Seosan Daesa was a Buddhist monk who raised an army of 5,000 warrior monks in his 70s

When Japan invaded in 1592, most of the regular military collapsed within weeks. Enter Seosan Daesa — a 72-year-old Buddhist monk who said 'fine I'll do it myself' and raised a guerrilla army of 5,000 monks. FIVE THOUSAND. Buddhist monks. With weapons. In their 70-year-old leader's name. They fought at Pyongyang and actually helped retake the city. The man had spent decades meditating and suddenly pivoted to 'violence is an option actually.' His disciple Samyeongdaesa continued the fight and later became a diplomat to Japan. The whole monk-warrior pipeline was real and it was badass.