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Faced with this panorama, the young prince quietly but ruthlessly consolidated power
面對這樣的局勢，年輕的王子不動聲色又不留情面地鞏固了自己的權力，
in the kind of bold strokes that would have left Niccolò Machiavelli feeling bashful.
舉措之大膽，尼可羅·馬基亞維利都會感到自愧不如。
At the time of King Salman's ascension, his son was so unknown outside the kingdom
薩勒曼國王剛登上王位時，這位王子在沙特之外的地方還籍籍無名，
that even his age was a subject of speculation (he was 29),
就連他的年齡人們都得靠猜測（那時他已經29歲了），
yet the new monarch bet everything on him.
但新國王還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·薩勒曼不僅被新國王任命為王國的國防部長，負責當時僅次于美國和中國的世界第三大軍事預算，
and the young prince promptly launched a war, pummeling Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
于是，年輕的王子隨即發動戰爭，痛擊了伊朗支持的也門叛軍。
He was also named head of Aramco, the behemoth state oil company, chief of economic development and deputy crown prince.
他還被任命為了沙特國有超級石油公司“阿美”的負責人、沙特經濟發展部部長和副王儲。
The final title designated bin Salman as second in line for the crown, behind his 55-year-old cousin Mohammed bin Nayef,
最后一個頭銜讓本·薩勒曼成了王位的第二順位繼承人，僅次于他55歲的堂兄穆罕默德·本·納耶夫，
who famously survived an attack by an al-Qaeda prisoner who detonated a suicide bomb hidden inside his own rectum.
后者曾因為在一次襲擊中幸存了下來一舉成名，當時，一名基地組織的囚犯引爆了藏在自己直腸里的自殺式炸彈對他發動了襲擊。
But bin Nayef was no match for his cousin's ambition.
然而，本·納耶夫遠不如自己的堂兄那般心懷大志。
In June 2017, the king removed bin Nayef as crown prince and replaced him with bin Salman.
2017年6月，國王廢除了本·納耶夫的王儲資格，扶正了本·薩勒曼。
Five months later, bin Salman rolled the dice again,
五個月后，本·薩勒曼再次孤注一擲，
imprisoning dozens of people including princes, aides and businessmen in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh.
將數十人軟禁在了利雅得的麗思·卡爾頓酒店，這些人中有王子，有助手，還有商人。
They were accused with corruption, though there was no formal legal process and no transparency.
他們都被指控腐敗，盡管當時并沒有走正式的法律程序，也沒有將信息公開。
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，已經在拘留期間離開了人世，有受過身體虐待的跡象，據《紐約時報》報道。
"He was far more powerful than people assumed and the opposition was far weaker,"
“他的權力比人們想象的要大得多，而他的反對派又比人們想象的弱得多，”
says Robert Malley, a former top White House official under Obama.
奧巴馬政府前高級官員羅伯特·馬利說。
Allegations of corruption have long been used as a political bludgeon in Saudi Arabia,
在沙特那樣一個王室和從公眾錢包偷錢的人往往是一個意思的國家，
where pilfering from the public till has often been synonymous with royalty.
一直以來，腐敗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，班達爾蘇丹王子曾公開估計，
$50 billion had been transferred to royals' private accounts since the kingdom's founding.
自王國成立以來，前前后后大約有500億美元轉移到了皇室的私人賬戶。
Bin Salman's government claimed to recover twice that amount from its captives,
本·薩勒曼政府聲稱要從俘虜身上追回兩倍于這一金額的贓款，
but he hasn't been shy about his own spending.
但他自己開支起來也沒有不好意思。
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