The "turtle" shape protects the centre and back rank; Red gives up tempo for safety and strikes later.

Turtle Back Cannon (Gui Bei Pao)

炮二平五，车一进一，车一平四，炮八退一

An unusual, defensive cannon system where the left cannon retreats to form a "turtle shell" — solid but slow, favoured by patient players.

Strategic Ideas

Turtle Back Cannon builds a compact, hard-to-break position. It avoids early tactics and rewards endgame skill.

Red follows with 马二进三 for a balanced knight.

Red connects chariots slowly behind the shell.

Why so passive?: The "turtle" shape protects the centre and back rank; Red gives up tempo for safety and strikes later.

Central Cannon 炮二平五 Identical Cannons (Shun Pao) 炮二平五，炮8平5 Cross Cannons (Lie Pao) 炮二平五，炮2平5 Cross Palace Cannon (Guo Gong Pao) 炮二平六