◇ Just read — no move neededThe gate and the key
Alone, the chariot beats almost any small defence — but not this one. 炮士象全 against a single chariot is a book draw, and the book's whole content is one idea: the cannon stands on the central file in front of its own king, and never leaves. The chariot cannot mate through a gate the cannon holds, cannot win the cannon (it is defended by the king), and cannot starve the defenders out — they simply never move. Your task is to be the wall: advance the cannon one step, keep the door shut, and drift toward the fifty-move shore.