Emperor Wu established universities and extended the Confucian civil service exams, demanding that sons of nobles (士族) study.

At the end of his reign, his unduly lenient attitude towards his clan's and officials' corruption and lack of dedication to the state came at a heavy price; when the general Hou Jing rebelled (侯景之亂), few came to his aid, and Hou captured the imperial capital Jiankang, holding Emperor Wu and his successor Emperor Jianwen under close control and plunging the entire Liang state into anarchy.

In 497, with Northern Wei again attacking, Xiao Yan was one of the generals that Emperor Ming sent to aid the embattled Yong Province (雍州, modern southwestern Henan and northwestern Hubei).

Even though both he and his commander, Cui Huijing (崔慧景), were subsequently defeated by Northern Wei forces in battle, in 498 Xiao Yan was made the governor of Yong Province and the defender of Yong Province's capital, the important city Xiangyang (襄陽, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei), and he continued in that post after Emperor Ming's death and succession by his son Xiao Baojuan.

This led to a rebellion by the senior general Chen Xianda (陳顯達) from his post at Jiang Province (江州, modern Jiangxi and Fujian), which was quickly defeated as well, fanning Xiao Baojuan's sense of invulnerability.

However, an immediate troubling sign for his reign, which would become increasingly serious as time went on, was how he appeared to be willing to tolerate corruption by his own family members, particularly his brother Xiao Hong the Prince of Linchuan, and those high-level officials who he felt contributed to his establishment of Liang.

Two immediate threats that Emperor Wu had to deal with upon ascending the throne were rebellions by Chen Bozhi, who did not feel secure in his position despite Emperor Wu's permitting him to remain as the governor of Jiang Province, and Liu Jilian (劉季連) the governor of Yi Province (modern Sichuan and Chongqing), who was similarly apprehensive.

However, in fall 503, Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei, with a mind of having Xiao Baoyin reestablish Southern Qi as a puppet state, commissioned Xiao Baoyin and Chen with armies, and further sent his father Emperor Xiaowen's cousin Yuan Cheng (元澄) the Prince of Rencheng to lead a force to attack Liang, starting a war that lasted several years.

However, the apprehensive Xiao Hong stopped his army at Luokou (洛口, in modern Bengbu, Anhui) and refused to advance, despite his generals' urging.

However, at the end, all he carried out was that criminals' clan members would not be required to undergo hard labor if they had seniors or children in their household, and he did not further reform his laws.

He started the project despite opposition from his engineers (who believed that the Huai River contained too much dirt in its water for a dam of the size necessary to be built).

Despite engineering difficulties, however, the dam was successfully built by the general Kang Xuan (康絢) -- albeit at a major loss of life among the workers, due to the amount of work necessary and the diseases that occurred among them.

Northern Wei's regent Empress Dowager Hu (who became regent over Emperor Xiaoming after Emperor Xuanwu's death in 515) sent armies commanded by Li Ping (李平) to attack Kang's escort forces, but could not damage the dam, which was finally completed in summer 516. it was described to be four and a half kilometers long, and the army pitched camp on the dam itself.

With Huai River's water level greatly rising in winter 516, the dam collapsed, leading to more than 100,000 deaths downstream, and Shouyang was saved.

Further, in spring 525, the Northern Wei general Yuan Faseng (元法僧) surrendered the key city of Pengcheng (彭城, in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu) to Liang.

Over the years, Emperor Wu had increasingly given additional authorities to Xiao Tong the Crown Prince, and the relationship between father and son was dear.

Xiao Tong therefore allowed the monk to bury a few items intended to dissolve the ill fortune, such as wax ducks, at the position reserved for the oldest son.

He only stopped the investigation when he was advised to do so by the prime minister Xu Mian, executing only the Taoist monk who had suggested the burial of wax ducks.

In 527, Emperor Wu made his first offering of himself to the service of Buddha (捨身, sheshen) at Tongtai Monastery (同泰寺), spending three days there.

In 534, with Mars seen in the Dipper constellation—traditionally thought to be a sign that the emperor would be forced to leave the palace—Emperor Wu tried to divert the ill fortune by walking barefoot around his palace.

His sons, all imperial princes, also grew increasingly disobedient of central authority, often acting as de facto emperors within their provincial domains.

While He was known for integrity, he lacked political skills, and Zhu became the de facto prime minister, wielding great power and amassing wealth.

In 541, the Vietnamese people of Jiao Province (交州, roughly modern Hanoi, Vietnam), dissatisfied at the cruel rule of the governor Xiao Zi (蕭諮) the Marquess of Wulin (Emperor Wu's nephew), declared a rebellion, led by Lý Bôn.

Emperor Wu initially hesitated himself at whether to accept Hou's surrender, particularly because a number of his officials, including Xie Ju (謝舉), opposed, citing the long-standing peace with Eastern Wei.

Meanwhile, Emperor Wu also commissioned a large army, commanded by his nephew Xiao Yuanming the Marquess of Zhenyang, to attack Eastern Wei to the east.

In summer 548, Hou finally declared a rebellion, claiming that his goal was to clear the court of evil officials—Zhu, Xu Lin (徐麟), Lu Yan (陸驗), and Zhou Shizhen (周石珍) -- all corrupt officials that the people hated.

He sent his son Xiao Guan (蕭綸) the Prince of Shaoling to command a four-pronged army, intending to trap Hou at Shouyang, but Hou, taking decisive action, marched toward Jiankang before Xiao Guan's forces could converge, and within a month, he crossed the Yangtze and approached Jiankang, catching the city unprepared.

Emperor Wu and Xiao Gang put together the imperial guards to defend the palace, and initially, the defenses held, particularly because the key general, Yang Kan, was capable.

As the siege went on, however, more Liang provincial forces converged, and they supported Liu Zhongli (柳仲禮) the governor of Si Province (司州, modern southern Henan) as their commander.

Hou remained formally deferential to Emperor Wu and Xiao Gang the Crown Prince, but meanwhile effectively put them under house arrest.