Lesson14 贵族歹徒

 Nobel Evildoer

 

 

 

曾经有一个时期,芝加哥的店主和商行的老板们不得不拿出大笔的钱给歹徒以换取"保护"。

 

 

 

Once there was a period when Chicago’s shopkeepers and trading company’s bosses had to hand out a large amount of money to the scoundrel for “protection”.

 

 

 

如果交款不及时,

If they didn’t pay it on time,

 

 

 

歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店,让他破产。

Scoundrels would demolish his shop   rapidly and make him bankrupted.

 

 

榨取"保护金"并不是一种现代的罪恶行径。

Extorting the “protection money” is not a   modern criminal behaviour.

“

 

 

早在14世纪,

Early in the 14 centuries,

 

 

英国人约翰.霍克伍德，

The British man John Hawkwood,

 

 

就有过非凡的发现：人们情愿拿出大笔的钱,也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手。

 

 

 

has had an extraordinary discovery that people would rather hand out large amounts of money, rather want their whole life work ruined by the scoundrel.

 

 

 

600年前,

600 years ago,

 

 

约翰.霍克伍德爵士带着一队士兵来到意大利,在佛罗伦萨附近驻扎下来,

 

 

 

Sir John Hawkwood led a troop of soldiers stationed nearby the Florence.

 

 

 

他很快就出了名，意大利人叫他乔凡尼.阿库托。

 

 

 

In no time he became famous, and the Italians called him Giovanni Acuto.

 

 

 

 

每次意大利各城邦之间打仗，

 

Every time when wars happening between   Italy’s different city-state,

 

霍克伍德把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。

 

 

 

Hawkwood hired his soldiers to the monarch who was willing to hive out a high bid.

 

 

 

和平时期,当生意萧条时,

 

During the peace period, when the   business is in the depression,

 

霍克伍德便带领士兵进入某个城邦,

Hawkwood would led his soldiers enter one   of the city-state,

 

 

纵火烧毁一两个农场,然后提出,

destroyed a few farms through arson, and   proposed,

 

 

如向他们缴纳保护金,他们便主动撤离。

that if they pay them protecting money, they   will evacuate initiatively.

 

 

霍克伍德用这种方法挣了大笔钱。

 

Hawkwood earned large amounts of money   from this method.

 

尽管如此,意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。

In spite of these, Italians still   consider him as somehow of hero.

 

 

他80岁那年死去时,

As he passed away when he was 80 years   old,

 

 

佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬,并为他画像以纪念这位"骁勇无比的战士、杰出的领袖乔凡尼.阿库托先生。"

 

 

 

Florentines held state funeral for him, and painted images for him in order to memory this

“extraordinary warrior, outstanding leader，Mr. Giovanni Acuto.”