Background
Gao Heng was born in summer 570, as the oldest son of the emperor Gao Wei. His mother was Gao Wei's then-concubine Consort Mu Sheli. To celebrate his birth, Gao Wei declared a general pardon. Gao Wei's powerful wet nurse Lu Lingxuan, who was also Consort Mu's adoptive mother, wanted Gao Heng to be crown prince and eventually inherit Gao Wei's throne, but was afraid of opposition by Gao Wei's wife Empress Hulü. She therefore, with Gao Wei's approval, gave Gao Heng to Empress Hulü to raise. Later that year, when Gao Heng was only three months old, Gao Wei created him crown prince. After Empress Hulü's father, the general Hulü Guang, was executed under false charges of treason, Empress Hulü was deposed, and while initially Consort Mu was not created empress, in winter 572 she was first created "Right Empress," and then became sole empress in 573 after Left Empress Hu was deposed.
In 576, rival Northern Zhou launched a major attack on Northern Qi. Gao Wei initially personally led troops to battle Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, but after suffering a great defeat at Pingyang (平陽, in modern Linfen, Shanxi), he fled back to the secondary capital Jinyang (晉陽, in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) and lost the will to fight. In order to prepare for flight first to Shuo Province (朔州, roughly modern Shuozhou, Shanxi) and then possibly Tujue, Gao Wei first sent his mother Empress Dowager Hu and Gao Heng to Shuo Province. After he changed his mind and fled back to the capital Yecheng (鄴城, in modern Handan, Hebei) around the new year 577 in the face of Northern Zhou attack on Jinyang, however, the general Gao Mai (高勱) escorted both Empress Dowager Hu and Crown Prince Heng back to Yecheng as well. Believing the words of his astrologers that the omens showed that the imperial seat was about to be changed, Gao Wei decided to pass the throne to Gao Heng, and spring 577, the young crown prince took the throne as emperor, but with his father Gao Wei still in control as Taishang Huang (retired emperor).
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