Think loosely about a virtual machine or simulator where say for example qemu-arm can simulate an arm processor on an x86 host, ideally the software running on the simulated arm has no idea that it isnt a real arm. Take this idea to the level where the whole chip is designed such that it always looks like you are an x86, the software never knows there is some programmable items inside the chip. And that some other processor inside is somewhat designed for the purpose of implementing/simulating an x86. Supposedly the popular AMD 29000 product line just went away because the hardware team and perhaps processor/core became the guts of an early x86 clone. Transmeta, where Linus worked, had a vliw processor that was made to be a low power x86. In that case the translation layer was not (as much of) a secret. Vliw, very long instruction word, RISC taken to the extreme, is the kind of thing you build for this kind of task.
No it is not as much of an emulation layer as I am implying, there isnt some linux running there with a qemu program inside each chip. It is somewhere between hardwired where there is no software/microcode in the middle and a full blow emulation. The programmable bits may be like an fpga, programmable gates, or it may be software or programmable state machines, meaning not-programmable gates, just what runs on the gates is programmable.
Your non-x86, non-big iron type processors. Take ARM for example, are hardwired, no microcode. Microcontrollers, PIC, MSP430, AVR, assume these are not microcoded. Basically do not assume all processors are microcoded, few if any processor families are. It is just that the ones we deal with in PCs have been and may still be, so it may feel like they all are.
As fun as it may sound to play with this microcode, it is likely very specific to the processor family, and you likely will never gain access to how it works unless you work for Intel or AMD, each of which likely have their own internals. So you would need to get a job at one of the two, then work your way through the trenches to become one of what is likely an elite team that does this work. And once you get that far your career is trapped, your skills may be limited to one job at one company. You might have more fun programming individual gpus on a video card, something that is documented or at least has tools, something you can do today without spending 10 years at AMD or Intel to possibly get nowhere.