Within a short span of six years, from 1856 to 1862, Shen rose from prefect (rank 4b) to provincial governor (rank 2b), despite a two-and-a-half-year self-imposed retirement (July 1859 to January 1862). His rise was truly meteoric; never again would he enjoy such a rapid series of promotions. The exigencies of the time and the patronage of Tseng Kuofan, who was himself being catapulted to high office in this period, were contributing factors. But his transformation from a regional to a national figure was entirely the result of his own achievements. In this chapter, we shall first examine his brief service under Tseng, which happened quite by accident, and then his exploits as a local official in the Taiping War.

Tseng Kuo-fan's assistant, January to May 1856

In January 1856 Shen found himself journeying towards northern Kiangsi to take up his first territorial appointment as the prefect of Chiu-chiang, a key prefecture along the Yangtze. But as Kiukiang, the prefectural seat, had been in rebel hands since February 1853, Shen, on arrival in the area, decided to proceed to Nan-k'ang, thirty kilometres to the south, to discuss matters with Tseng Kuo-fan at his headquarters. In the course of their conversation, Tseng warmly recalled Shen's memorial of October 1854 on military strategy and strongly urged Shen to join his personal staff.

Shen's assistance was especially desirable at this time because Tseng was facing an extremely grim military situation. The optimism that his recovery of Wuchang brought in 1854 had dissipated.