Emperor Wu of Liang, whose name was Xiao Yan, was the founding emperor of The Southern Dynasty Liang, and during his reign, something happened that made him very embarrassed. His son Xiao Zong was ordered to lead the Northern Expedition, during which he mysteriously disappeared, and later Emperor Wu of Liang learned that his son had defected and defected to his sworn enemy, the Northern Wei regime. As a crown prince, Xiao Zong was a heavenly nobleman of the Liang Dynasty, and his status was so noble, but why did he turn his back on his parents and defect to Northern Wei, and what secrets were hidden behind this?
Emperor Xiao Yan of Liangwu had eight sons, namely The eldest son Xiao Tong, the second son Xiao Zong, the third son Xiao Gang, the fourth son Xiao Ji, the fifth son Xiao Ji, the sixth son Xiao Lun, the seventh son Xiao Xuan, and the eighth son Xiao Ji. We can find a rule that when Xiao Yan named his son, he set the side of the name as the twisted wire side. It was Emperor Wu of Liang's second son Xiao Zong who defected to Northern Wei. The reason why Xiao Zong rebelled was related to his mother, because his mother was a concubine of Xiao Baojuan, the emperor of Southern Qi.
Xiao Zong's birth mother, named Wu Jinghui, entered the harem during the Southern Qi period and served the emperor Xiao Baojuan, who was very favored, "favored in Pan and Yu Zhiya". Later, Emperor Xiao Yan of Liangwu raised an army, overthrew Xiao Baojuan's rule, and established the Liang Dynasty. At the same time, Emperor Wu of Liang incorporated Wu Jinghui into his harem. Seven months later, Wu Jinghui gave birth to Xiao Zong. At that time, the people in the harem had doubts, believing that Xiao Zong might not be Xiao Yan's son.
With the relationship of time, Wu Jinghui gradually lost the favor of Emperor Wu of Liang and held grudges. When Xiao Zong grew up to be fourteen or fifteen years old, he often dreamed of a young and obese person, who was staring at Xiao Zong with his own head. Xiao Zong was very confused and asked his mother what was going on. Wu Jinghui asked Xiao Zong about the appearance of the person, and after listening to Xiao Zong's description, she felt that the person was very similar to Xiao Baojuan, the emperor of Southern Qi.
Therefore, Wu Jinghui told Xiao Zong a secret buried in his heart for more than ten years, "Ru was born in July, and the princes of Andebi? The second brother of Prince Rujin, fortunately, the wealth will not be leaked. After listening to his mother's words, Xiao Zong became suspicious of his own origins, and he secretly set up the ZongMiao Temple in Southern Qi and secretly sacrificed the tomb of Emperor Qi Ming. Later, Xiao Zong also secretly dug up Xiao Baojuan's grave and dripped his own blood into Xiao Baojuan's bones as a method of identification.
Since then, Xiao Zong believes that he is Xiao Baojuan's son, and Xiao Yan is the enemy who killed his father. Later, Xiao Zong was ordered to guard the town, and whenever he received Xiao Yan's edict, he "felt angry in color" and made "the group of ministers dare not speak out". In 523, Xiao Zong was appointed as an envoy, the governor of Southern Yan, Yan, Xu, Qing, and Ji, the general of Pingbei, and the assassin of Southern Yanzhou. During his tenure, Xiao Zong heard that Xiao Baobao was in Northern Wei, so he sent someone to contact him and call him his uncle.
In 525, Emperor Wu of Liang issued an edict to carry out the Northern Expedition, ordering Xiao Zong to lead a large army to Pengcheng to confront Yuan Yanming, the King of Anfeng of Northern Wei. Later, Emperor Wu of Liang believed that "the company of soldiers has been long, and there is a fear of provocation", so he issued an edict to retire the troops. At this time, Xiao Zong was anxious, because he felt that if he withdrew his troops this time, then there would be no chance to meet with his uncle Xiao Baobao. As a result, Xiao Zong led several of his cronies out of the Liang Dynasty camp and defected to Northern Wei.
After arriving in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Xiao Zong was given the title of King of Danyang and changed his name to Xiao Zan. Emperor Wu of Liang was furious when he heard the news, "Absolutely belong to the nationality, and change his surname to the Qi clan." Soon after, Emperor Wu of Liang changed his decision, "there is an edict to restore it", and made Xiao Zong's son Xiao Zhi the Marquis. In 530, Xiao Zong died in Northern Wei. When the news came, Emperor Wu of Liang sent someone to welcome Xiao Zong's body back and bury it near his mausoleum. Although Xiao Zong rebelled, Emperor Wu of Liang still regarded him as a son.
References: 1. Book of Liang, 2. History of the South, 3. Zizhi Tongjian