"If you pay attention to two points in fishpond farming, you can actually guarantee a good harvest. The first is running water, with water flowing in from one direction and draining out from the other; the second is the species of fish, it is best not to mix them, but to keep a single species in one fishpond."
"If you do these two things well, the fish harvest will basically be no problem." Qin Mu thought for a while and said carefully.
He couldn't explain the oxygen issue to Qin Yue, nor did he have a better solution for oxygen production. He could only try to keep the fishpond filled with fresh water. As for the fish species, although Qin Mu wasn't sure, he knew the principle of big fish eating small fish, especially between different species. Separately raising them was, of course, the best solution.
Qin Yue wrote furiously, then looked up and asked, "Are the fish caught in the river? That's so slow! There are so many fishponds, when will they be ready? What about food? What should we feed them?"
"There are so many people, figure it out yourselves! How am I supposed to know where to get fish fry? But fish lay a lot of eggs at once, so once the first batch is successful, the rest will be fine, right?"
"As for feeding, wild grass, chicken and duck droppings, and crops are all acceptable," Qin Mu explained.
"That's great! Fishponds with ducks, but won't they eat the small fish too?" Qin Yue wasn't ignorant about farming; in fact, he knew quite a bit about it. Qin Mu's words made his eyes light up, but then he asked with slight concern.
"Why don't you fence off the area around the fishpond and raise ducks there? Besides, adding more wild grass should reduce the chances of them eating the fish. You guys can figure it out yourselves; after all, I'm just talking theory," Qin Mu said.
"Uh! Okay! Is there anything else I should be aware of?" Qin Yue noted it down as well and asked again.
"Fish farming isn't just about raising fish; you can also raise loaches and eels. Fishponds can not only raise fish but also grow lotus roots. Fish don't necessarily have to be raised in ponds; they can be raised in rice paddies too. Explore these things gradually, and it would be best to write them down and send me a copy to Chang'an later," Qin Mu said.
"Alright! I'll have someone record all the details and send you a copy to Chang'an later." Qin Yue nodded seriously.
"Actually, digging fishponds in mountainous areas has another advantage: because of the varying heights, the water from the upper fishponds can flow continuously to the lower fishponds, without any waste. However, one thing must be noted: flood prevention!"
"When there's a heavy rain, the fish in the fishpond can easily escape, and all the effort of a year or two will be wasted!" Qin Mu racked his brains, then gave this advice.
"Yes! This is very important. Luckily you mentioned it beforehand. We need to block the outlet with a fence and build a flood discharge channel." Qin Yue drew a sketch on another piece of paper and gestured as he spoke.
Looking at Qin Yue's paintings and thinking about Yan Liben's, Qin Mu couldn't help but feel a little envious. He couldn't distinguish which painting was better, but he was certain Yan Liben was more skilled; to be honest, he didn't really know many of the Six Arts and Eight Refined Arts, strictly speaking, only calligraphy and arithmetic were passable.
The six arts are: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. These are the requirements for the six arts: five rites, six music, five archery techniques, five charioteering techniques, six calligraphy skills, and nine mathematics skills.
The Five Rites: Auspicious, Inauspicious, Guest, Military, and Festive Rites. Ancient rites for five major events.
The Six Musical Instruments: Yunmen, Daxian, Dashao, Daxia, Dahuo, and Dawu are six sets of dance and music.
The Five Arrows: White Arrow, Canlian Arrow, Yanzhu Arrow, Xiangchi Arrow, and Jingyi Arrow.
White Arrow: The arrowhead turns white after piercing the target, indicating that the arrow was shot accurately and powerfully;
The three arrows are fired in succession: one arrow is fired first, and three more arrows are fired in succession, one after another, like beads strung together in a chain.
Note by Shan: This refers to the speed of the arrow's release, the short aiming time, and the immediate release of the arrow to hit the target.
Xiangchi: When a subject shoots with his lord, the subject stands side by side with his lord, yielding one foot to the lord before stepping back.
Well-shaped arrows: Four arrows in succession, all hitting the target precisely.
The Five Emperors: Ming He Luan, Zhu Shui Che, Guo Jun Biao, Wu Jiao Qu, Zhu Qin Zuo.
The sound of the phoenix echoes as the carriage travels;
Waterwheel: It speeds along the curved bank without falling into the water;
Passing the Emperor's Tablet: There is a ritual involved in passing the Emperor's tablet.
Dancing at crossroads: Moving freely and easily through passageways;
Chasing birds from the left: When hunting, pursue birds and animals and shoot them from the left.
The Six Scripts: Pictographs, Ideographs, Compound Ideographs, Phono-semantic Compounds, Derivative Characters, and Borrowed Characters.
Nine numbers: Fangtian, Libu, Difference, Shaoguang, Shanggong, Junshu, Yingyu, Fangcheng, Gougu.
In other words, apart from mathematics, which was not difficult for him, and he had a basic understanding of the Six Scripts of Calculation, he was completely ignorant of everything else.
The Eight Arts refer to the four arts of playing the zither, playing chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, incense, flowers, and tea. Not to mention, it's not a problem to plagiarize a few poems.
"Brother Lingyun, could you teach me how to paint?" Qin Mu asked after Qin Yue put down his brush.
"Are you kidding me? Someone like me can teach people?" Qin Yue asked with a wide smile.
“You’ve taught me enough!” Qin Mu nodded seriously.
Qin Yue thought about it and realized that although his own skills were not very good, he could still teach someone who knew nothing about it.
"Okay! I'll teach you!"
"How many of the four arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—are you skilled in?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"It depends on how you understand it. If it's just about knowing a thing or two, then I know a thing or two of them. But if we're talking about truly understanding the art, then it's just about the two arts of playing the zither and chess," Qin Yue replied, seemingly quite proud of himself.
Qin Mu understood that when he said "entering the Dao," he meant that he had come to understand the Dao through a certain skill and was able to use it to defend himself against enemies.
"Could you tell me in detail?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
Knowing that Qin Mu was unfamiliar with many things, Qin Yue was not surprised. He put away the manuscript he had just written, sat down and explained: "The Taoists say that there are three thousand great paths, and all can lead to sainthood; while we Confucians mainly cultivate the righteous spirit, supplemented by the eight arts: music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, incense, flowers and tea."
My teacher once said that after reaching the rank of Grand Scholar, one must attain enlightenment, which means exploring the great principles of heaven and earth; and what we Confucianists are most familiar with are naturally the Six Arts and Eight Refined Arts; through these, one enters the Way and becomes a great Confucian scholar.
"Aren't great scholars distinguished by their knowledge and cultivation?"
"Do you think all Confucian scholars can write books and become great Confucian scholars? Most of them are just very accomplished in certain areas," Qin Yue replied with a pout.
Hearing this, Qin Mu understood. This was what an expert was—someone who specialized in one field. Although their expertise might be somewhat biased, they could still become a great scholar. In his view, there was nothing wrong with that. Achieving unparalleled success in a particular field would earn one the respect of thousands.
"We've been exposed to music, chess, calligraphy, and painting since the very beginning of our studies, so we're naturally very familiar with them. However, it's not easy to truly master them. Not only do you need talent, but you also need to study and practice diligently."
"Yes, I just want to learn more. As for whether I can enter the Dao, that doesn't matter."
"That's good. I'll prepare everything for you tomorrow and start teaching you. By the way, what kind of instrument do you like?" Qin Yue asked.
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