() from 960 to 963. By placing himself in the position of the emperor, he tried to instill in his servants that he had an absolute power. Gwangjong's reforms were not well-received by the nobles, especially by high military and civil officials who helped his father in the foundation of Goryeo. The dissent of the nobles led them to stage a rebellion, but this attempt failed. In his eleventh year of reign, 960, Gwangjong started a series of purges, killing off his opposers: among them, there were his brother Wang Won (ninth prince Hyoeun), who was suspected of treason and poisoned, king Hyejong's son prince Heunghwa, and king Jeongjong's son prince Gyeongchunwon. Gwangjong also mistrusted his eldest son Wang Ju, who was five years old at the time. At the end of the purges, only forty of Taejo's 3,200 meritorious subjects who helped him in unifying the Later Three Kingdoms were still alive. Later years and death In his later years, Gwangjong's reliance on Buddhism increased. In 968, after a nightmare, he convened a reunion and banned the slaughter of his family. In December 971, an earthquake occurred in Goryeo, and the nobles and the people blamed the king. Gwangjong managed to handle the situation, but a second earthquake occurred in February 972: during this time, he had a nightmare and granted amnesty to prisoners in August. He developed a serious disease in July 975 (fifth month of the Lunar calendar) and died just a few days later at the age of 50. He was given the posthumous name of "Hongdoseon-yeolpyeongse sukheon-ui hyoganghye daeseong dae-wang" (), while his temple name Gwangjong means "shining emperor". His tomb, called Heolleung (), is located on the north side of Mount Songak, in Kaepung County, North Korea. The site inspection in 1916 found a severely damaged tomb, but the stairway and the foundation stone are preserved. He was succeeded by his only son Wang Ju, who became the fifth king of Goryeo, Gyeongjong. The reform policies to curb the power of the capital aristocracy were passed down to his successors, but they weren't able to pursue them; as a result, the bureaucracy turned from a meritorious aristocracy to a hereditary class. The law of emancipation of slaves was retracted during the sixth king's, Seongjong's reign. Legacy Gwangjong's bold reform policy weakened the nobles and stabilized the kingship. In addition, the national civil service examination