The Order of the Bath originated as a ritual of canonizing knights in the Middle Ages, symbolizing bathing and purification.

Originally awarded only to nobles as a result of a power struggle between the nobility and parliament, it became one of the highest ranks of the Order of Honour of England for ordinary people.

However, the officials of the Order are still mainly nobles, and the current Grand Master is the Prince of Wales, and the secretary and article officer all have the rank of general of the English military.

Influenced by the chivalric culture of the Middle Ages, Britain admired military merit.

For example, the Hall family was awarded the title of baron through the war, and it is natural that they have a sense of superiority over Viscount Astor and Isabella's father, Viscount Gloucester.

The same is true of the Medal of Honor, the top medal must be related to military merit.

This is not exempt even from the royal family, from the queen to the prince, who have military experience, and wear military uniforms and medals on major occasions to be more confident.

Therefore, Hall, who did not join the army, turned many nobles and ceremonial officials gray when he was "crowned" by the Senators.

In order to match the dazzling aura of the youngest Lord, the big guys tacitly turned a blind eye to the rules of the Honours, conferring on him the Order of the Bath of the First Class and the position of Honorary Commander of the Knighthood.

It is equivalent to finding a balance in military merit, nobility, and the House of Representatives, second only to the Order of the Supreme Order of the Garter of the Queen, of which the Queen is the head of the Knights, and there are only about 100 surviving owners of the Order of Bath.

But Hall's senses for this medal are so distorted that he has been throwing it in the collection room and eating ashes, and today is the first time he has worn it.

"Emperor Hirohito the Neon was an honorary member of the Knights of Bath, disqualified during World War II, and re-granted after the war when the Queen ascended the throne."

In the hotel suite, Hall took off his trench coat and played with the medal in his hand and said casually, "In the Crimean War in the last century, the second-generation baron of the Hall family won a Victoria Cross medal for bravery, which was cast from the shell smashed on the head of Tsarist Russia, and with that medal, he could receive dozens of pounds from the government every year. ”

"It was the proudest deed of his life that a few dozen pounds a year, and I was ashamed that my ancestors had won honour from iron and fire with their own hands, while I played political games."

Lou Coman didn't know what to think, but on the surface he promised solemnly: "Columbia Pictures will do everything in its power to promote the Palace of Orange and let more people know the history of the Hall family." ”

"It is said that the neon company Sony wants to buy you, and the acquisition will inevitably cause turmoil in people's hearts, do you still have the ability to make excellent works?" Hall tossed the medal onto the coffee table.

There was a crisp 'click' sound that reverberated in Lou Coman's mind, and then he replied, "If Akio Morita needs to salute when he sees the Neon Emperor, then Columbia Pictures will give you a higher priority than the acquisition." ”

"You misunderstood, I have no intention of competing with Hirohito. Sony has a lot of money, maybe it will bring you good luck, I just care if I can make a good movie. Hall poured two glasses of wine.

Lou Coman picked up one of the glasses: "Isn't it us?" ”

Hall smiled and waved his hand, and Brandon, who was standing in the doorway, turned around and went out the door, heading to the large conference room provided by the hotel.

Many executives of Columbia Pictures and the newly formed Raiden Pictures team have long been ready to start formal cooperation negotiations just after the confirmation of the bosses of both sides.

It is expected to be filmed for five months, and it will be released in the fall of next year, with a total cost of 50 million US dollars and wholly invested by Lei Denghua Pictures, which has the right to edit the film. Miss Connelly as the heroine Elizabeth, the other characters ......"

Lou Coman succinctly explains the key details one by one.

Hall waved his hand again, and looked at Connelly, who was sitting on the other side of the couch pretending to hold Ben: "Jennifer, come and sit, you need to have a drink with Mr. Coman, and he will help and teach you next." ”

"Mr. Koeman, I wish us a happy cooperation."

Connelly couldn't help but be excited, put down the book, walked closer, and said something in a fairly standard English colloquial language.

Coman looked at Hall with a smile on his face and said, "I like this girl, she has a wonderful image, she is exactly what I think of Elizabeth!" ”

"It's a shame I don't understand the art of film, but Jennifer is really good and I think she's going to be a big star."

Hall looked at Connery with a confident expression, as if admiring a remarkable work of art.

"It's good to be young." Coman followed with emotion.

"So you're going to use me to raise the price to Sony, right?"

"What?"

Hall motioned for Connery to go back to the room for a while, put away his expression and said, "I said, you will use my presence to inflate the acquisition offer for Sony." ”

“…… Uh, Lord Hall, I don't quite understand what you mean, you're saying you're going to be involved in the acquisition of Columbia Pictures? ”

Coman was caught off guard and didn't react for a while, and said slowly to buy time to think.

Yes, he wanted to take advantage of the British aristocracy in front of him to raise the price, especially after the appearance of the Order of Bath. England's son, who has the same medal of honor as the emperor of the book, vs. Sony, the giant company of the book-is simply the perfect explosion point of public opinion.

Now the whole of North America is in a panic of catching up, and the argument that foreign capital controls Hollywood is very loud.

At this time, the peerless macho man from the sky played the role of a white knight, and Sony had to be coerced by public opinion to pay a high price if it wanted to succeed in the acquisition.

But I thought so in my heart, and it was a bit embarrassing to be exposed in person......

"You made a good movie to make Jennifer popular, and in return, you were allowed to borrow my prestige to raise the price." Hale poured some wine into his glass and took a sip.

Coman frowned and asked again, "You have no intention of competing for Columbia Pictures?" ”

"If I were Sony, I would choose to buy Coca-Cola to indirectly control Columbia Pictures, and there is no direct competition with Columbia Pictures."

Hall didn't answer directly, paused and continued: "As I just said, I don't understand film art, and you don't understand business. ”

"No, Lord Hall, I don't think you understand the nature of the matter. Coca-Cola, as an industrial company, could not afford the large fluctuations in revenue in the film and television industry, so it wanted to sell Columbia Pictures. They weren't trying to sell the whole Coca-Cola! Koeman emphasized.

He suddenly found that the British boy seemed to be interested in Columbia Pictures!

Hall paved the way for a long time, and gradually got to the point: "Sony is far richer than you think, and in this matter, the interests of Coca-Cola shareholders and you are not aligned." ”

"And then?" Koeman tensed and raised his vigilance.

"Sony doesn't care how it is, as long as it actually controls Columbia Pictures. To achieve the goal through the acquisition of Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola shareholders are the biggest beneficiaries; The direct acquisition of Columbia Pictures, Herbert Allen Jr. is the biggest beneficiary. So what about you, what can Sony do so that you can be the biggest beneficiary? ”

Hall opens the bottom of the card and asks the ultimate question.

Coman was stunned: "Herbert Allen Jr.?!" ”