【BBC英国史】Beginnings英国起源(11)

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Beginnings 起源（3100 B.C.——1000 A.D.）
Not once but twice, Julius Caesar's plans were sabotaged by that perennial secret weapon of the British, the weather. On the first go-round in 55 BC, a cavalry transport which had already missed the high tide and got itself four days late, finally got going only to run directly into a storm and be blown right back to Gaul. A century later, Claudius, the club-foot stammerer, on the face of it, the most unlikely conqueror of all, was determined to get it right. If it was going to be done at all, Claudius reckoned, it had to be done in such massive force that there was no chance of repeating the embarrassments of Julius. So Claudius's invasion force was immense, some 40,000 troops. The kind of army which could barely be conceived of, much less encountered in Iron Age Britain. Claudius did succeed where Julius Caesar had failed, through a brilliant strategy of carrot and stick. Yes, he would seize the largely undefended oppida or towns and strike at the heart of the British aristocracy, its places of status, prestige and worship. But for those chieftains, sensible enough to reach for the olive branch rather than the battle javelin, Claudius had another plan. Give them, or rather their sons, a trip to Rome, and a taste of the dolce vita, and just watch their resistance melt. While they were in Rome, many of them must have begun to notice that life for your average patrician was, well, exceptionally sweet.不止一次而是两次，凯撒大帝的入侵，被不列颠天然的秘密武器所阻：天气.公元前55年的首次入侵中，一骑兵团在错过满潮的四天后强行登陆，最终卷入狂风巨浪之中，被迫返回高卢。百年之后，一个名为克劳蒂亚斯的口吃的跛子。乍看之下，最没有可能的征服者立志开始其征服之旅。克劳蒂亚斯暗自忖度，此次征服之旅定要出动大规模罗马兵团。并绝不能重蹈凯撒的覆辙，所以，克劳蒂亚斯集结起四万入侵大军，数量之庞大超乎想象，是铁器时代的不列颠无法比拟的。克劳蒂亚斯绝妙地运用胡萝卜加大棒策略，完成了凯撒大帝未完成的梦想。他大可用兵荡平不列颠不设防的城镇，痛击不列颠贵族的腹地——这片象征地位与威望，万人膜拜之地。然而，对于这些部落酋长，强攻远不如智取。克劳蒂亚斯早已心生它计，让他们或更准确地说是他们的子嗣，尽享一次罗马纵欲之旅，必将让其乐不思蜀。果然在罗马，他们中很多人都开始艳羡罗马贵族所享受的奢华生活。