Yeon Gaesomun was a general and powerful military dictator. In the chaotic period of 642, he killed the king of Goguryeo, Yeongnyu and installed Yeongnyu's nephew Bojang as his stooge on the throne. His efforts in calming down Yeon's two sons were not that successful. Then he started repressing Buddhism, the official religion of Goguryeo in favour of Taoism.
