Emperor Wen honored Empress Zhang as empress dowager.
He created his wife Princess Shen Miaorong empress and her son Chen Bozong crown prince.
 As he inherited the throne from Emperor Wu, he did not posthumously honor his father Chen Daotan as an emperor as might otherwise have been expected, but, in order to make sure that his father would be properly venerated (which would require Chen Daotan's legal heir—Emperor Wen's brother Chen Xu—to be present to offer sacrifices to him), he created his own son Chen Bomao (陳伯茂) the Prince of Shixing instead, and created Chen Xu, who was then still at Chang'an, the capital of Western Wei's successor state Northern Zhou, the Prince of Ancheng. (
In 563, Emperor Wen himself began to offer sacrifices to Chen Daotan using ceremonies due an emperor, but never honored his father as an emperor.)

Hearing that Emperor Wu had died, Wang Lin launched a major attack on Chen in winter 559.
 He was initially successful, defeating the Chen general Wu Mingche, but when Emperor Wen sent Hou Tian (侯瑱) against Wang, the forces stalemated, even though Wang was also assisted by Northern Qi forces.
 In spring 560, Hou defeated Wang, and both Wang and Xiao Zhuang fled to Northern Qi.
 Chen forces took about half of Xiao Zhuang's territory, while the other half went to the Northern Zhou-supported Western Liang.

Wang's defeat brought a succession crisis.
After hearing of Emperor Wu's death, Northern Zhou had sent Chen Chang back to Chen, but as his path was blocked by Wang's forces, he had to stop at Anlu (安陸, in modern Xiaogan, Hubei).
 After Wang was defeated, Chen Chang continued his journey, and as  he proceeded from Anlu to the Yangtze River, he wrote impolite letters to Emperor Wen, which Emperor Wen took as a demand for the throne.
 Emperor Wen summoned Hou Andu, suggesting that perhaps he should yield the throne to Chen Chang and accept a princely title.
 Hou advised him not to, and offered to personally "greet" Chen Chang.
 Meanwhile, the officials were all suggesting creating Chen Chang an imperial prince, and Emperor Wen declared that Chen Chang was to be created the Prince of Hengyang.
 A month later, Chen Chang entered Chen territory and met Hou.
 However, as they travelled on the Yangtze River, Hou had him killed and his body thrown into the Yangtze, and then returned to Jiankang, claiming that Chen Chang had slipped into the river.
Grateful that Hou had eliminated a rival for him, Emperor Wen created Hou the Duke of Qingyuan.

In fall 560, Chen forces under Hou Tian began to engage Northern Zhou and Western Liang forces in the modern Hunan region, which Western Liang had taken from Xiao Zhuang when he fled to Northern Qi.
 The armies stalemated, and in spring 561, unable to prevail over the Northern Zhou general Heruo Dun (賀若敦), Hou Tian offered to allow Heruo to withdraw with his army if he would yield the territory.
 Heruo agreed, and the territory became Chen possession.
 Seeking peace, Northern Zhou offered to return Chen Xu to Chen, and Emperor Wen, pleased, offered to trade the city of Lushan (魯山, in modern Wuhan, Hubei) for Chen Xu's release.
 Chen Xu returned to Chen in 562 and became a key official in Emperor Wen's administration.
 Initially, Northern Zhou continued to detain Chen Xu's wife Liu Jingyan and son Chen Shubao, but after further negotiations, Northern Zhou released them as well.

Meanwhile, Emperor Wen began to consider the problem of local warlordism—which rendered the modern Jiangxi, Fujian, and large parts of Zhejiang under warlord control and only nominally submissive to him.
 In spring 562, he tried to summon one of the key warlords, Zhou Di (周迪), to move from his base of Linchuan (臨川, in modern Fuzhou, Jiangxi), to Pencheng (湓城, in modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi).
 Zhou Di refused, and subsequently unsuccessfully attacked Emperor Wen's general Zhou Fu (周敷).
 Emperor Wen sent Wu Mingche to attack Zhou Di and sent Hou Andu against another warlord, Liu Yi (留異), who controlled modern southern Zhejiang.
By summer 562, Hou had defeated Liu Yi, forcing him to flee to his son-in-la
Emperor Wen honored Empress Zhang as empress dowager. He created his wife Princess Shen Miaorong empress and her son Chen Bozong crown prince.  As he inherited the throne from Emperor Wu, he did not posthumously honor his father Chen Daotan as an emperor as might otherwise have been expected, but, in order to make sure that his father would be properly venerated (which would require Chen Daotan's legal heir—Emperor Wen's brother Chen Xu—to be present to offer sacrifices to him), he created his own son Chen Bomao (陳伯茂) the Prince of Shixing instead, and created Chen Xu, who was then still at Chang'an, the capital of Western Wei's successor state Northern Zhou, the Prince of Ancheng. (In 563, Emperor Wen himself began to offer sacrifices to Chen Daotan using ceremonies due an emperor, but never honored his father as an emperor.)
Hearing that Emperor Wu had died, Wang Lin launched a major attack on Chen in winter 559.  He was initially successful, defeating the Chen general Wu Mingche, but when Emperor Wen sent Hou Tian (侯瑱) against Wang, the forces stalemated, even though Wang was also assisted by Northern Qi forces.  In spring 560, Hou defeated Wang, and both Wang and Xiao Zhuang fled to Northern Qi.  Chen forces took about half of Xiao Zhuang's territory, while the other half went to the Northern Zhou-supported Western Liang.
Wang's defeat brought a succession crisis. After hearing of Emperor Wu's death, Northern Zhou had sent Chen Chang back to Chen, but as his path was blocked by Wang's forces, he had to stop at Anlu (安陸, in modern Xiaogan, Hubei).  After Wang was defeated, Chen Chang continued his journey, and as  he proceeded from Anlu to the Yangtze River, he wrote impolite letters to Emperor Wen, which Emperor Wen took as a demand for the throne.  Emperor Wen summoned Hou Andu, suggesting that perhaps he should yield the throne to Chen Chang and accept a princely title.  Hou advised him not to, and offered to personally "greet" Chen Chang.  Meanwhile, the officials were all suggesting creating Chen Chang an imperial prince, and Emperor Wen declared that Chen Chang was to be created the Prince of Hengyang.  A month later, Chen Chang entered Chen territory and met Hou.  However, as they travelled on the Yangtze River, Hou had him killed and his body thrown into the Yangtze, and then returned to Jiankang, claiming that Chen Chang had slipped into the river. Grateful that Hou had eliminated a rival for him, Emperor Wen created Hou the Duke of Qingyuan.
In fall 560, Chen forces under Hou Tian began to engage Northern Zhou and Western Liang forces in the modern Hunan region, which Western Liang had taken from Xiao Zhuang when he fled to Northern Qi.  The armies stalemated, and in spring 561, unable to prevail over the Northern Zhou general Heruo Dun (賀若敦), Hou Tian offered to allow Heruo to withdraw with his army if he would yield the territory.  Heruo agreed, and the territory became Chen possession.  Seeking peace, Northern Zhou offered to return Chen Xu to Chen, and Emperor Wen, pleased, offered to trade the city of Lushan (魯山, in modern Wuhan, Hubei) for Chen Xu's release.  Chen Xu returned to Chen in 562 and became a key official in Emperor Wen's administration.  Initially, Northern Zhou continued to detain Chen Xu's wife Liu Jingyan and son Chen Shubao, but after further negotiations, Northern Zhou released them as well.
Meanwhile, Emperor Wen began to consider the problem of local warlordism—which rendered the modern Jiangxi, Fujian, and large parts of Zhejiang under warlord control and only nominally submissive to him.  In spring 562, he tried to summon one of the key warlords, Zhou Di (周迪), to move from his base of Linchuan (臨川, in modern Fuzhou, Jiangxi), to Pencheng (湓城, in modern Jiujiang, Jiangxi).  Zhou Di refused, and subsequently unsuccessfully attacked Emperor Wen's general Zhou Fu (周敷).  Emperor Wen sent Wu Mingche to attack Zhou Di and sent Hou Andu against another warlord, Liu Yi (留異), who controlled modern southern Zhejiang. By summer 562, Hou had defeated Liu Yi, forcing him to flee to his son-in-la
Emperor Wen of Chen