Problem getting Intel microcode to load early on my Frankenstein NAS

Ok, I've answered my own question.  It is NOT necessary to lzma-compress the initramfs file on the boot flash.

As described in my previous post, I created a cpio archive just like the one inside initrd.gz, except that it also contains the /kernel/x86/microcode/GenuineIntel.bin file with my CPU's microcode update.  Copied it to the boot flash without lzma-compressing it first (called it "initrduc"), edited SYSLINUX.CFG to load it along with my new kernel ("k4-1-30.uc") as a boot-menu option, and boom:

root@NAS3:~# dmesg | head
[    0.000000] microcode: CPU0 microcode updated early to revision 0xd0, date = 2010-09-30
[    0.000000] Initializing cgroup subsys cpuset
[    0.000000] Initializing cgroup subsys cpu
[    0.000000] Initializing cgroup subsys cpuacct
[    0.000000] Linux version 4.1.30.x86_64.1 (root@NAS3) (gcc version 4.9.2 (Debian 4.9.2-10) ) #2 SMP Tue Jan 17 01:33:26 PST 2017
[    0.000000] Command line: initrd=initrduc reason=normal BOOT_IMAGE=k4-1-30.uc
[    0.000000] KERNEL supported cpus:
[    0.000000]   Intel GenuineIntel
[    0.000000] Disabled fast string operations
[    0.000000] e820: BIOS-provided physical RAM map:

Now my NAS not only has a CPU updated to the latest microcode, it's also running a kernel built specifically for its hardware (Core2 Duo CPU, Yukon2 Ethernet chip) and with a few other optimizations for that hardware.

If everything's still running fine a few days from now, I'll make this kernel/initramfs combo the default, and make the original combo a boot-menu option.  Then I'll run through the process again for my main NAS, and maybe also for the Atom D525 in my little Ultra 2 Plus.