Bleh, gotchu, I was getting the bit boundary wrong (192.168.0.0/24 > 192.168.0.0/23; NOT 192.168.1.0. that’s not how bits work)

Thanks I hate it.

What am I missing here?

192.168.1.1/24 would also be a valid gateway for a /23, with the benefit of not having a gateway in the middle of your /23 network?

I feel like this example is a greater justification for putting the gateway on the network/CIDR + 1, like a civilized person.