Shen's appointment as governor of Kiangsi was directly related to the collapse of the regular Ch'ing forces at Nanking in May 1860. Faced with a bleak situation, the imperial court now had to rely even more on such new forces as Tseng Kuo-fan's Hunan Army; high provincial officials were also granted greater freedom of action. Thus, on 8 June, Tseng was appointed acting governor-general of the Liang Kiang provinces: Kiangsu, Anhwei, and Kiangsi. Then, on 23 August, he was made governor-general and concurrently the imperial commissioner in charge of military affairs in these provinces. Three months later, he was elevated to a position of authority unprecedented for a territorial official since the dynasty consolidated its power in the 1670s. An edict of 30 November put the military affairs of the four provinces of Kiangsu, Anhwei, Kiangsi, and Chekiang under his direction. ‘All the governors and generals of these four provinces are to be placed under his control’, the edict declared. Thus, Tseng was no longer the ‘guest’ of these provinces, as he used to grudgingly describe himself, but the ‘master’ who, potentially, could channel their resources into an all-out effort to put down the Taipings.

Tseng, on his own, had already begun work on a general strategy for the suppression of the rebels before these new powers were showered on him. From 30 May to 9 June, he held a series of conferences with Hu Lin-i, Tso Tsung-t'ang, Li Hung-chang, Li Han-chang and Li Yüan-tu.