In the second year of the Liang Dynasty, the Eastern Wei general Hou Jing occupied Shouyang and rebelled. Hou Jing initially had only a few thousand men, but he was good at using troops, and after crossing the Yangtze River, he led his army to directly surround the capital of the Liang Dynasty, Jiankang. After that, Hou Jing occupied the outer city of Jiankang and trapped Emperor Wu of Liang in Taicheng. Emperor Wu of Liang had many sons, all of whom had heavy troops, but did not actively rescue them, which eventually led to the breach of Taicheng. So why didn't Emperor Wu of Liang's sons save their father?
Emperor Xiao Yan of Liangwu had eight sons, namely Xiao Tong, Xiao Zong, Xiao Gang, Xiao Ji, Xiao Xu, Xiao Lun, Xiao Xuan, and Xiao Ji. At the time of Hou Jing's rebellion, only Xiao Gang, Xiao Lun, Xiao Xuan, and Xiao Ji were alive. At that time, Xiao Gang was the crown prince, and emperor Wu of Liang was guarding Jiankang. Xiao Lun was appointed as the governor of the conquest and "led the crowd to seek the scenery", but was beaten to death. At that time, it was Xiao Yi and Xiao Ji who had heavy troops in their hands.
Xiao Xuan's official positions at that time were "Envoy Jie, Governor Jing, Yong, Xiang, Si, Ying, Ning, Liang, Southern and Northern Qin Jiuzhou Military, Zhenxi General, and Jingzhou Assassin History", occupying the area centered on Jiangling. Xiao Ji was known as "the military of the thirteen prefectures such as Zhijie, Duduyi, and Liang, the general of Anxi, and the assassin of Yizhou", and controlled the Bashu region. In addition, Xiao Tong's two sons occupied an area.
After hou jing's rebellion broke out, Xiao Ji did not send troops to the rescue, but after receiving the news of the death of Emperor Wu of Liang, he "took the title of Yu Shu". When Xiao Xuan was ordered to come to the rescue, all the kings preserved their strength and refused to actively rescue them, "The army of the King of Xiangdong was in Wucheng in Yingzhou, the army of the King of Xiangzhou was in Qingcao Lake, the army of king Guiyang of Xinzhou was at the mouth of the West Gorge, and the reinforcements of the four sides of Tuoyunqi were drowned. "So what the hell are these calculations?"
In fact, the reason is very simple, the kings refused to rescue is to preserve their strength, and when Emperor Wu of Liang and The Crown Prince Xiao Gang died, they would come out to compete for the throne! Emperor Wu of Liang initially made his eldest son Xiao Tong crown prince, but Xiao Tong fell ill and died in 531. Emperor Wu of Liang made a mistake in selecting a new heir, he did not establish Xiao Tong's son, but the third son Xiao Gang! This move has led to two serious consequences.
First of all, several of Xiao Tong's sons were dissatisfied, such as Xiao Qi, who "could not be regarded as an heir in Kunji, but often harbored grievances." After the Hou Jing Rebellion broke out, they refused to accept the orders of the imperial court and did not send troops to rescue them. Secondly, it stimulated Xiao Yan's sons, who felt that they were also princes, so they coveted the throne. Before the outbreak of hou Jing's rebellion, this contradiction had already been highlighted, "brothers are two, and the voices are heard in all directions."
Before Taicheng could be breached, civil unrest had already broken out in the Liang Dynasty's clans, and the person who was most eager to compete for the throne was Xiao Xuan, the seventh son of Emperor Wu of Liang. Zhang Yi wrote a letter to Xiao Xuan, saying, "Hedong and Guiyang are two hundred, and the horns are trying to attack Jiangling." After hearing the news, Xiao Xuan first killed his nephew Xiao Yu the Prince of Guiyang, and then killed his nephew Xiao Yu the Prince of Hedong. The sixth brother Xiao Lun came forward to write a letter to reconcile, but Xiao Xuan not only disagreed, but instead used troops against his brother, resulting in Xiao Lun being killed.
After that, Xiao Yi fought with his eighth brother Xiao Ji and killed him. All in all, Xiao Xuan had heavy troops in his hands, but instead of actively absorbing counterinsurgency, he took advantage of Hou Jing's rebellion to eliminate all potential rivals for the throne, so historians criticized: "Don't be reckless, Zhuo Zhijie, first kill Kundi." Although Xiao Xuan became emperor, the Liang Dynasty lost a large amount of territory, and later Xiao Tong's son colluded with Western Wei to attack Jiangling and suffocate the Liang Yuan Emperor Xiao Xuan to death.
References: 1. Book of Liang; 2. Zizhi Tongjian