3.巴西尔一世——拜占庭
Basil was not only born into a peasant family, but was also kidnapped by Khan Krum – a man who won virtually every "evil name" contest he ever entered – when he was just an infant. He managed to escape in his early 20s and headed to Constantinople to make his fortune. He was minding his own business at a wrestling match when he found himself challenged by the champion, and like Peter Parker against Bonesaw McGraw, somehow managed to pull out a victory. His victory did not go unnoticed and he was made head bodyguard to the emperor.
巴西尔不仅是农民出身,而且在他婴儿时期就被克鲁姆汗(Khan Krum,保加利亚大公,几乎赢得了他参与过的每一场掠夺战争。)给掳走了。20岁出头时他策划逃跑,后来前往君士坦丁堡赚钱。某一次,他专注于一场拳击比赛时,发现自己正在和拳击冠军过招,于是就像彼得·帕克(蜘蛛侠)与巨无霸(Bonesaw McGraw电影《蜘蛛侠1》中人物)对战一样,巴西尔竟然神奇地取得了胜利。他的获胜使他一战成名,并于之后成为皇帝身边的护卫队队长。
Realizing that his new position basically consisted of beating people up, he took it a step further by killing the emperor's uncle to further his own power. Not stopping there, he then murdered the emperor and took the position for himself, in a move that most HR reps would probably frown upon. He ruled for 19 years before his untimely death. Hilariously, he wasn't killed by an assassin, but by a deer, getting impaled on the stag's antler and dragged 16 miles.
当意识到他的新工作基本上就是打人,为获得更大的权力,他杀害了皇帝的叔叔。不仅如此,之后他还谋杀了皇帝,自己登上皇位。估计大部分人力资源代表是不会赞成这样的举动的。他在位19年就死于非命了,可笑的是,他并非是被刺客杀死,而是被鹿,他被雄鹿的鹿角刺穿并拖行了16英里。
2.Ivaylo the Cabbage – Bulgaria
2.卷心菜·伊瓦依洛——保加利亚
Ivaylo, who was so poor people actually referred to him as cabbage, was a late 13th century swineherd in Bulgaria, which just so happened to be a time and place frequented by the rampaging hordes of the Tartars. With Tsar Constantine being of no help, Ivaylo led a group of peasants to stop the desecration of his land and people. After defeating the Tartars he marched to the capital to show his dissatisfaction at having to do the Tsar's job for him, but rather than change his policy towards peasant protection, the Tsar lead his army to slaughter them. Things didn't go as planned, and the peasant army won when Ivaylo personally killed the Tsar in battle.
伊瓦依洛(Ivaylo),这个由于太过贫穷而被人们被称作"卷心菜"的贫民,是13世纪末期保加利亚的一个猪倌。在他所处的时代和环境里,有许多凶恶的鞑靼人经常"光顾"保加利亚。在沙皇康斯坦丁(Tsar Constantine)不能帮助国家逃离困境的情况下,伊瓦依洛领导农民们反抗鞑靼对保加利亚土地和人民的侵略。击退鞑靼后,他率领部队进入都城,但并不是去改变沙皇关于保护农民的政策,而是向沙皇表达自己的不满,因为他不得不做了本该由沙皇去做的事情。沙皇带领军队去剿灭他们,没想到却在战场上被伊瓦伊洛亲自斩杀,从而使得农民军获胜。
In a move that forever solidified the fact that cabbages apparently come equipped with enormous balls, he then married Constantine's widow to become the new Tsar. Despite only ruling for a year he won victories against the Byzantine Empire and the Tartars before the nobles overthrew and exiled him, as they weren't too happy with a peasant being on the throne.
之后他与康斯坦丁的寡妇(当时的皇后)结婚并成为了新的沙皇,这一举动巩固了"卷心菜"(伊瓦伊洛)显然很有胆量的事实。尽管伊瓦依洛只执政了一年,但他赢得了与拜占庭帝国和鞑靼族的战争。后来由于贵族们不太满意农民当权,推翻了他的统治并流放了他。
1.朱元璋——中国
Zhu was born in 14th century China into a family so poor that they literally had to give away most of his siblings. As if that level of poverty wasn't enough, his family was then wiped out by floods and plague, leaving him no choice but to become a wandering beggar. Eventually settling in a monastery after years of roaming around China, his bad luck continued when the Mongolian Yuan dynasty destroyed his shelter. Reaching his breaking point, he joined the rebel army and quickly worked his way up to become their leader and captured the city of Nanjing.
14世纪,朱元璋出生于中国。由于贫困,家里不得不弃养了他大部分的兄弟姐妹。似乎这样的贫穷还不嫌够,在瘟疫和接连不断的天灾中,他失去了自己的家人们。走投无路的朱元璋成为了一个流离失所的乞丐。经过了多年的游荡,他最终定居于一个寺院(皇觉寺)中,然而在元朝毁掉了他的避所之后,惨痛的遭遇又开始了。忍无可忍的他加入了起义军,从而逐步成为了军队的首领并占领了南京城。
Hell bent on trying to stop any more disasters in his life, he managed to end the Mongol rule of China and completed unification of the provinces by 1383. With his enemies vanquished, he started the Ming Dynasty, the longest ruling dynasty in China's history. Basically, China entered its most famous era all because Mother Nature, bad luck, and the Yuan Dynasty couldn't combine to finish off a tramp.
他不顾一切想要改变人生的悲惨境遇,费尽全力终结了元王朝对中国的统治,并且于1383年完成了中国的统一。敌人被征服后,他开创了明朝,这是中国历史上统治时期最长的朝代。总的来说,中国得以进入它最举世闻名的纪元,全归功于大自然的"馈赠"、惨痛的遭遇、和元朝未能拼尽全力打败这个流浪汉。