In 548, when Hou Jing, formerly an Eastern Wei general, rebelled against Emperor Wu and quickly put the capital Jiankang under siege, Xiao Yi did not personally lead forces to aid Jiankang; rather, he sent his heir apparent Xiao Fangdeng (蕭方等) and Wang Sengbian. They arrived in Jiankang's vicinity in spring 549, and accepted command, as did the generals of the other provincial forces, of the general Liu Zhongli (柳仲禮). However, Liu, after a battle in spring 549 where he was nearly killed, became hesitant to engage Hou's forces, and Hou was able to continue sieging the palace, where Emperor Wu's own forces had been forced to defend themselves. When the palace fell in summer 549, allowing Hou to take Emperor Wu and his crown prince Xiao Gang hostage, and Hou subsequently forced Emperor Wu to issue an edict disbanding the provincial troops under Liu's command, Wang and Pei Zhigao (裴之高) suggested Liu to make one last stand against Hou, but Liu took no action, and the provincial forces, including Xiao Fangdeng's, largely returned to their home provinces, although Wang, along with Liu and several other generals, surrendered to Hou. Hou's strategist Wang Wei suggested to Hou that Wang Sengbian should be detained, but Hou decided against it and allowed Wang Sengbian to return to Jingling. Once Wang Sengbian returned to Jingling, he again was under Xiao Yi's command.