He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Frontier Defence of the Third Route Army of Guangdong and Guangxi (粵桂邊防第三路軍總司令), had armed confrontations with the renowned generals Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren in 1925, and later fled to Hong Kong.

Following his defeat in the Guangdong–Guangxi War, Shen retired in Hong Kong and built his residence, now referred to as the "General House",[3] in the location now known as the village of Fung Kat Heung in Yeun Long, New Territories.

[4] The Shum Residence has been determined to be a historic building of special merit by the Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) of Hong Kong, and efforts should be made for its preservation.

In December 1917 (the sixth year of the Republic of China), when Long Jiguang landed in Guangdong again, Lu Rongting organized four armies to fight him.

In the winter of 1919 (the 8th year of the Republic of China), he was stationed in Beijiang and was appointed concurrently as Guardian of South Guangdong, Jiangxi and Hunan Border Defense Supervisor.

In 1920 (the ninth year of the Republic of China), when Sun Yat-sen and Chen Jiongming attacked Guangdong, Lu Rongting and Shen Hongying were defeated and retreated to Guangxi.

But, in June 1921 (the 10th year of the Republic of China), following Sun Yat-sen's orders, Chen Jiongming counterattacked Guangxi ("Aid to Gui").

In April 1924 (the thirteenth year of the Republic of China), Lu Rongting marched into Guilin, surrounded and attacked Shen Hongying.

His private cemetery is in Pat Heung off Kam Po Road, adjacent to the Taoism Jiu Xiao Guan (Hong Kong).

Inscribed in stone, on the "Master Tomb" is "The Tomb of General Xiewei Crowned the Nanfu Monarch" by the decorated general Li Genyuan, who served as the former president of Yunnan Military College (1909), commander-in-chief of the Yunnan-Guangdong United Army, Prime Minister of Agriculture and Commerce of Republic of China (1923-1924), and strategic advisor to Chiang Kai-Shek (1945).

After the autumn harvest every year, to pick up the slack, he and his brother each performed one or two sets of Shaolin martial arts to attract the audience.

In the winter of the 26th year of Guangxu, when they were opening their stall in Changtang in Liucheng County in Guangxi, they were robbed by subordinates of Qin Shaoqu's regiment.

On July 1 of the sixth year of the Republic of China (1917), Zhang Xun, the governor of Anhui Province, sent troops to Beijing to support the restoration of the throne of Emperor Pu Yi.

On January 5 of the 7th year of the Republic of China, Lu Rongting, Mo Rongxin, and others established the "Province Association of Law Protection" in Guangzhou to fight against the military government led by Sun Yat-sen.

In August of the same year, Shen Hongying was ordered to move to Shaoguan as the commander of the Third Army to Protect the Country and the Supervisory Office of Guangdong, Jiangxi and Hunan Border Defense.

The old parliament members held an extraordinary meeting on April 7 in the tenth year of the Republic of China (1921), and elected Sun Yat-sen as president.

In the spring of the eleventh year of the Republic of China (1922), Chen Jiongming rebelled, obstructing and destroying President Sun's Northern Expedition.

At about 3 o'clock in the morning on June 16, Chen Jiongming commanded Hong Zhaolin and Ye Ju to besiege the presidential palace with more than four thousand troops, shelling the official residence of Yuexiu Building in Guanyin Mountain.

He wanted to return to Gannan and was also in charge of Li Liejun Resistance is to retreat to the Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Hunan border areas and find another way out.

On December 19, Shen Hongying received a secret order from Shanghai by Sun Yat-sen in Liuzhou, instructing the strategy of attacking Chen Jiongming.

On December 20 On the 6th, a meeting was held at the White Horse Temple in Teng County to discuss strategies and cooperation issues for the battle against Chen Jiongming.

On January 8, 1924, Shen Hongying wrote to Sun to express his loyalty, ambition, and oath to obey orders, hoping to clarify the misunderstanding, allowing him to lead his army back to Guangdong to complete the task of rebelling against the Northern Expedition.

On May 21 of the 13th year of the Republic of China, Shen Hongying obeyed Sun's order to return to Guilin and launched a general attack on Lu Rongting.

On January 3 of the fourteenth year of the Republic of China (1925), Shen Hongying, Commander-in-Chief of the Founding Army of Guangxi, arrived in Pingle.

However, Li Zongren and Huang Shaohong defeated Lu Rongting's various ministries on August 13 and already possessed a vast territory, greatly increasing their strength.

The Shen (Shum) clan finally settled in Kam Tin, established Fung Kat Heung north of Sha Po Tsuen, and built a mansion, "General's House."

The naming of Fung Kat Heung implies that although the Shen family has gone through hundreds of battles, every evil turns into good fortune.

Li Fulin (李福林), another retired general and friend who was also in Hong Kong, introduced Shen to a Feng Shui master to help find land to buy and to build a residential estate in the New Territories.

Shen Hongying blessed the land, naming it "Feng Jixiang" (pinyin; 逢吉鄉), which means "every evil turns good fortune" (逢凶化吉).

In his later years, he converted to Buddhism, studying under Master Maofeng (茂峰法師) in at the Tung Po Tor Monastery in Lo Wai, Tseun Wan District.