied: "Supply outstrips demand." ”

He couldn't help but sigh,

"The efficiency of one machine was so low that I considered not printing 'The Village Teacher' and 'Chaowendao', but only 'Animal Farm' and then making it into a booklet. But...... Alas...... You know, those two are good, and I can't bear to give them up. ”

Gorky said "um",

"I understand your thoughts. Professor Luk's work is really ......"

Instead of giving an exact adjective, he pulled out a notebook from his bosom.

The cover of the notebook is badly worn, and it is believed that he suffered a lot in Siberia with the owner.

Greenkin asked, "That's why you're looking for me?" ”

He took the notebook.

Gorky prompted: "Flip from back to front, there is a long poem by Professor Lu...... I actually wrote the poem, but Professor Lu put the finishing touch. ”

Gringin flipped through it as requested by the other party,

"Is this "Haiyan"?"

Gorky nodded,

"Read it."

Greenkin then sank down and read carefully,

"On the vast sea, the wind gathers dark clouds......"

The poem is excellently written.

At the beginning, he tried his best to render the tense atmosphere of vicious waves soaring into the air, thunder and lightning, roaring winds, and magnificent waves.

Even Greenkin became nervous.

Poetry is undoubtedly successful in mobilizing the reader's emotions.

He read and read, and his voice grew louder: "—Tempest! The storm is coming! ”

Gorky stretched out his hand and helped the other party turn another page,

In an instant, Greenkin's eyes widened,

——

This is the brave petrel, in the roaring sea, in the midst of the lightning, flying proudly; Here is the prophet of victory shouting:

- Let the storm come harder!

——

These two sentences raise the height of the whole poem to another level.

Greenkin even roared: "—let the storm come harder!" ”

It's so strong!

It's blazing!

His hands were even trembling slightly,

"It's ...... This is written by a Chinese? ...... in Russian Can he create in Russian? ”

Tolstoy laughed: "You may not imagine that the first language of The Village Teacher is actually French. ”

"Hiss......"

Greenkin gasped,

It's really unimaginable.

He turned to Gorky,

"I can probably guess what you're trying to do when you come to me. But ......"

He pointed to the printing press running behind him,

"You have also seen that now it is only the three articles in the "Morning News Dao", which is already too busy, and one more prose poem is really ...... Alas...... I'm afraid of the machine smoking. ”

Gorky said: "Then according to your previous thoughts, delete "Country Teacher" and "Chaowen Dao". ”

Greenkin: "Huh? "With a bang,

"This ......"

He looked at Tolstoy.

After all, Toon is the translator of "Chaowen Dao", and it always feels strange to conspire loudly in front of the translator.

Unexpectedly, Tolstoy actually said: "I agree." ”

He sighed,

"Now the problem is not in publishing, but in fighting. Only by winning the battle can Lu's work be seen in the sun. ”

Greenkin scratched his head,

"But wouldn't that be a ...... Lu couldn't have agreed! ”

Although he didn't finish his words, Gorky and Tolstoy understood,

The other party thinks that this is a kind of entrainment of private goods.

"Chaowen Dao" is Lu's work, and putting a song "Haiyan" in it is not a joke?

No one with professional ethics can do such a thing!

Gorky smiled,

"Mikhail, I know what you're worried about. Have you forgotten what I just said? The finishing touch of the poem was drawn by Lu. ”

Greenkin shook his head,

"That's not appropriate, is it? After all, you are the main writer of "Haiyan", how can you force it on Lu's body? ”

This is another way of entrapment of bootlegging.

Gorky laughs,

"Who said I'm going to put it on Lu's body? Can't we be realistic? ”

He took out his pen and wrote two lines in the margins of his notebook:

Haiyan,

Authors: Gorky, Lu.

Gorky asked rhetorically: "This is always seeking truth from facts, right?" Moreover, Lu doesn't mind about that either. He and Mr. George Bernard Shaw and I talked about literature and history on the boat, and they were both very open-minded. ”

Greenkin was speechless.

After a few moments, he said, "Okay, let's do it." We're not the only ones doing it anyway. ”

Nicholas II had a brain twitch for a while, banned "Chaowen Dao", and instead handed knives to those "anti-thieves".

The "anti-thieves" printed "Animal Farm" with great fanfare and made it into a pamphlet.

But the point is not in the entrained private goods,

They may have made slight changes to the content, such as turning the main character Napoleon into Peter the Great;

Or, print various "isms" at the end.

Compared with this, Gorky's pragmatic behavior is nothing at all.

Greenkin watched "Haiyan" again,

Then, he showed a joke on his face and said, "Toon, Alexey, do you know what is the most absurd thing about this? ”

Tolstoy and Gorky shook their heads,

"Where?" ×2

The two were puzzled.

Greenkin said: "As a collection of science fiction short stories, "Chaowen Dao" does not have much soil for dissemination in Russia. As a result, because of the ban of Tsar Nicholas, it spread faster than any book. Even those who can't read have to be read for ......."

Tolstoy chuckled,

"Lu created absurdist theater in the United States, which is said to be growing in popularity. Perhaps, one day, this event will also be recorded in the form of an absurdist drama? ”

(End of chapter)