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Faced with this panorama, the young prince quietly but ruthlessly consolidated power
面对这样的局势，年轻的王子不动声色又不留情面地巩固了自己的权力，
in the kind of bold strokes that would have left Niccolò Machiavelli feeling bashful.
举措之大胆，尼可罗·马基亚维利都会感到自愧不如。
At the time of King Salman's ascension, his son was so unknown outside the kingdom
萨勒曼国王刚登上王位时，这位王子在沙特之外的地方还籍籍无名，
that even his age was a subject of speculation (he was 29),
就连他的年龄人们都得靠猜测（那时他已经29岁了），
yet the new monarch bet everything on him.
但新国王还是把一切都押在了他的身上。
He made bin Salman Defense Minister, in charge of what was then the world's third largest military budget, after the U.S. and China,
本·萨勒曼不仅被新国王任命为王国的国防部长，负责当时仅次于美国和中国的世界第三大军事预算，
and the young prince promptly launched a war, pummeling Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
于是，年轻的王子随即发动战争，痛击了伊朗支持的也门叛军。
He was also named head of Aramco, the behemoth state oil company, chief of economic development and deputy crown prince.
他还被任命为了沙特国有超级石油公司“阿美”的负责人、沙特经济发展部部长和副王储。
The final title designated bin Salman as second in line for the crown, behind his 55-year-old cousin Mohammed bin Nayef,
最后一个头衔让本·萨勒曼成了王位的第二顺位继承人，仅次于他55岁的堂兄穆罕默德·本·纳耶夫，
who famously survived an attack by an al-Qaeda prisoner who detonated a suicide bomb hidden inside his own rectum.
后者曾因为在一次袭击中幸存了下来一举成名，当时，一名基地组织的囚犯引爆了藏在自己直肠里的自杀式炸弹对他发动了袭击。
But bin Nayef was no match for his cousin's ambition.
然而，本·纳耶夫远不如自己的堂兄那般心怀大志。
In June 2017, the king removed bin Nayef as crown prince and replaced him with bin Salman.
2017年6月，国王废除了本·纳耶夫的王储资格，扶正了本·萨勒曼。
Five months later, bin Salman rolled the dice again,
五个月后，本·萨勒曼再次孤注一掷，
imprisoning dozens of people including princes, aides and businessmen in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh.
将数十人软禁在了利雅得的丽思·卡尔顿酒店，这些人中有王子，有助手，还有商人。
They were accused with corruption, though there was no formal legal process and no transparency.
他们都被指控腐败，尽管当时并没有走正式的法律程序，也没有将信息公开。
And at least one aide, who died in custody, showed signs of physical abuse, the New York Times reported.
而且，至少有一名助手，已经在拘留期间离开了人世，有受过身体虐待的迹象，据《纽约时报》报道。
"He was far more powerful than people assumed and the opposition was far weaker,"
“他的权力比人们想象的要大得多，而他的反对派又比人们想象的弱得多，”
says Robert Malley, a former top White House official under Obama.
奥巴马政府前高级官员罗伯特·马利说。
Allegations of corruption have long been used as a political bludgeon in Saudi Arabia,
在沙特那样一个王室和从公众钱包偷钱的人往往是一个意思的国家，
where pilfering from the public till has often been synonymous with royalty.
一直以来，腐败指控都被用作了政治敲打的工具。
In 2001, Prince Bandar al-Sultan publicly estimated that
2001年，班达尔苏丹王子曾公开估计，
$50 billion had been transferred to royals' private accounts since the kingdom's founding.
自王国成立以来，前前后后大约有500亿美元转移到了皇室的私人账户。
Bin Salman's government claimed to recover twice that amount from its captives,
本·萨勒曼政府声称要从俘虏身上追回两倍于这一金额的赃款，
but he hasn't been shy about his own spending.
但他自己开支起来也没有不好意思。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
