Therefore, when he was made the governor of Yong Province (雍州, modern northwestern Hubei) on 14 November 546,[8] he thought that this would be a good chance for him to establish a power base of his own, and therefore he cultivated the loyalty of the people to him by governing carefully.
In 548, the general Hou Jing rebelled and attacked the capital Jiankang, capturing it in 549 and taking Emperor Wu and Crown Prince Gang hostage.
Xiao Cha declined, but accepted the lesser title of Prince of Liang and also assumed acting imperial authority.
In summer 551, when he heard that Hou was launching an attack on Xiao Yi's domain, he sent his general Cai Dabao (蔡大寶) with an army heading toward Jiangling, claiming to be ready to render assistance, but after Xiao Yi sent a rebuking letter, he ordered Cai to withdraw.
Believing himself to be strong, he was arrogant in his dealings with Western Wei, drawing attention from Yuwen, who began to consider invading Liang.
In winter 553, Northern Zhou troops, commanded by Yu Jin (于謹), arrived at Xiangyang, and Xiao Cha's forces joined them and continued to advance south toward Jiangling.
Around the new year 555, with approval from Western Wei authorities, Xiao Cha put Emperor Yuan to death by suffocating him with a large bag full of dirt.
Western Wei forces transferred Jiangling and the surrounding area to Emperor Xuan, but required him to transfer control of the Xiangyang region in exchange, and further left a military garrison at Jiangling, both to protect Emperor Xuan and to make sure that he would not rebel.
Further, Western Wei troops pillaged Jiangling and took most of the inhabitants and the Liang imperial treasures back to Chang'an.
He entrusted much of the governmental matters to Cai Dabao and Wang Cao (王操), both of whom served him faithfully.
In fall 560, Hou Tian continued his advance, intending to take Xiang Province from Emperor Xuan.
Heruo agreed and withdrew, and all of the territory previously taken from Xiao Zhuang were now in Chen hands, limiting Emperor Xuan's domain to the Jiangling region again.
Emperor Xuan, depressed that his territory was small and heavily damaged by warfare, soon began to suffer from a serious skin lesion on his back.