After his commanding general Yin Xiaozu (殷孝祖) was killed in battle, initially his officers wanted Shen Youzhi to take over command of the army, but judging that another general, Jiang Faxing (江法興), would be unwilling to submit to him, Shen humbled himself and offered the command to Jiang, preserving unity of the forces. Shen Youzhi subsequently was particularly successful against Liu Zixun's general Liu Hu (劉胡), and his successes, combined with the successes of Zhang Xingshi (張興世), caused Liu Zixun's forces to collapse. In fall 466, Shen Youzhi arrived at Liu Zixun's headquarters at Xunyang (尋陽, in modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi), and he executed Liu Zixun and delivered the head to Jiankang. For his successes, Emperor Ming created him the Duke of Zhenyang. Emperor Ming, however, made the crucial mistake of appearing not to accepting the pledge of allegiance of Xue Andu (薛安都), the governor of Xu Province (徐州, modern northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui), instead sending Shen and Zhang Yong (張永) north with troops, which frightened Xue and led him to surrender to Northern Wei. When Shen and Zhang subsequently arrived at Xue's headquarters at Pengcheng (彭城, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu), their siege of the city failed, forcing them to withdraw in early 467. They were pursued and then defeated by Xue and the Northern Wei general Yuchi Yuan (尉遲元), suffering extreme losses. In fall 467, against Shen's advice, Emperor Ming ordered Shen to again attack Pengcheng, and he was again defeated by Yuchi's forces. He suffered major injuries in the battle, but was able to escape. In 469, Emperor Ming made Shen the governor of Ying Province (郢州, modern eastern Hubei), and there, he began to build up a personal army which he hoped would be loyal to him. In 472, Emperor Ming died and was succeeded by his son Emperor Houfei. Service under Emperor Houfei Emperor Houfei's administration was initially dominated by Emperor Ming's associates Wang Daolong (王道隆) and Ruan Dianfu (阮佃夫), who distrusted the strict governor of the important Jing Province (荊州, modern central and western Hubei), Cai Xingzong (蔡興宗). They therefore recalled Cai to the capital and moved Shen from Ying Province to Jing Province. According to historical records written in the subsequent Southern Qi Dynasty, Shen effectively made Jing Province into a personal domain, disregarding imperial directives, and saving resources in preparation of eventual war. He was said to be temperamental and austere but talented,